{"id":15932,"date":"2018-01-05T03:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-05T02:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/?p=15932"},"modified":"2022-02-04T20:39:44","modified_gmt":"2022-02-04T19:39:44","slug":"travel-wutaishan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/travel-wutaishan\/","title":{"rendered":"Traveling to Wutaishan (or Mount Wutai)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Traveling<\/p>\n

If you find yourself in Shanxi province<\/a>, you can’t miss visiting Mount Wutai, located near the city of Xinzhou.<\/p>\n

Xinzhou (\u5ffb\u5dde, X\u012bnzh\u014du) is a medium-sized city located to the north of Shanxi Province, about 90 km from Taiyuan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mount Wutai (literally \u201cfive plains\u201d where \u4e94 means \u201cfive\u201d and \u53f0 \u201cflat\u201d\uff09 is located to the east of the city of Xinzhou, in the county of Wutai, covering an area of 320 square kilometers.<\/p>\n

The name refers to the five peaks of the mountain that, instead of being a point, have a long flat shape and are generally without trees on its surface.<\/p>\n

Besides being a 5A attraction (the highest level rating for Chinese attractions), it is also one of the four sacred mountains<\/a> for the Buddhist religion (together with Mount Emei in Sichuan<\/a>, Jinhua in Anhui Province and Putuo in Zhejiang). In 2009 it was recognized by UNESCO as part of a cultural landscape heritage.<\/p>\n

The mountain is the seat of pilgrimage on the part of believers that come from not just all parts of China, but also other Buddhist countries.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How to get to Wutaishan<\/h2>\n

Getting to Xinzhou is rather simple, both by air or train<\/a> but, sadly, getting to the mountain from the city is not comfortable.<\/p>\n

Wutaishan Airport<\/h3>\n

If you choose the first option, you’ll have to book a ticket for Wutaishan airport (\u4e94\u53f0\u5c71\u673a\u573a, w\u01d4 t\u00e1i sh\u0101n j\u012b ch\u01ceng).<\/p>\n

The airport has been recently inaugurated, and flights to this destination leave from only a few Chinese cities, so to find a ticket, you might have to change planes in other cities.<\/p>\n

The airport is about 40 kilometers from the center of Xinzhou.<\/p>\n

Xinzhou train station<\/h3>\n

Xinzhou is served by slow train service. The railway station \u5ffb\u5dde\u7ad9 (x\u012bnzh\u014du zh\u00e0n)is near the city center.<\/p>\n

A ticket from Taiyuan to Xinzhou in a hard chair goes from 5 to 15.5 Yuan, one to two hours maximum, while the same ticket from Beijing is about 70 Yuan, taking from 8 and a half hours to 11 hours and a half to reach the destination.<\/p>\n

Wutaishan railway station<\/h3>\n

You could, alternatively, decide to go to Xinzhou via the Wutaishan railway station (\u4e94\u53f0\u5c71\u7ad9, w\u01d4t\u00e1ish\u0101n zh\u00e0n), which is farther from the Xinzhou city center a few hours by car), but closer to the main attraction: Mount Wutai (you will though have to take other transportation to get there, since the main entrance is about 60 kilometers away).<\/p>\n

A ticket from Taiyuan to Wutaishan station on a hard chair costs from 15 to 37 Yuan, taking 3 and a half hours to 5 and a half hours to reach the destination, while a ticket from Beijing<\/a> to the same destination would cost around 50 Yuan, taking the train between 6 and 7 hours.<\/p>\n

Sadly, getting to Mount Wutai from both the two train station and the airport isn’t particularly convenient. They’re both pretty far from the entrance of the park.<\/p>\n

Deciding to leave the big cities not far from this destination, you can then take a tourist bus to the entrance to Mount Wutai.<\/p>\n

Leaving from Xinzhou, once you reach one of the two stations or the airport, you could also get to your destination by taxi (generally in unauthorized cars), but the price is rather high, or take a bus in the direction of Mount Wutai (certainly the cheapest option), parked outside.<\/p>\n

Traveling by car, if you have the chance, probably remains the most comfortable option. From the center of Taiyuan gas costs about 300 Yuan per car, to which you have to add the cost of the highway (usually free during national holidays). The trip takes about three full hours, depending on the traffic.<\/p>\n

What to see on Mount Wutai<\/h2>\n

Arriving at Mount Wutai, you’ll have various options to choose from. If you want to completely see the mountains in all its aspects, you’ll need at least two or three days. Stopping for just a day you’ll probably only have time for one of the following options.<\/p>\n

The temples<\/h3>\n

Wutaishan is, as was already said, closely tied to the Buddhist religion, being considered the first of the four sacred mountains of this religion. There are nine main temples that can be visited:<\/p>\n