Wa Huang Palace

Wa Huang Palace Scenic Area is located in the Zhonghuang Mountain of Suobao Town, Shexian County, Hebei Province. It is said to be the place where Nuwa created humans from clay and mended the sky with stones. It is a key national cultural relic protection unit, a national scenic spot, a national AAAAA level scenic spot, and one of the five major ancestral worship sites in China. It is the largest Nuwa worship site in China and is known as the "Ancestral Temple of China". Wa Huang Palace was founded in the Han Dynasty with three temples, and now there are ancient sites such as the Northern Qi stone carvings, Tang Dynasty inscriptions, Song Dynasty brick walls, Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings, etc. There are natural landscapes such as forests, valleys, gardens, and water systems. Among them, the Northern Qi cliff carvings, the main building Wa Huang Pavilion, and the Nuwa Festival are the three essences of the scenic area, known as the "First Wall Sutra Group in the World", "Living Building Hanging Temple", and "National Intangible Cultural Heritage" at home and abroad. It is an important base for studying the root culture of our country. The Nuwa Festival is the longest, largest, and most influential festival in China to worship Nuwa. It is listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage. During the temple fair in March of the lunar calendar, people from all over the country and overseas Chinese come to worship the cultural ancestors of the Chinese nation, so Wa Huang Palace has become one of the national ancestral worship sites, known as the "Ancestral Temple of China". Wa Huang Palace architecture is known as the "Living Building Hanging Temple", it is the largest and earliest ancient architectural complex for worshipping Nuwa in the country. The architectural style is based on cliffs and caves, and it is built according to the mountain situation, using the principle of high-rise building center of gravity deviation safety rate, integrating cultural heritage and ancient architectural wonders. The Northern Qi cliff carving sutra is the oldest and most valuable cultural relic in Shexian Wa Huang Palace. It is known as the "First Wall Sutra Group in the World". It is the place with the most words in the existing cliff carving sutras in China. The cliff carving sutra covers 165 square meters (a total of 137,400 words), which has a history of more than 1400 years. It is a priceless treasure in our Buddhist scriptures.