Dragon Head Incense Burner, Wudang天下第一險 武當山絕崖上的「龍頭香」

Ancient China boasts numerous architectural wonders, such as the Hanging Temple "suspended" on a precipice and floating structures on water, all inspiring awe. On Wudang Mountain stands a wondrous "cliffside incense burner"—the Dragon Head Incense Burner. Built on a suspended stone beam above a sheer drop, it is both breathtaking and awe-inspiring. What is the origin and story of this Dragon Head Incense Burner, hailed as the "Number One Incense Burner in the World"? Standing on Wudang Mountain for 700 years, why is the Dragon Head Incense Burner considered the Number One Incense Burner in the World? Since ancient times, Wudang Mountain has been a renowned Taoist holy site, known as the "Number One Immortal Mountain under Heaven." The astonishing Dragon Head Incense Burner, located at Nanyan, also known as "Zixiaoyan," is a testament to this. Why is the Dragon Head Incense Burner called the "Number One Incense Burner in the World"? The answer lies in its location and origin.

Built during the Yuan Dynasty (1314 AD), the Dragon Head Incense Burner has a history of over 700 years. Located on a cliffside stone beam carved with dragons outside the Nanyan Wanshou Palace, it is named for the incense burner carved on the dragon's head. The Dragon Head Incense Burner is exquisitely crafted. Ancient craftsmen employed various carving techniques, such as round carving, openwork carving, and shadow carving, to carve two dragons that merge into one on the stone beam. The resulting form is natural, highly three-dimensional, and breathtaking.

Legend has it that these two carved dragons were the imperial mounts of the Xuanwu Emperor, and the location of the Dragon Head Incense Burner is said to be the place where the Zhenwu Emperor attained enlightenment and ascended to heaven during his cultivation at Wudang Mountain, imbued with a strong mystical and mythical aura. For this reason, many believers consider burning incense at the Dragon Head Incense Burner to be the most efficacious act, and to show their piety, they flock to Wudang Mountain to worship and offer incense at the "Dragon Head Incense Burner."

The Dragon Head Incense Burner is built on a suspended stone beam carved with dragons. The beam extends forward about 3 meters from the edge of the cliff and is only 30 centimeters wide. There are no protective devices around it, and the incense burner is located above a bottomless abyss, making it extremely dangerous! Therefore, this "Number One Incense Burner in the World" is also known as "Number One Danger in the World", making it the most dangerous incense burner in China.

To successfully offer incense at the Dragon Head Incense Burner, people had to crawl forward along the suspended stone beam and then crawl back on their knees. The process was extremely dangerous; a single misstep could send them plummeting to their deaths. Undoubtedly, since the Dragon Head Incense Burner was built, countless people have fallen from the stone beam, a chilling sight. Until the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1673 AD), the Governor-General of Sichuan and Hubei issued an order prohibiting the burning of incense at the Dragon Head Incense Burner. A monument was erected to warn people that offering incense at the Dragon Head Incense Burner was not the only way to show respect to the gods, but rather to cherish life.

Today, a separate platform has been built in front of the Dragon Head Incense Burner for worshippers to safely offer incense. Access to the Dragon Head Incense Burner is now prohibited; people can only observe from behind the railing. Only on certain special days will specially trained staff demonstrate offering incense at the Dragon Head Incense Burner. Therefore, many tourists still travel to Wudang Mountain every year just to witness the process of offering incense at the Dragon Head Incense Burner.

The Wudang Mountains are a mountain range in the northwestern part of Hubei, China. They are home to a famous complex of Taoist temples and monasteries associated with the Lord of the North, Xuantian Shangdi. The Wudang Mountains are renowned for the practice of tai chi and Taoism as the Taoist counterpart to the Shaolin Monastery, which is affiliated with Chan Buddhism. The Wudang Mountains are one of the "Four Sacred Mountains of Taoism" in China, an important destination for Taoist pilgrimages. The monasteries such as the Wudang Garden were made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 because of their religious significance and architectural achievement.

The photo was taken in 2014 when I did a quick trip to see the Wudang Mountains.