Mount Wutai (五台山; Wǔtái Shān, literally “Five Plateau Mountain”) is considered the earthly abode of Manjusri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom and is one of the Four Sacred Mountains in Buddhism in China and receives a lot of tourist and pilgrims. I had already been to one of the others down in Emei Shan, and like my time in Mount Emei, the weather here was also overcast, misty and rainy. It was also the coldest I have been in my travels so far. So while a couple of days ago I was wondering why I brought gloves, thermals and a fleece with me. I am now happy that I did to keep warm in the cold conditions.
The town is in the Chinese northeastern province of Shanxi, surrounded by a cluster of flat-topped peaks. The North peak, called Beitai Ding or Yedou Feng, is the highest mountain (3.061 m), and indeed the highest point in northern China. While we were there, when we could see it, it provided a snow covered backdrop to the scenery.
While I am running the risk of overdosing on temples, I did manage to visit 4 in the day and a half I was here. There was little else to do here and everyone kept reminding me that they are some of most famous and beautiful I will visit. Therefore it was time to put on several layers to keep warm and put on my hiking shoes and psyche myself up for another stair master challenge. Well I am in a Shan. So you know that means there will be stairs to be climbed either up to the temples or within them. Although, there was also a chairlift available!
The four temples I visited were Tayuan temple, Nanshan temple, Xiantong temple and Dailuo temple. Most were within walking distance of the hotel we were staying at. One of the was a little further away and required using the bus system. You need to buy a bus pass as you enter the area regardless of if you were going to use it or not (it seems to be an extra cost on top of the area entry cost). Therefore, while in the town, the buses are not really free, but don’t need to pay on a per usage basis and they never seem to ask for proof of any payment.
As there is little to do in this town after dark, we had to create our own entertainment. Given there was little desire to venture outside into the wet and cold unless we had to. Therefore we gad our first “movie night”. This consisted of setting up a laptop in a hotel room, selecting a movie that won the most approval, sitting back with some beverages and hitting play.
Photographs within Wutai Shan
1. Stairs! There are always stairs when it comes to temples and Shans!
2. There was a chairlift availe to visit one of the temples –
Images from Nanshan temple. This is the largest temple in the area spread over 7 levels built into the side of a mountain.
Tayuan temple pagoda, built in 1582. This big white pagoda has become the symbol of the region.
Misty mountain views
Monks in the area
Tree in the park
PG Trips 