Wutai Mountain

Wutai Mountain (Five Terrace Mountain), located between Beijing and Inner Mongolia in Shanxi Province, is one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains, along with E'mei Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain and Putuo Mountain.

The five peaks of Wutai Mountain represent the Buddha's crown, the five families of Buddha, the five wisdom lights, the five visceral organs, and the five elements. The northern peak reaches over 3,058 meters above sea level and is the tallest in northern China.

There are many extremely powerful caves on Wutai Mountain: Vimilimitra Cave, Manjushri Cave, Samantabhadra Cave and Avolokitshvara Cave, where the 6th Dalai Lama spent six years in meditation. The most powerful of all is the Mother Buddha Vajrayogina Tara Cave.

Wutai Mountain and the Wisdom Buddha Manjushri are the subject of countless Buddhist scriptures, sutras and tantras. Mahayana Buddhism arrived at Wutai Mountain as early as the first century in the Han Dynasty and temple building began as early as 25 AD and continues to this day. Between the fourth and sixth centuries AD there were over 200 temples. During the Tang dynasty in 700 AD, China's Chan Buddhism became the most prolific form of Buddhism in the Far East.

The five peaks of Wutai Mountain surround a small valley and village, Taihuai. There are many temples in this area, many of them dedicated to the worship of the Yellow Hat Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. South of town are four or five temples, including the sloping heights of Nanshan Temple, the beautiful environs of Zhenhai Temple and the more distant Dragon Spring Temple, with its beautiful marble entranceway. Further north of the village lay three temples; the furthest, Bishan Temple, is a Ming dynasty complex that contains some interesting sculptures.