Shrine of Buddhism

Mount Wutai	Mount Wutai

Mount Wutai is located in Wutai County in Shanxi Province, about 120 kilometers north of the city of Taiyuan. It consists of five platform-shaped peaks, of which, the highest, at 3,058 meters above sea level, is called the "roof of North China." The weather here is cold and the peaks are snowcapped all year round. The slopes are thickly forested.
Legend says that a Manjusri (Bodhisattva of Wisdom) visited this mountain and decided to stay. Being the most famous of the four mountains in China that are sacred to Buddhists, Mt Wutai draws pilgrims from China and other Asian countries to come and pay homage. The first monasteries and shrines built on the mountain date back to the first century A.D. During the Tang Dynasty, when Buddhism enjoyed its zenith, there were more than 360 monasteries and shrines housing over two thousand monks and nuns. There are now forty-seven operating monasteries with over a hundred monks and nuns.