King Mu of Zhou's Western Journey

Timeline

1. c. -950Haojing · ShaanxiKing Mu of Zhou set out west from the Western Zhou capital Haojing with his team of eight fine steeds and the elite troops of the Seven Cui, passing through places such as Hezong and Yangyu, beginning a large-scale inspection tour and diplomatic journey lasting several years.
2. c. -948Mound of Kunlun · NorthwestAccording to the Mu Tianzi Zhuan, King Mu traveled west to the Mound of Kunlun, where he met, feasted, and exchanged jade tablets with the Queen Mother of the West—the most legendary episode of the journey, frequently celebrated in later poetry and prose.
3. c. -946Haojing · ShaanxiOn his return east King Mu passed through several polities, rectifying border administration and bestowing gifts on the lords, finally returning to Haojing. The journey was enormously costly, and later writers sometimes linked it to the depletion of Western Zhou's strength.