Another day, another early start with a 7am departure for our next big adventure.

Today we spent the whole day exploring the landscape surrounding Emei Shan, one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains.

After our early departure we travelled by the park bus and then cable car (about 3hrs in total) to the Golden Summit.

The views from the 3,100m summit were truly spectacular helped by this being one of the very few days where conditions at the top provided us clear views of the Golden Summit, with the clouds sitting below.

We were able to experience the Wonders of Mount Emei: Buddha Light & Cloud Sea.

In addition you can also worship the highest golden Buddha in the world – the multi-faced golden statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, sitting at 50m in height. 

Mount Emei boasts breathtaking natural beauty, with its lush forests, cascading waterfalls, and diverse wildlife. The mountain is also home to numerous ancient temples, which hold great religious and cultural significance.

One of the most notable is the Baoguo Temple, which dates back over 1,000 years and houses precious Buddhist relics.

Pilgrims and tourists alike embark on a spiritual journey up the mountain, following ancient stone steps and winding paths.

Along the way, we encountered sacred sites including the Wannian Temple, known for its massive bronze statue of Puxian Bodhisattva, and the Golden Summit, the highest peak of Mount Emei.

This awe-inspiring statue, adorned in gold, symbolizes wisdom and compassion.

It is the highest peak of the mountain and holds great spiritual significance in Chinese Buddhism.

When we looked out from the summit all we could see were clouds, a not unfamiliar sight, with 325 days of the year experiencing almost permanent clouds with limited visibility. Thankfully we got to see the Golden Summit unhindered.

It’s currently high season in this part of China with lots of people on summer vacation and as a result the paths, cable car and road are all busy with Chinese tourists and religious pilgrims visiting the mountain and nearby monasteries.

After spending an hour on the summit taking in the views and visiting the various temples that have been erected, most in recent times, we started our descent.

By 1pm we were soon back in the park coach heading down the mountain for our lunch stop and thereafter the start of our mountain hike to our monastery hideaway where we will spending the night.

We popped into a local family restaurant for lunch and Oleg, our Russian representative, was soon ordering a spicy soup off the menu and within a few minutes his eyes were watering as a result!

Once watered and fed, we started our afternoon hike to one of the famous monastery’s in the mountains where we will have dinner and stay the night.

The views along the way were spectacular and we soon firmly in the mountain jungle along with other ‘pilgrims’ journeying our way up the many steps into the remote parts of Emei Shan.

Whilst we were fortunate to have the sunshine and avoid any rain, the humidity levels remained high and we were soon sweating and having to stop regularly for water refuelling.

The stops close to the river and nearby lake were spectacular. Being so quiet and serene, we felt honoured to be able to experience this part of rural China.

Whilst there were steep paths and no end of steps, the walk of 2hrs proved very enjoyable, made even more entertaining by the sight of Tibetan monkeys who are drawn to the paths by the chance of food.

Along the route we passed another monastery where other hikers, can stay the night and share their dinner with the resident monks.

Inscriptions and sculptures adorned one of the mountain walls we passed by on our way to the monastery.

As we ebbed ever closer to the end of the hike we snaked alongside the river, with ancient bridge crossings dating back over a 1,000yrs.

Despite the remote nature of the walkways, their upkeep and tidiness couldn’t be faulted and it wasn’t until we came across a family of monkeys close to the end of the hike that we understood the devastation they could cause.

Along the route were also a few small snack bars selling China’s favourite energy drink – Red Bull. The photo below shows the extent of their sales of RB over the last couple of days.

After 2hrs of walking the front group of Andy, Jamie and Laura made it to the entrance to the monastery, followed 2mins later by Michelle, and lastly by Chris and Oleg. A great effort given the heat and the amount of steps to be marched up.

Our monastery was a welcome sight and we quickly settled into lodging, before our dinner with the monks.

The vegetable & rice dinner was very well received despite the lack of choice, not surprisingly, given our hunger and keenness for sustenance.

After the active day, we said our goodnights to the rest of the group around 9.30pm, and within 30mins we were both fast asleep.