Brief information on Mt. Wutai  

Mt. Wutai situated in the northeast of Shanxi, 240 km from Taiyuan City. Named “the peak of North China”, Mt. Wutai’s average altitude is above 1000 m, with the highest Yemen Peak of 3058 m.

Taking up an area of 592.88 square kilometers, Wutai means “Five Terraces” in Chinese. Mt. Wutai is taken up by five peaks, each of which is as flat as terrace on top. Due to the high altitude, the climate is cool even in summer. Therefore, it is also called Mt. Qingliang, which means cool in Chinese, bringing to mind a refreshing refuge from summer heat.

Being one of the most famed sites of Buddhism, Mt. Wutai is the Bodhimanda of Manjusri. Due to its majesty and long history, Mt. Wutai tops among China's Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains, the other three of which are Mt. Emei in Sichuan, Mt. Jiuhua in Anhui and Mt. Putuo in Zhejiang. Mt. Wutai is with remarkable reputation not only in China, but also out of China including Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, etc.

The earliest temples of Buddhism were built in Mt. Wutai, making the mountain a natural museum of Chinese ancient architecture. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, people have built diverse temples, sky-high pagodas and grand halls on Mt. Wutai. In Tang Dynasty, there are more than 300 temples in Mt. Wutai. Many of the temples were destroyed in history. At present, there are still 47 temples, out of which Foguang Temple and Nanchan Temple are the earliest wooden structure architectures in China. Magnificent sculptures, stone inscriptions, mural paintings and calligraphies in those temples are all with great artistic value.

Except for the great value in culture, Mt. Wutai also has remarkable sceneries. On the East Peak, you can watch the sunrise and the sea of clouds. On the West Peak, you can admire the moon at night. On the North Peak, you can view the beautiful snowscape in winter and South Peak is where you can watch clusters of luxuriant flowers. In addition, Middle Peak is the best place to view the astronomical phenomena.

Mt. Wutai also has great value in geology. As one of the earliest lands rising from the sea, the formation of Mt. Wutai dates back to Archaean Era, which is 2,600,000,000 years ago. In Sinian Period, the area experienced upheaval movement which formed North China Plain. In Quaternary Period, glaciers covered Mt. Wutai and leaves precious periglacial landform in the area. Strata of Mt. Wutai are typical and complete, with great value in geology study.

Marvelous mountains and cliffs are everywhere in Mt. Wutai, of which Calligraphy Cliff is one of the most famous. Calligraphies will appear on the cliff after people wiping it with wet cloth. The calligraphies disappear when the water is dry.

In 1982, Mt. Wutai was declared as National Forest Park and in 2001, it was approved as one of the First National AAAA Level Tourist Attractions. On the 33rd world heritage convention, which was held on June 26, 2009 in Seville, Spain, Mt Wutai was officially named World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.

*You can download the bilingual note to show it to a taxi driver or someone else to find your way to Mt. Wutai if you plan to visit Mt. Wutai and have language problems.

   

Chinese Pingyin: wu tai shan
Opening Times: Mt. Wutai opens all day, but most of the temples opens at sun rise and closed at sunset. There isn’t an exact opening or closing time of the temples
Ticket Price: 140 yuan per person (Nov. 1 to Mar. 31)
                   168 yuan per person (Apr. 1 to Oct. 31)
Some temples also require a admission fee of about 5 yuan.

Environmental Sightsee Bus is a compulsive, charging 50 yuan per person
Groups with more than 16 members can enjoy a 20% discount.
Location: 230 km north to Taiyuan City, 48 km south to Mt. Wutai Railway Station.
Phone: 0350-6543133
How to get to: There are coach buses available at Wuyi Square, Taiyuan City. You can also take trains from Taiyuan Railway Station to Mt. Wutai Railway Station, from which you can take a one-hour regular bus to the scenic spot.