Xiwangmu is the goddess associated with Mount Kunlun and the peaches of immortality. Known in English as the Queen Mother of the West, she presides over a divine realm linked with longevity, immortality, and celestial banquets.
Her mythology changed substantially over time. Early descriptions portray her as a formidable western goddess connected with wild creatures, disease, and heavenly punishment. Later traditions, especially during and after the Han period, increasingly presented her as an exalted mother goddess and dispenser of immortality.
The peaches in her orchard are said to ripen only after extraordinarily long intervals, often three thousand years or more. Their fruit grants longevity or immortality, making them among the best-known symbols in Chinese mythology. Stories describe the immortals gathering for a Peach Banquet at her palace.
The peaches are especially famous from Journey to the West, where Sun Wukong is appointed guardian of the heavenly peach garden and eats the fruit himself. That literary episode can blur the distinction: Sun Wukong steals and consumes the peaches, but Xiwangmu is the figure traditionally associated with their orchard and banquet.