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American Raphael Robert Zanders-McNeil practices Wudang jianfa at the Wudang Taoist Kungfu Academy on Mount Wudang, Hubei province. Photos by Zhu Linyong / China Daily
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Hubei province's Mount Wudang is a Mecca for Taoists and martial arts pilgrims keen to learn the way of the fist and tai chi, Zhu Linyong reports
Summer is the best season to experience Mount Wudang, a mist-shrouded Taoist Mecca in central Hubei province. Most visitors arrive in the morning, pay homage at the Taoist monasteries, climb a stairway to the awe-inspiring Golden Palace on the mountain peak, and leave at dusk.
A handful choose to stay for a night or two, so as to enjoy a more relaxed tour of the scenic spots.
Fewer still, such as Elizabeta Skuber Osterman, a Chinese studies expert from Slovenia, stay longer to experience the natural beauty of the mountain, Taoist culture and the legendary Wudang kungfu.
Osterman has been training at the Wudang Taoist Kungfu Academy since April.
The 21-year-old Wudang kungfu training center near Purple Heaven Palace is the largest and best-preserved Taoist compound on the more than 1,600-meter mountain, which is the headquarters of the Wudang Taoist Association.
Under the leadership of the association, the organization has drawn increasing attention from kungfu enthusiasts seeking an alternative destination to the Shaolin Temple in central Henan province.
Osterman's one-month stay at Wudang was a 60th birthday present from her son, daughter-in-law and friends in 2009.
"I had a great time, lots of exercise, Taoist philosophy and meditation under the tutelage of such kungfu masters as Guan Yongxing and Li Tengfei," says Osterman, who visits again this summer.
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Taoist kungfu teacher Ming Zhengwang guides a special class for kids.
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