Nine consecutive pedals on the Golden Summit

The final sprint for tourists and pilgrims to reach the Golden Summit is a winding stone staircase known as the Nine Lotus Steps. The Nine Lotus Steps on the sheer cliff are full of twists and turns, steep and perilous. Standing inside, one can see the magnificent Golden Hall within easy reach, the grand Heavenly Gate towering into the clouds, the purple and golden city wall surrounding at one's feet, and the swirling clouds and mists within easy reach. The scene is like a divine palace or celestial gate, a fairyland on a jade terrace. The Nine Lotus Steps are 64 meters long, with 212 stone steps turning along the mountain terrain, and each step is fixed with iron nails. Both sides are decorated with stone railings and iron chains are added to facilitate people's climbing. It is said that such iron chains were all donated by individual believers. They believed that they had done something wrong in life, so they made some iron chains, carried them up the mountain and installed them on the stone railings to facilitate others and atone for their SINS. The design and construction of the Nine Lotus Pedals also embody and promote Taoist thought. Nine, in Taoism, is a synonym for "pure Yang number", with a high frequency of use and multiple meanings. In the "Wenchang Great Cave Classic", the methods of the Nine Unities and the talismans of the Nine lights are all based on the nine. As mentioned above, there are nine heavens; a human head has nine palaces; the earth has nine continents; a human body has nine orifices; and there are "Nine True and wonderful Commandments" for dealing with people and matters. There are "Nine Transformations of the Elixir" for treating diseases and illnesses, and "Nine kinds of Merits" for giving alms to temples, etc. In Taoist classics, descriptions and records of such examples abound.