More than 1,000 artifacts unearthed on Mount Wudang

Chinese archaeologists have announced the discovery of a large collection of artifacts at a World Heritage site famous for its Taoist temples .

Some outstanding artifacts newly excavated on Mount Wudang. (Video: Xinhua)

The collection of more than 1,000 artifacts was found at Wulong Palace, or Five Dragons Palace, on Wudang Mountain in central China's Hubei Province. This is a Taoist temple commissioned by the imperial court during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) but gradually abandoned after the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Xinhua reported on November 22.

Excavation team leader Kang Yuhu, a researcher at the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said the artifacts date back to the earliest Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), including ceramics and glazed building components, utensils such as candlesticks and hairpins, as well as some religious items.

Notable among them are reliefs depicting five dragons, the Black Emperor or Xuanwu (an important Taoist deity), fire patterns and a jade rabbit pounding herbs.

The beauty of Wudang Mountain at dawn. (Photo: Xinhua)

Kang said the five-dragon relief was created by the royal court and used for the "five dragons praying for rain" ritual. The surrounding stone steps suggest it was once part of an altar capable of hosting large gatherings.

^{Parts of Wulong Palace began to be excavated in 2020. The massive 49,000-square -meter} structure is one of the oldest Taoist palaces and temples on Mount Wudang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.