Wahuang Palace of Handan

Wahuang Palace was constructed in remembrance of Nuwa, a goddess in Chinese mythology. It is located on the Tangwangjiao Mountain, a branch of the Taihang Mountains, with a range of scenic and forested mountains in the west of Handan. It is also known as Nainai Ding and Granma Top. The main Wahuang Palace is situated on the right side of the mountain. It is four storey high and measures 75 feet tall.

Built in the Northern Qi Dynasty, it is the largest temple in China to commemorate the ancient Creator-goddess (Nuwa). It is said that in the primeval ages, no living things existed. The Creator-goddess "created humans with clay, and melt stones to mend the sky ". Thus all living things on the earth were made. In honor of the great mother, Wahuang Palace was built here. It consists of two parts. Down the hill there are Chaoyuan Palace, Tingcan Palace and Guangsheng Palace. Climbing up the mountain, you can get to Wahuang Temple. It was skillfully built o­n a semi-circular stone pit by the dangerously steep precipice, and so were some other temples and pavilions.

The whole structure was built along the contour of the mountain. There are 135 houses, three grottoes and six cliff sutra inscriptions of the Northern Qi Dynasty and 75 inscribed stone tablets of successive dynasties. At present, it covers an area of 760,000 square meters. The main Wahuang Palace is situated on the right side of the mountain. It is four storey high and measures 75 feet tall. The nine iron chains secure Badian Hall, Qingxu Pavilion, Zaohua Pavilion and Butian Pavilion to the cliffs from the bottom to the top. It is really amazing to see the technology of ancient China,

The roof is made of glazed tile in Xieshan style. The four-storied building is 23 meters in height. The back wall is joined to the rocks by eight iron chains. Whenever tourists gather here, the iron chains stretch tightly like bowstrings, so it is also called " Suspension Temple, or " Moving Pavilion ". It has consummate craftsmanship and wonderful workman-ship in combining nature and building o­n the cliff outside Wahuang Temple were inscribed six sections of Precipice Buddhist Scripture with more than 130,000 characters. They are known as “No.1 Cliff Scripture Group under Heaven” and are invaluable in Buddhist books and records in China.

The elegance of the construction demonstrates the ingenuity and high level of Chinese ancient architecture. As the largest and earliest group of buildings, Wahuang Palace attracts numerous visitors not only because it was built to commemorate the Goddess Nuwa but also to admire the exquisite craftsmanship of Chinese ancient architecture.
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