One of the four sacred Buddhist Mountains in China, Mount Wutai is a centre of Buddhist Manjusri worship. There are 41 monasteries and a great number of temples in the mountain. These include some of the oldest wooden buildings in China such as the main hall of the Foguang Temple which has the highest surviving wooden building of the Tang Dynasty.
Foguang Temple is also renowned for its life-size clay statues. Other large temples such as the Xiantong, Tayuan and Pusading are scattered around the town of Taihuai Zhen. lt is believed that Bodhisattva appears on the mountain in the form of pilgrims, monks or as a five-coloured cloud. The practice of pilgrimage to the mountain was started by the emperors and continues till day.
The monasteries of Mount Wutai are a storehouse of books on Buddhist culture. Pilgrims from all parts of Asia flock to Mount Wutai. Prior to building its reputation as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre, Mount Wutai had been a holy mountain of Daoism during the rule of the later Han Dynasty. China’s National Tourism Administration has classified Mount Wutai as a AAAAA Tourist attraction in 2007. It was also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.
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