五台山

Why this place

Mount Wutai is the northern sacred Buddhist mountain, associated with Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, and it is the one Chinese sacred mountain the Tibetans and Mongols also treat as holy — so it has both Chinese and Tibetan temples. It also has two of the earliest surviving timber buildings in China.

What to see

• Nanchan Temple and Foguang Temple — Tang timber halls of 782 and 857 CE, the oldest in China
• The Tayuan Temple and its white stupa, the mountain's symbol
• Xiantong Temple, the largest and oldest complex, and the Bodhisattva Top
• The Tibetan Buddhist temples, which give the mountain its second character

What to eat

• Vegetarian temple food, widely available on the mountain
• Shanxi oat noodles and the local mushrooms in the town below

How to plan

Two to three days based at Taihuai town.

Best time

June–September; it is high and cold even in midsummer

Practical tips

• The Tang halls are away from the main town and need a car — they are the reason a serious visitor comes