Wudang Lamasery is Wudang Zhao in Chinese, and it actually has names in three different language, one in Mongolian, one in Tibetan, and one in Mandarin. In Mongolian, “Wudang” means willow, and it gets this name because of the large number of willows surrounding it. In Tibetan, “Zhao” means temple, and another Tibetan name refer it as White Lotus. The Mandarin name is Guangjue Temple, and is given by Emperor Qianlong in 1756.
As a 4A National Tourist Attraction, Wudang Lamasery is as famous as the Potala Palace in Tibet, Ta’er Monastery in Qinghai, and Labrang Monastery in Gansu. It is also the largest lamasery of Tibetan Buddhism in Inner Mongolia.
Wudang Lamasery is 70 kilometers northeast from Baotou. It is well-preserved for about 200 years. The lamasery is a group of traditional Tibetan buildings with white walls and flat roofs, dotted about the 1-mile-long mountain slope of. It is composed of eight halls for scripture (six remains), three living Buddha residences, and a funeral hall where the relics of several living Buddhas are preserved.
The remaining six halls are Suguqin Hall, Dongkuo'er Hall, Queyiri Hall, Dangge Xide Hall, Ahui Hall and Ribenlun Hall. The three-floor Suguqin Hall is the main hall and the largest in the lamasery. This is the main assembly hall where all the monks gather to chant sutras or have meetings. The floor is covered with red carpet, and the walls are covered with the colorful paintings depicting Buddhist stories. Queyiri Hall, located to the west of Suguqin Hall, is the place where the statue of Laughing Buddha is forged. The hall is in fact a Buddhist sutra and the religious philosophy studying department.
According to statistics, there are over 150,000 Buddhist statues at Wudangzhao, with sizes vary from several meters tall to inches small, made out of materials like mud, wood, cooper and even gold.