Three-hour drive to Mount WutaiTime: One day if driving.
Cost of round trip: 300 yuan per person.
The destination: As one the most ancient Buddhist sites in China, Mount Wutai is a quiet area which, despite recent tourist infiltration, retains its Buddhist roots.
With an almost alpine atmosphere of dense forests and often snow-capped peaks, the mountain is a great place to have your introspective wanderings interrupted by some stunningly beautiful scenery. The area is also known for its pure, clean air.
Wutaishan is one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains, along with E'mei, Jiuhua and Putuo.
The mountain is so named for the five terraces that form a coarse circle around a hilly valley. The tallest of these is the northern peak, which juts 3,058 metres above sea level, making it the highest in the north of China.
The valley that these five peaks surround is centred on a small village, Taihuai, that itself holds around 15 to 20 temples, the focal point for travelers to start their trekking.
Recorded Buddhist history of the mountain goes back as far as the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD).
The mountain was dedicated to Manjusri and many statues on the mountain still depict this figure riding a lion with sword and sutra in hand.
This hilly area has had its ups and downs over the years.
The Tang (618-907) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties saw probably the most prosperous periods for Wutaishan.Many of the temples in the area still boast architecture from these periods.
At the peak of the Tang, the area had a total of over 200 monasteries.
Nowadays there are around 50 or so, many of them dedicated to the worship of the Yellow Hat Sect of Tibetan Buddhism (Gelukpa). The majority of these temples are to be found in little Taihuai. Indeed nowadays the village looks more like one huge temple.
How to get there: It just takes three hours from Beijing to the Mountain using the newly completed north highway.
Entrance ticket: 50 yuan (US$6) for each person. Extra charges apply for some temples.
