Mount Wutai (Wutaishan)

UNESCO World Heritage Site (2009); One Of The Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains; National 5A Tourist Attraction · Xinzhou, Shanxi

The oldest and foremost of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism, home of the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjushri: five broad, grassy summits called terraces ringing a high valley in northern Shanxi, with the North Terrace, at over 3,000 metres, the highest point in northern China. Temples have stood here since at least the 5th century, and dozens still cluster in and around the valley town of Taihuai, where Han Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist monasteries sit side by side - a meeting point that drew emperors, Tibetan lamas and Mongol pilgrims for centuries. The great white bottle-shaped stupa of Tayuan Temple, the gilded roofs of Pusading on its hilltop, the ancient halls of Xiantong Temple and the lion-riding Manjushri of Shuxiang Temple fill the valley with incense and chanting. Outside the core, two small temples hold treasures of world architecture: the Nanchan Temple hall of 782 and the Foguang Temple hall of 857, among the oldest surviving timber buildings in China. Pilgrims still walk between the five terraces to pay homage to Manjushri. Mount Wutai became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2009.

Taihuai Town, Wutaishan Scenic Area, Xinzhou, Xinzhou, Shanxi, China

Scenic area open daily; temples roughly 6:00-18:00 in summer with shorter winter hours. Terrace hikes close in bad weather; the north-line road was closed August 28-September 30, 2026.

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