Religion, history and tradition are all inextricably linked in China. Although officially an atheist nation, there is some tolerance of China's indigenous, and imported, religions. You still have to be a professed atheist to join the Communist Party (and therefore get into any position of power), but things are a lot rosier for China's Buddhists, Muslims, Taoists and Christians than they were in the tradition-wrecking days of the Cultural Revolution. Hua Shan, a stunning mountain not far from Xi'an, is one of Taoism's five sacred peaks. Taoism is generally agreed to be China's one true native religion, as Confucianism is considered more of a philosophy, and Buddhism originated in Nepal. I can't tell you much about Taoism, except this: the whole basis of the religion is the tao (the way), and it cannot be expressed in
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