China: Xuan Wu (God of the North Land) in one of the Long Men (Dragon Gate) pavilions, Xishan (Western Hills), near Kunming, Yunnan Province

Xuan Wu (The Dark Martial or The Mysterious Martial), posthumously known as The Dark or Mysterious Heavenly Upper Emperor (Xuan Tian Shang Di), as well as True Warrior Grand Emperor (Zhen Wu Da Di), and commonly known as The Northern Emperor (Bei Di) or Emperor Lord (Di Gong) is one of the higher ranking Taoist deities, and one of the more revered deities in China.

Xuan Wu is revered as a powerful god, able to control the elements (worshipped by those wishing to avoid fires), and capable of great magic. He is particularly revered by martial artists, and is the patron saint of Hebei, Manchuria and Mongolia.V Since the third Ming Emperor, Zhu Di, claimed the help of Zhen Wu in his war to take over the Ming Empire, monasteries were built under the Imperial Decree in Wudang Mountains, in China's Hubei Province, where he allegedly attained immortality.

Xuan Wu is also the patron saint of Cantonese and Min Nan speakers (particularly those of Hokkien ancestry) in southern China, whose ancestors fled south following the Song Imperial House of Zhao.

Lying 15 km west of Kunming City, the Dragon Gate (Long Men) in the Western Hills is close to the west shore of Dianchi Lake. It consists of the Sanqing Temple Complex and the Dragon Gate Grotto Complex.

Dragon Gate is over 2,300 meters, 300 meters higher than the water surface of Dianchi Lake.

Western Hills Forest Reserve (simplified Chinese: 西山森林公园; traditional Chinese: 西山森林公園; pinyin: Xī Shān Sēnlín Gōngyuán) lies in the Biji Mountain chain to the west of Kunming, China. It is visible from the eastern or northern banks of Dianchi Lake.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia