The 108 steps up to Pusa Ding
Wutai Shan (or Five Terrace Mountain) refers to Buddhism’s sacred northern mountain range in Shanxi Province. The area is considered the earthly abode of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, called Manjusri.
Made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009, WuTaiShan is the most holy Buddhist mountain in China. As such, it’s a popular pilgrimage destination for Buddhists and Chinese tourists alike.
The famous aspect of WuTaiShan Si. The white Tayuan stupa has become the symbol for the area
Entrance Fees
A ticket valid for 3 days is 168rmb, and you’re required to buy a bus pass for 50rmb whether you intend to use the buses or not.
Accommodation
Hotels are cheap (less than 150rmb/night, bargained down from the rack rate of 338rmb) but of low quality, so don’t expect a good night’s sleep.
Other Fees
There’s an additional entrance charge at most temples of 10rmb.
Food and drink is moderately expensive due to the remote location. The restaurants we tried weren’t particularly good, but the street stalls across the river were excellent, and the staff very friendly.
Like much of Shanxi Province, the costs here add up very quickly compared to the good value of many other Chinese historic sites. Take enough money as there’s nowhere to withdraw cash in the small town.
WuTaiShan Valley
Dailou Terrace
The cable car up the mountain to DaiLuo Terrace for an overview of the valley is 85rmb for a round trip, or two steep walks.
WuTaiShan Panorama from the DaiLuo Terrace
General Tips for WuTai Shan
With 50+ temples in the valley it’s easy to get ‘templed out’. The only other activites in town are hiking on the surrounding hills.
You’ll have a better time if you speak and ideally read Mandarin as nobody there speaks English, and we only saw one other Western tourist over the two days we were there.
The only foreign language written guides we could find were in French and Russian, so it’s better to plan ahead if you want to know what you’re looking at – check my next post for a few of the more interesting temples at WuTaiShan.
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