CHENGDU: The mention of Taoism, China's only indigenous religion, would remind visitors to this capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province of Mount Qingcheng in Dujiangyan, a city under Chengdu's administration.

About 60 kilometres from downtown Chengdu, the evergreen Mount Qingcheng was one of the places where Taoism came into being. The mountain covers over 120 kilometers and is well known for its serene scenery that contains Taoist halls and temples shaded by forests.

It was included on the World Cultural Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2000 together with Dujiangyan, the world's oldest irrigation project still in operation.

Due to its fame, visitors interested in Taoism would head for Mount Qingcheng rather than Mount Heming in Dayi, a county under Chengdu's administration and about 45 kilometres from Chengdu. Many of them may not know the latter at all.

Mount Heming, which is about 15 kilometres from the county seat of Dayi, is where Zhang Daoling, founder of Taoism, founded the so-called Tradition of the Mighty Commonwealth Of Orthodox Oneness, the main genre of Taoism, during the reign of Emperor Shundi (AD 126 and 144) in the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220). Later, Zhang went to Mount Qingcheng to preach the tradition.

Like most visitors who did not know much about Mount Heming, we happened to pass the Taoist sacred mountain on the way to the famous Xiling Snow Mountain in Dayi to attend a meeting. We took a short side trip to the mountain and found it worthwhile.

Driving smoothly for about one hour from Chengdu, our bus came to a mountainous area where temples hidden among green pines and cypresses could be vaguely seen. The driver said that it was Mount Heming.

As most of the passengers, who were participants of the meeting, wanted to have a look at the mountain, the driver parked the bus in the square facing the entrance to the mountain and permitting a two-hour trip to the mountain.

Getting off the bus, we saw the Pavilion for Welcoming Immortals. Initially built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) by Taoist monks on the mountain to welcome the arrival of Zhang Sanfeng, a master of Taoism, the pavilion with flying eaves was rebuilt in 1989.

The pavilion is a three-storey building in which famous Taoist gods like the Green Dragon and White Tiger and gods guarding Taoist temples are worshipped.

After watching several of the fellow passengers burn incense in front of the pavilion, we took a 99 step stair lined with tablets with inscriptions by famous men of letters in ancient times and contemporary masters of Taoism to reach the Big Dipper Hall. The 99-step stair is the symbol of longevity pursued by Taoists.

In the hall, the Dipper, believed to be the mother of all stars by Taoists, and Taoist gods of heaven, the earth, sun and moon, are worshipped.

We happened to see several letters of thanks on the outer wall of the hall. Written by local patients, the letter praised Taoist temples on Mount Heming for giving them treatment. Taoist put emphasis on ways to preserve health and ask believers to help others in need.

Behind the hall is the Taoist Temple of the Three Sages worshipping Lao Zi, Lu Chunyang and Zhang Sanfeng, three prominent figures in Taoism.

A great philosopher more than 2,000 years ago, Lao Zi was the author of "Tao Te Ching" (The Way) which advocates social harmony and the integration of nature and man.
When Zhang Daoling founded Taoism, he used "Tao Te Ching" as the doctrine of Taoism, and Taoists honoured Lao Zi as the Supreme Venerable Sovereign.

There is an old cypress outside the temple. As the story goes, it was personally planted by Zhang Sanfeng, the legendary founder the shadow boxing.

About 100 metres behind the Taoist Temple of the Three Sages is the Hall of the Celestial Master. Enshrined there is a statue of Zhang Daoling who is revered as the Celestial Master in Taoism. Hung on the walls on both sides of the hall are pictures depicting his birth, his cultivating the Way, attaining the Way and ascending to immortality on a crane at the age of 122.

Standing outside the wall, we found the mountain looking like a crane with its wings unfolded and marveled at the naming of Mount Hemin, as He means "crane" in Chinese.

The mountain ranges on both sides of the hall are like two wings unfolded, the Tianzhu Peak in front of the hall is like the head of crane dinking water in the stream, and visitors to the hall are standing on the back of the crane.

According to the Daxi county government, all the Taoist temples on Mount Heming were destroyed during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). In 1993, the county started restoring the temples, aiming at building the mountain into a world-class cultural heritage site.

The county's determination has attracted Xue Yongxin, president of the Chengdu-based Enwei Group, to realize his life-long dream of restoring the glory of Taoism on Heming Mountain.

Fifty-four-year-old Xue, who has been quiet successful in his development of products made of traditional Chinese medicine, has been a fervent believer of Taoism.

He has recently reached an agreement with the Daxi county government to raise 1 billion yuan (US$125 million) to build the so-called Sacred City of Taoism Origin on Mount Heming to demonstrate the country's extensive and profound Taoist culture.

"I will turn the mountain into a famous place in Taoism, just as Vatican to Christians and Jerusalem to Muslims," Xue said.