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Mountain with religious history
By UNESCO website |
July 3, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
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MOUNT Songshan is considered to be the central sacred mountain of China. At the foot of this 1,500-meter high mountain, close to the city of Dengfeng in Henan Province and spread over a 40-square-kilometer circle, stand eight clusters of buildings and sites, including three Han Que gates (remains of the oldest religious edifices in China), temples, the Zhougong Sundial Platform and the Dengfeng Observatory.
Constructed over the course of nine dynasties, these buildings are reflections of different ways of perceiving the center of heaven and earth and the power of the mountain as a center for religious devotion. The historical monuments of Dengfeng include some of the best examples of ancient Chinese buildings devoted to ritual, science, technology and education.
Some of the sites in the nominated area relate closely to the mountain (Zhongyue Temple, Taishi Que and Shaoshi Que); the Observatory is very clearly associated with the astronomical observations made at the center of heaven and earth, while the remainder of the buildings were built in the area perceived to be the center of heaven and earth - for the status that this conferred.
These eight clusters of buildings were listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2010.
Constructed over the course of nine dynasties, these buildings are reflections of different ways of perceiving the center of heaven and earth and the power of the mountain as a center for religious devotion. The historical monuments of Dengfeng include some of the best examples of ancient Chinese buildings devoted to ritual, science, technology and education.
Some of the sites in the nominated area relate closely to the mountain (Zhongyue Temple, Taishi Que and Shaoshi Que); the Observatory is very clearly associated with the astronomical observations made at the center of heaven and earth, while the remainder of the buildings were built in the area perceived to be the center of heaven and earth - for the status that this conferred.
These eight clusters of buildings were listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2010.
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