Things to Do in Mount Wutai | Top Mount Wutai Activities

Wutai Mountain is not only a Buddhist holy land but also a well-forested national park with lush trees and alpine meadow. The best hiking season is from May to October every year. The temperature on Mount Wutai is moderate and the scenery is charming. Numerous Buddhist believers and hikers will come here to for their pilgrimage hike.

Wutai can be literally translated as "five terraced peaks". Hiking through all the five peaks to worship Manjusri Bodhisattvas is a named “Da Chaotai”, the great kora, while ascending atop to the Luodai Peak after 1080 steps is the short kora, “Xiao Chaotai”. The later one takes less time, and you can see many Buddhist believers kowtow and worship up the mountain along the way. However, it usually takes about 3 days to do the “Dachaotai”. Enjoying the beautiful natural scenery and encountering wildlife along the way, you do not need to worry about the steep road condition and the main crossing routes are mountain path, which is suitable for hiking enthusiasts.

• Popular Mt. Wutai Tour: ✔ 3 Days Mount Wutai Trekking Tour

• Ticket: CNY 238 (CNY 368 - 588 for VIP)

• Opening Hours: 14:00-15:30; 20:00-21:30

• Address: Wutai Mountain Wind Chime palace of Encore Mount Wutai, 100 meters east of the tourist center of Jingangku Township, Wutai Mountain scenic spot, Shanxi Province 山西五台山风景名胜区金岗库乡南线游客中心东100米又见五台山风铃宫

The famous Buddhist Show, Encore Mount Wutai has attracted a large number of Buddhists who come to visit Mount Wutai. The show is based on four Buddhist scriptures, including Diamond Sutra and 3 other famous sutras. The four Buddhist scriptures are presided over by master Jingshang of Bishan temple. In the grand hall, the master monk will hold a Buddhist ceremony bring the statue of Manjusri and give away sutra pamphlets, chanting the great compassion mantra with all the people, to bless the Buddhist believers. The performance combines several stories of people in ordinary life: Cao Huifen, who sells pancakes, a young man looking for his mother, and a middle-aged man who has never unloaded his burden. From their worries, doubts, and stories, the audience will be inspired to think about how to relate Buddhist wisdom with life.

• Popular Mt. Wutai Tour: ✔ 5 Days Datong & Wutaishan Discovery Tour

Mount Wutai is believed to be the ashram of Manjusri Bodhisattva. It is full of burning incense and lighting candles all year round. Every August, a grand tourism festival is held here, "Wutai Mountain Buddhist Culture Festival"(五台山佛教文化节). At that time, tourists and monks from all over the world gather to hold grand Buddhist activities. During this period, large-scale Buddhist activities and folk literary and artistic activities were held. In addition to the Buddhist Cultural Festival, a large number of Buddhists will also be attracted to offer incense and worship every Buddhist memorial day.

• Popular Mt. Wutai Tour: ✔ 6 Days Essence of Shanxi Tour

Tiaobuza used to be an activity of Tibetan Buddhist temples in Mongolian areas. The fifth day of the sixth lunar month is the day. Before the event, the lamas and monks in the temple began to recite Dharma sutras, dance Vajra, and "suppress ghosts" at Bodhisattva peak. On the 15th, more than a hundred distinguished lamas walked out of the top of Bodhisattva Maitreya statue in the front. Then one Lama took a sedan chair and the two lamas rode horses. The rest of the monks played the temple music and went to Luoku temple to "dance for gods"; On the 16th, they "killed ghosts" at the top of Bodhisattva. The first and second lamas wore the clothes given by the emperor, and the outer monks wore masks for 28 nights. They drew circles on the spot and walked according to the circle, supplemented by body gestures. Through this activity, they believe that they can drive away evil spirits. In the meantime, monks should read the exorcism Sutra. Through this kind of activity, they want to achieve the purpose of carrying forward Buddhism.

• Popular Mt. Wutai Tour: ✔ 3 Days Mount Wutai Buddhism Tour from Taiyuan

Mount Wutai is the only Buddhist site in China where Mahayana Buddhism and Hinayana Buddhism coexist. As of 2017, there were 47 monasteries, 39 temples inside the five peaks, and 8 temples outside Wutai Mountain, of which many temples were ordered to be built and visited by emperors. Famous ones are Xiantong Temple, Tayuan temple, Bodhisattvas peak, Nanshan Temple, Dailuo peak, Guangji temple, Wanfo Pavilion, etc.

Foguang Temple: Among them, the Buddhist relics in Foguang temple are very precious, so it is called "Asian Buddha light". The main hall of the temple, namely the East Hall, was built in the 11th year of the Tang Dynasty (AD 857); Xiantong Temple & Tayuan Temple: Xiantong temple is the largest of many temples in Wutai Mountain and is the leader of Qingmiao Buddhist temple in Wutai Mountain. In the Ming Dynasty, the pagoda was rebuilt and became a single temple; Because there was a big white pagoda in the courtyard, it was named Tayuan temple. Towering into the sky, the white pagoda is the main symbol of the temple. People also take it as a symbol of Mount Wutai;Bodhisattva Peak: It is the largest yellow temple which was visited by Emperor Kangxi and Qianlong for several times and they even stayed at the Bodhisattva summit for days, which made the temple very famous; Shuxiang Temple: All the statues in Shuxiang temple are relics of the Ming Dynasty. The existing steles of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong are connected in the temple. The temple is one of the top ten Chinese Buddhist temples.

• Popular Mt. Wutai Tour: ✔ 3 Days Mount Wutai Buddhism Tour from Taiyuan

To experience the Buddhist culture, you shall not miss the Buddhist food here, which is mainly vegetarian Chinese food with specialties of Mt Wutai. It is usually made of mushrooms, ferns, vegetables, edible wild herbs, Chinese medicine herbs, flowers, wheat, naked oats, buckwheat, bean, cornflour, etc.

For those who want to have a meal in a temple of Mount Wutai. Generally, breakfast time starts from 5:00 a.m, and the lunchtime starts from 11:00 am, and the dimmer time is about 5:30 p.m. When eating, men and women are usually asked to sit separately. The front row of the dining hall is for the masters.

If you are not a fan of vegetables and want to try the specialties here to refuel yourself, you are recommended to go to Taihuai Town where most local restaurants are located. Do not miss the stewed Wutai mushrooms and chicken soup, and the popular mushroom sauce and souvenirs here are available in many small shops.

• Where to eat: Taihuai Town (Banruo Restaurant - 般若全素斋; Miaojixiang Restaurant - 妙吉祥餐厅)

• Popular Mt. Wutai Tour: ✔ 8 Days Ancient Beijing & Shanxi Culture Tour