宝鸡市龙门洞

Longmendong

Useful Information

Location:	Long, Baoji, Shaanxi 721207. (35.038369, 106.671533)
Open:	. [2023]
Fee:	. [2023]
Classification:	Karst cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Longmendong, Long, Baoji, Shaanxi 721207.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1180-1186	Qiu Chuji lives in the caves.
1266	first buildings erected and mountain renamed.
1980s	repaired by the local government and Longmen Cave Forest Park and Longmen Cave Scenic Area created.

Description

宝鸡市龙门洞 (Longmendong, Dragon Gate Cave) is a suspended Taoist temple in the southern section of Liupan Mountain, Shaanxi. It is the place where Qiu Chuji founded the Longmen sect of Taoism. It was built during the Western Han Dynasty, and flourished in the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. Being the Longmen Ancestral Court of Quanzhen Taoism, it is quite famous. It is also said to be one of the five suspended Taoist temples in China.

龍門洞道院 (Longmen Dong Daoyuan, Dragon Gate Cave Daoist Temple) lies on Dragon Gate Mountain in Xinjichuan Town, Long County, Shanxi Province. The mountain was originally called 靈仙岩 (Lingxian Yan, Numinous Immortal Cliff). The limestone cliff has numerous karst caves and one quite spectacular huge cave entrance.

丘處機祖師 (Qiu Chuji Zushi or Qiu Chuji) (*1148-✝1227) became a Taoist at the age of 19, and the next year revered Wang Chongyang as his master. For 13 years he lived an ascetic live in Panxi and Longmen by living in caves and begging for food, wearing a palm-bark cape. He was called 蓑衣先生 (Suoyi Xiansheng, Palm-Bark Cape Gentleman). Between 1180 and 1186 he lived in seclusion in the cave. In the 28th year of Dading (1188) he was called in to the royal palace by Emperor Shizong of the Jin dynasty. As a result he became quite famous.

80 years after Qiu Chuji left the mountain, in 1266, Zhang Zhikuan, the Director of Taoism in Longxi Lu, and He Zhizhen, the Vice Director, came to Dragon Gate Mountain with 12 followers. They erected the Scripture Library Tower, Facing the Origin Tower, and the Shrine of the Numinous Official. The temple was named 玉宸宮 (Yuchen Gong, Jade Heaven Temple), but this name was never used, it was called Dragon Gate Cave in all later inscriptions and records. Between 1276 and 1576 no steles or inscriptions were created, probably the temple was abandoned for some time. This changed with the end of the 16th century, the Jade Heaven Temple was rebuilt and enlarged. It became a custom that Taoist followers in nearby counties came for pilgrimage to this mountain. In the 17th century the temple was renovated and extended.

After the Cultural Revolution, the religious relics of the temple suffered damage but the main construction was unharmed. Since the 1980s, it was repaired and rebuilt by the government of Long County and by Taoists. It has become a popular scenic area.