Mount Wutai

Wutaishan, the mountain of five terraces, is the earthly home of the bodhisattva Manjusri and the first of the four sacred Buddhist mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage site holding around fifty active monasteries in a high valley ringed by five flat-topped peaks reaching over three thousand metres. Both Han Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions are practised side by side, with maroon-robed monks and pilgrims from Mongolia and Tibet. Two halls here are among the oldest surviving timber buildings in China: Nanchan Temple's main hall from 782 and Foguang Temple's from 857, both Tang, identified by the architectural historian Liang Sicheng in the 1930s. Winter closes much of the mountain.

What you actually see

• The Tang timber halls - Nanchan and Foguang, among China's oldest wooden buildings.
• The monastery cluster - some fifty temples in the Taihuai valley.
• The two traditions - Han and Tibetan Buddhism practised together.
• The five peaks - the flat summits circled by pilgrims on foot.

When to go

May to October; the mountain is at over seventeen hundred metres and winter is severely cold, with many temples closed and roads difficult. Summer brings pilgrims and Chinese holidays fill accommodation. Nights are cold even in July.

Honest expectations

Entry is a substantial area ticket with additional charges at major temples. The Tang halls at Nanchan and Foguang are outside the main valley and need separate transport. Commercial development in Taihuai village is heavy.

Nearby

Datong and the Yungang Grottoes lie northwest; Taiyuan is southwest.