Mount Emei

Emei Mountain, located in China's Sichuan Province is the highest of China's Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains. It appears like a giant green screen in the Chengdu Plain. Its highest peak, the Golden Summit is 3,079 meters above sea level. It is a very popular destination during the summer because of its cool climate. The mountain's true beauty comes from its flora which is green almost year-round due to the mountain's favorable climate. The waterfalls and brooks which intersect the mountain also add to the beauty.

According to legend, Emperor Xuanyuan visited the mountain twice to learn Taoist thought and in the first century AD the first monastery was built on the mountain making it the birthplace of Buddhism in the Yangtze Valley. The mountain is home to 76 Buddhist Monasteries, the earliest dates back to the first century BC. Most of the monasteries are located near the peak of the mountain with the most famous being the Golden Summit Temple (Link). In China temples follow strict rules regarding design and layout, but on Emei Mountain, the rules were ignored to make full use of the mountain's beautiful scenery.

One of the favorite activities on the mountain is the sunrise and Cloud Sea which can be best views from the Golden Summit. The sunrise is spectacular and the height of the mountain allows visitors to look down at the clouds which appear as a white foaming sea which covers and moves over the mountain's summits.

The mountain is home to some unique flora and fauna including Tibetan Macaques and the Emei Shan Liocichla, a passerine bird named after the mountain it inhabits.

Wannian Temple
Located on Sichuan Emei Mountain, the Wannian Temple sits at an elevation of 1,020 meters above sea level. The largest and oldest temple on the mountain, it was burned down in 1946. The current temple was rebuilt in the 1950’s. The centerpiece of the temple is the Beamless hall. The hall is 16 meters high and 15.7 meters long and made entirely of brick and stone without a single interior beam. A 7.35 meter tall, 62 ton bronze statue of Samantabhadra Buddha riding an elephant is inside the hall.