Wutai Shan Travel Guide

Wutai Shan, meaning Mountain of Five Terraces, in Shanxi Province, China, is spectacularly beautiful and is the most holy area of Chinese Buddhism in the country.

Mount Wutai Shan consists of five peaks, one in the north, east, south, west and one in the middle. The landscape is made up of plain terraces, not thick jungle, coupled with native plants and fauna as well as crisscrossed gullies and small flowing rivers. The highest peak is the northern one at a little over 10,000 feet.

Wanghai Peak in the east is just over 9,000 feet high and is the best peak to see the morning sunrise from. Wanghai is only half a mile from the closest town of Taihuai. Guayue Peak in the west is known for its amazing views of the evening sky as well as its tall pine trees.

The central peak, Cuiyan Peak, is covered with moss due to its sheltered position. Cuiyan Peak also has some spectacular rock faces known locally as Dragon-writhing Rocks. There are over 600 species of native plants on Mount Wutai Shan. The temples on the peaks have some amazing architecture and traditional Chinese art that is centuries old.

Getting There & Away

Wutai Shan is easily reached from Taiyuan in around 1 hour by road. Frequent flights arrive to Taiyuan Airport from the main cities of China including Beijing (1 hour). It is also possible to take a train or bus from other Chinese cities to Taiyuan although travel time will be considerably longer.

Onward Travel

• Taihuai