On the second day, we embarked on a full-day tour of Mount Wutai. The temples are mainly concentrated in the Taihuai area, which sits at an altitude of roughly 1,600 to 1,700 meters. With its relatively low temperatures, it serves as an ideal summer retreat.
Mount Wutai is the only Buddhist sacred site in China where Green Temples (Han Buddhism) and Yellow Temples (Tibetan Buddhism) shine side by side, fostering harmonious coexistence among Han, Mongolian, and Tibetan peoples. Legend has it that Mount Wutai once had 128 temples; today, 47 remain, with 39 located within the central terrace area and 8 outside. Many were imperially commissioned and visited by emperors across various dynasties. Famous sites include Xiantong Temple, Tayuan Temple, Pusa Ding, Nanshan Temple, Dailuo Ding, Guangji Temple, and Wanfo Pavilion.
Parking spaces for self-driving visitors within the scenic area are somewhat limited. Although there are several commercial zones, Jinjie Li is the most developed and modern. It acts as the center of the entire scenic area and a transportation hub, serving as the starting point for climbing Dailuo Ding or transferring to shuttle buses heading in all directions.
Since our visit coincided with the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, traffic inside the scenic area was quite heavy. We parked our car at the Great Manjushri Temple parking lot and walked to the nearby temples.
The Great Manjushri Temple, also known as Guang’an Temple, was originally built during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1736–1795) and rebuilt in the first year of the Daoguang reign (1821). Facing south, the temple covers an area of 5,180 square meters and is one of the five residences of the Changkya Living Buddha.
Across the street lies Shuxiang Temple. As one of the Five Great Zen Forests and Ten Major Green Temples of Mount Wutai, it derives its name from enshrining the true likeness of Manjushri Bodhisattva. It is a Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Shanxi Province and a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Areas. Originally founded in the early Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was later reduced to ashes during the ‘Turmoil of the Five Barbarians.’ It was restored during the Tang Dynasty and again in the second year of the Taiding era of the Yuan Dynasty (1325), only to be destroyed by fire once more. The existing halls were constructed under the supervision of Zen Master Tielinguo in the ninth year of the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty (1496) and renovated during the Wanli era, as recorded on a restoration stele.
Walking up the stone steps, you will pass the Fire God Temple, Tayuan Temple, Xiantong Temple, Shifang Hall, Luohou Temple, Yuanzhao Temple, and Guangzong Temple before finally reaching Pusa Ding.
Within Tayuan Temple stands the iconic landmark of Mount Wutai—the Great White Pagoda. Standing 56.4 meters tall and entirely white, it is hailed as the ‘First Sacred Realm of Coolness.’ Over two hundred copper bells hang from the top of the pagoda, chiming crisply in the wind. To the east of the Great White Pagoda stands a smaller white pagoda, said to house golden hairs left behind when Manjushri Bodhisattva manifested himself; thus, it is also known as the Manjushri Hair Pagoda. North of the Great White Pagoda is the Sutra Library, a wooden structure housing over 20,000 volumes of scriptures written in Han, Mongolian, and Tibetan scripts. Unfortunately, the Great White Pagoda is currently undergoing renovation, though circumambulation around it is still permitted.
Xiantong Temple is the largest and oldest temple on Mount Wutai. Alongside the White Horse Temple in Luoyang, it ranks among China’s earliest temples and is located in the central area of Mount Wutai. The Mahavira Hall of Xiantong Temple is the primary venue for Buddhist ceremonies, enshrining statues of Shakyamuni, Amitabha, and Bhaisajyaguru. The entire hall is spacious, airy, and rich with antique charm.
The Beamless Hall is a brick structure enshrining a bronze statue of Vairocana Buddha. True to its name, the hall features no beams, boasting a highly unique architectural style and significant artistic value.
The Bronze Hall is a structure made entirely of bronze, housing tens of thousands of small Buddha statues inside—a rare cultural relic of its kind. In the bell tower in front of Xiantong Temple hangs the largest bronze bell on Mount Wutai, known as the Long-Ringing Bell. Its surface is inscribed with a Buddhist sutra comprising over ten thousand characters in regular script.
Pusa Ding is the largest and most complete Tibetan Buddhist monastery on Mount Wutai. It serves as the main venue for the Yellow Hat Sect Dharma Assembly held annually from the fourth to the fifteenth day of the sixth lunar month. Climbing the mountain during this period allows visitors to witness the grand spectacle of lamas performing the ‘Demon-Suppressing’ ritual. The temple comprises the Heavenly King Hall, Shakyamuni Hall, and Bodhisattva Hall. Since emperors of successive dynasties have ascended Pusa Ding, the temple houses numerous stelae and plaques bearing imperial inscriptions. In the east courtyard corridor and rear courtyard stand two quadrangular white marble steles, each inscribed on four sides with texts in Han, Mongolian, Manchu, and Tibetan scripts, all personally calligraphed by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty.
The view from the summit is truly magnificent.
After lunch, we took another drive through the scenic area and visited Jinge Temple. Located very close to the West Gate, this area sees fewer tourists but attracts many backpackers. Situated at an altitude of 1,900 meters, Jinge Temple occupies the highest elevation among all temple buildings on Mount Wutai, excluding those atop the five terraces.
Jinge Temple was China’s earliest Esoteric Buddhism center and one of the ancestral temples of Han Esoteric Buddhism, founded during the Tang Dynasty by Amoghavajra, the founder of Esoteric Buddhism. It also houses the greatest number of Buddhist statues on Mount Wutai, totaling over one thousand. Among them is the second-largest bronze Buddha in China: a 17.7-meter-tall statue of the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteshvara, cast during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty.
Founded in the second year of the Dali era under Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty (767 AD), the temple was established when Amoghavajra dispatched his disciple Hanguang to Mount Wutai to build it modeled after Nalanda Monastery. Thanks to widespread support from both the court and the public for Amoghavajra, the temple was extraordinarily grand and magnificent. Named ‘Great Golden Pavilion Temple,’ it featured copper tiles gilded with gold. By the late Tang and Five Dynasties periods, repeated wars left only ruins. In the fourth year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1525), the monk Liaoyong raised funds to rebuild it upon the ruins, constructing a three-story pavilion with seven bays. Subsequent restorations and additions during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era shaped the temple into its current form.
The Great Compassion Hall within Jinge Temple retains Ming Dynasty architectural style, while the remaining structures date from the late Qing Dynasty. The Great Compassion Hall is the largest hall on all of Mount Wutai, measuring seven bays wide and six bays deep. Featuring a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof rising 25 meters high across two stories, it is surrounded by a corridor and adorned with dense double-angled five-tier bracket sets beneath the eaves.
Between the front and rear courtyards lies a row of two-story cave dwellings. The upper level consists of 19 wooden rooms divided into nine halls. Arranged from east to west, they are the Three Emperors Hall, Jade Emperor Hall, Three Officials Hall, Sangharama Hall, Vairocana Hall, Ksitigarbha Hall, Medicine King Hall, Five Hundred Arhats Hall, and Child-Giving Guanyin Hall. These halls enshrine deities representing a fusion of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.
Along a small path connecting the West Gate to the South Gate, near Kuantan Village, you can see herds of cattle grazing—a truly rare and delightful sight.
Overall, the Mount Wutai Scenic Area is highly developed. Beyond being a renowned Buddhist sanctuary, it serves as a perfect summer retreat for northern regions. With its beautiful scenery, minimal pollution, and atmosphere reminiscent of another century, coupled with its proximity to Beijing, it makes for an exceptionally convenient self-driving destination.
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