Mount Emei, Chengdu

At the base of the mountain, there were many sculptures carved into the red rock - they were really beautiful and there's walkways leading to more sculptures, chinese architecture and museums with beautiful tales - it felt like a prehistoric dig at times within this museum. We didn't pay and are unsure whether you had to or not but noone asked us to we just visited.

It is believed that the legend of Kung Fu created by the monks was born out of Mt Emei and there's Kung Fu statues along the walkway to view.

Mt Emei is really a charming little town - a main entrance with one main drag really where vehicles go up and down to the mountain's entrance. The main street is filled with lanterns and it is so lovely in the evenings when it's all lit up. The spa is located on the main street also - all within easy walking distance and the hostels/hotels are all in the side streets where little to no traffic enters just motorbikes!!

There's not a whole lot to do there except for the mountain climb which we had to cancel due to the very wet weather and the spas - but you need time for all these activities.

We'd planned to climb Mt Emei but due to the very wet weather it was advised that we should not attempt this and as we were approx 500kms from where the earthquake hit China in April - it seemed like the Country was on high alert with army trucks everywhere.

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Located south of Chengdu is Mt Emei, a UNESCO world natural and cultural heritage site and one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains. The mountains are frequently covered by layers of cloud which disperse in all directions when the wind blows and the mountains appear like small islands floating in an ocean of clouds. Mt. Emei is a place rich in Buddhist heritage, which has made it an influential sacred place in China. There are exquisite statues of Buddha made of clay, wood, jade, bronze and porcelain.
The mysterious charm of Mt Emei is best appreciated at the Golden Summit (Jinding). At an altitude of 3077m, the view is spectacular with the ever changing cloud formation blending with the verdent greenery of the mountains as Buddhist temples emit incense and religious chants.

You can hike, experience a meterological woner (if you're really lucky), and visit temples all situated within Mt E-mei. See Mt Emei travelogue for the "wonder".

This is usually part of package tours to Chengdu, and can be covered within one full day.

So instead we visited the museum at the base of Mt Emei - this was free entry - or if not noone asked us for payment - it was very interesting and all in Chinese but beautiful nonetheless.

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