Sacred Mountains of China
People's Republic of China · Asia
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The Sacred Mountains of China are divided into several groups. The Five Great Mountains (simplified, traditional, pinyin: Wǔyuè) refers to five of the most renowned mountains in Chinese history, which have been the subjects of imperial pilgrimage by emperors throughout ages. They are associated with the supreme God of Heaven and the five main cosmic deities of traditional Chinese religion. The group associated with Buddhism is referred to as the Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism (Sì dà fójiào míngshān), and the group associated with Taoism is referred to as the Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism (Sì dà dàojiào míngshān). The sacred mountains have all been important destinations for pilgrimage, the Chinese term for pilgrimage (cháoshèng) being a shortened version of an expression which means "paying respect to a holy mountain" (cháobài shèng shān).
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.