Mt. Wutai

Mount Wutai lies in Wutai County in Shanxi province. It is as famous as Mt. Emei in Sichuan Province, Mt. Putuo in Zhejiang Province and Mt. Jiuhua in Anhui Province, all of which are renowned as the four sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. Being the most famous of these four major Buddhist Mountains, as well as the only Chinese mountain mentioned in Buddhist scriptures, Mount Wutai draws pilgrims from China and other Vocabulary Asian countries to come and pay homage.
The Buddhist associations of the site can date back to the Han Dynasty when the first monasteries were built on the mountain. During the Tang Dynasty, when Buddhism enjoyed its zenith, there were more than 360 monasteries housing over two thousand monks and nuns.
There are now forty-seven operating monasteries with a hundred monks and nuns. On entering the area, one can't help being struck by its Buddhist rituals: the burning of incense, the tolling of bells in the morning and the beating of drums in the evening.
Among these magnificent temples, five are the most famous : Xiantong Temple, Tayuan Temple, Manjusri Temple, Shuxiang Temple and Luohou Temple. Xiantong Temple has the longest history and is the most prestigious. Its court-styled construction includes seven palaces-the Manjusri Bodhisattva's statue was engraved and worshiped in one of these palaces. Tayuan Temple is the symbol of Mt. Wutai. The Temple's main feature is the eye-catching white Tibetan-style pagoda named Big Wnite Pagoda This pagoda is used for storing Buddha's Relics in Tayuan Temple. The pagoda is 60 meters high and has a straight staircase of 108 steps. It can be seen as the mark of Mount Wutai, with its grand looking. Manjusri Temple serves as Lamaism's main temple. A wooden lotus-shaped flower is one of the Luohou Temple's wonders. Machinery turns it and opens and closes its Mount Wutai is said to be dedicated to Manjusri Bodhisattva (Wenshu Buddha in Chinese, Buddha of Wisdoms), because it is believed to be the place where Wenshu once lived and taught Buddhism. Legend says that around the time of the Han Dynasty a wandering Indian monk met Wenshu Buddha in a dream. This Buddha was said to have stayed on the mountain, where he took bodily form. It is said that his hairs are still in a small pagoda in the Tayuan Temple. Many statues on the mountain depict this personage riding a lion with sword and sutra in hand.
Mt. Wutai is a peaceful, quiet and elegant area that still retain its Buddhist roots, despite the recent in tourist visitation.