Fengming Mountain in Kunming
Kunming Fengming Mountain(昆明凤鸣山) in Panlong District is home to the Taihe Palace, a Taoist temple dating back to the Ming Dynasty, commonly known as the “Golden Hall” or “Bronze House.” To reach it, visitors start from the foot of Mingfeng Mountain and pass through the First Heaven Gate, Second Heaven Gate, and Third Heaven Gate, ascending to a platform over 1000 meters high. There, they encounter a fortress-like structure with city walls, towers, and battlements. Inside the city walls lies the Taihe Palace, also known as the Fengming Immortal Palace, with “Lingxing Gate” inscribed above its entrance in golden characters. The couplet on the doorframe reads: “Dragons soar in the upper valley, unmatched jade palaces and unparalleled land; Bamboo dances in the eastern forest, half the green mountains and half the clouds.”
Tourist Resources: Upon entering, visitors will encounter the largest existing pure copper palace in China—the Golden Hall. Weighing approximately 200 tons, the palace boasts intricate copper craftsmanship, including beams, pillars, arches, roof ridges, plaques, statues, and vessels, all cast in copper. The palace, standing at 6.7 meters tall and measuring 6.2 meters wide and deep, features 16 cylindrical columns and walls constructed from 36 carved panels and blocks, creating a meticulously crafted and complex structure. Inside the palace are five gilded statues, with the central one depicting the True Martial Emperor (a Taoist deity known as the Master of Ten Thousand Laws), flanked by statues of the Golden Boy and Jade Girl and two guardian generals. The copper palace sits atop a tall marble terrace surrounded by two-tier stone railings, resembling a magnificent golden palace. Below the palace’s steps are two pavilions, with a 10-meter-tall flagpole on the left, flying a seven-star soap flag. The flagpole, flagpole base, and flag are all cast in copper, with the triangular flag featuring serrated edges and intricate carvings of the twenty-eight constellations, the sun, and the moon. The words “Peace under heaven, favorable weather, and prosperous country and people” are engraved on the flag’s surface. Historically, the copper palace was twice cast and built. The first construction took place in the thirtieth year of the Ming Wanli era (1602), with a design similar to the Wudang Mountain copper palace in Hubei’s Junxian County. It was dismantled at the end of the Ming Dynasty and relocated to the Jiuzufeng Temple in western Yunnan. Later, during the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty, Wu Sangui reconstructed the copper palace on its original site, with an inscription left on the palace’s beams commemorating the event. In the seventh year of the Xianfeng era (1857), during the Muslim rebellion, the palace suffered minor damage. It was repaired and restored during the Guangxu era, becoming the existing copper palace, slightly larger than the one at Wudang Mountain, and designated as a national key cultural relic.
Mountain Attractions: In addition, on the rear mountain stands the Yongle Great Bell, measuring 2.1 meters in height with a circumference of 6.7 meters, weighing approximately 14 tons. It is the largest copper bell in Yunnan. Originally hung on the Xuanhua Building above the south gate of Kunming City, it was relocated to the Guzhuang Park after the demolition of the city gate in 1953 and later moved to the “Golden Hall” Park.
