Wudang Quarry

On the Northern Slope of Nan Yan, there is a place where stones were mined during the Great Xiu Wu period of the Ming Dynasty, known as the Nan Yan Ancient Stone Quarry. Some experts have verified that the building stones of Zixiao Palace and Nanyan Palace were all sourced from here. According to relevant data, this area belongs to the Cambrian strata, and its rocks are green nannite schist, scientifically known as metamorphic basic rock, which is convenient for mining and carving. According to old records, during the Ming Dynasty, when the royal temples and monasteries were built on Wudang Mountain, the stone-making work was extensive and huge. The vast majority of the stone materials required were bluestone, which were sourced locally. During the Jiajing period, Lu Jie, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, clearly recorded in "The Process of Building the Palaces and Temples on Mount Taihe in the Imperial Edict" that "stones were mined at Meixi Ridge and Shizigou." Meixi Ling and Shizi Gou are located in Liuping Town and Laoying, Danjiangkou City. This indicates that there were many quarries during the Great Xiuxiu period. Lu Jie believes that "the transportation cost of the turntable is several times the value of the goods, and materials should be sourced nearby." This quarry located on the Northern Slope of the South Rock is hard to find and few people know about it. It can be seen that environmental factors were fully considered when the site was selected at that time.