Wutai Mountain(Five Terrace Mountain)

 

On June 26, 2009, Wutai Mountain (Five Terrace Mountain) was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List during the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee in Seville, Spain. UNESCO commented Mt. Wutai was a sacred Buddhist mountain. Wutai Mountain is located in the northeast of Shanxi province, which belongs to the north part of Taihang Mountains. It is one of the four great Buddhist Mountains. The other three are Putuo Mountain in Zhejiang, Emei Mountain in Sichuan and Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui.

 

The buildings on Wutai Mountain present a catalogue of the way Buddhist architecture developed and influenced palace building in China over more than one millennium. Mount Wutai, literally, the five terrace mountain, is the highest mountain in northern China and is remarkable for its morphology characterized by precipitous sides with five open treeless peaks. Temples have been built on the site since the 1st century AD to the early 20th century.

Wutai Mountain is the highest mountain in northern China. The lowest point is only 624 meter and highest one is 3061 meters. The climate of Wutai Mountain is very cold. The annual average temperature is only minus 4 degrees. The hottest months are July and August, but the average temperature just 9 degrees. Hence, if you are going to visit this mountain, cold-resistance preparation will be necessary

It is cold in winter and cool in summer, so it is also called Qingliangshan Mountain, which is currently a famous tourism destination featuring of natural landscape, historical relics, ancient architectures, Buddhist culture, folk customs and summer resort. It was awarded to be national key places of interest, and one of the ten most famous mountains in China. It is also the national natural and cultural heritage. It is now the national five-A tour area.

Wutai Buddhist Mountain is a world-famous Buddhist holy-land. It is the home of Wenxu Bodhisattva. Famous as its time-honored history in temple establishment and the large scale, it is crowned as the first place of the four greatest Buddhist Mountains, generally called Golden Wutai Holy-Land. It is also famous in Burma, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. The temples of Wutai Mountain was built in 57（in East Han Dynasty of China）In Tang dynasty, due to the boom of Wenshu-Bodhisattva Belief, there were 360 temples on the mountains. 

The famous festivals include: Tiaobuzha around 15th June by lunar calendar. This festival is originated from Tibet; it is one of the most important Buddhist ceremonies in Wutai Mountain. The day before the festival, the Lama monks in temples began reading or reciting the sutra and having a Jinggang(金刚) dance for cracking down the ghosts on the Bodhisattva Summit. On the 15th, June, hundreds of monks walk along the streets. The front is kept a Bodhisattva Statue, the most respectable monk takes the sedan and two lama monks ride horses. The rest play the Buddhist music to go to the ceremonial place, Luomuhou Temple for God-Dancing. On the 16th, they kill ghosts on the Bodhisattva Peak. Also in June each year, the Mule-Horse Fair is holden, this is another grand festival each year, many large Buddhist ceremonies is available; many folk cultural performances are also attracting many people from different areas. During this time, businessmen have the deal with one another for mule and horse business.