Blogs from Wutaishan, Shanxi, China, Asia

Wutai Shan, one of China’s sacred Buddhist mountain ranges. The range is dedicated to the Manjusri Buddha, the Buddha of wisdom. After a fairly uneventful but beautiful journey (other than the driver overtaking on blind mountain road bends at high speed!), we paid the steep entrance fee to the area, much more expensive than our Rough Guide said it was! Nevertheless the scenery was stunning and we were excited about visiting all the temples and perhaps seeing some monks going about their daily business. On arrival, we were met by numerous hotel touts and picked one at random, which turned out to be ok. Basic, but clean and right in the centre of everything. We immediately went exploring even though the heavens had opened (it rained for the whole 3 days we were there!) however it ... read more

This was one of the most interesting, most honest, and most strange experiences I have yet had in China. Walking down the wet road, between the rolling valley walls sweltering green in their perspirated state, lightning ripping through the grey sky, thunder rumbling, I make my way to my exit--I am leaving the Holy Buddhist Center, that ring of high, flat, temple-laden, spirit-filled mountains called Wu Tai Shan. A taxi pulls over, and offers a reasonable 10 yuan fee to the bus station. I get in, but the ride would eventually become "mianfei" free of charge. We sit there, and the man, in his late twenties, a nice looking, polished, muscular, Chinese man with black glasses, tells me that he is studying Buddhism. Oh, I say, that is interesting, me too. "Why do you study Buddhism?" ... read more

The Hanging Temple and Monastery in Shanxi Province was both remarkable in its construction and awe-inspiring in its location. It is literally built into the side of a cliff. The monks chose the site and the elevation to protect the temple from floods. Our bus was caught in a traffic jam of coal trucks, so our guide asked if we minded walking down a dry riverbed for a mile or so to come to the parking lot and entrance for the Hanging Monastery and Temple. We were game for the walk, not letting a traffic jam deter us, and hiked to our destination. The views out of the temple encompass a large dam to the right and miles of rocky mountains and dry riverbeds to the left. The hallways and passages in the temple itself are ... read more

We kwamen te Wutaishan binnen vanuit Yingxian. De weg was nogal hobbelig en liep door 2 gebergteketens. Onderweg betaal je 90Y (45Y voor 65-plussers) inkom voor Wutaishan Scenic Area. We verbleven te Taihuai, het toeristische en historische centrum van de Wutaishan. Het ligt op 1700m in een dal tussen de 5 bergtoppen. Het was er begin oktober nogal fris ’s morgens en ’s avonds (8 à 13°C), maar er was verwarming op de kamer. Vanuit Taihuai kan je heel wat tempels te voet bereiken, en kan je via een centrale taxidienst naar de meer afgelegen tempels gaan. Het dorp/stadje heeft een speciale atmosfeer met zijn vele tempels, kloosters, monniken, hotelletjes en restaurantjes. Wegens tijdsgebrek vonden we de vertrekplaats van de bussen niet, en lieten ons een bustiket naar Taiyuan verkopen in een restaurantje. We betaalden 70Y ... read more