The peak of Chinese Buddhism

Mount Emei, 127 kilometres from Sichuan’s capital of Chengdu, is one of Chinese Buddhism’s four sacred mountains. The others are Wutai in Shanxi province, Jiuhua in Anhui and Putuo in Zhejiang province. Buddhism reached the mountain about 2,000 years ago, and Emei, with its 30 monasteries, now draws Buddhist pilgrims from across China and around the world.

The 1,612-year-old Wannian Temple, perched 1,020 metres above sea level, is the oldest place of worship on the mountain. It also houses its most sacred shrine, dedicated to the mountain’s patron, Bodhisattva Puxian (or Samantabhadra).  The square brick hall topped with a stupa-like dome is home to a magnificent bronze statue of Puxian and his mount, a six-tusked elephant with its feet resting on lotuses.

Wannian Temple has been ravaged by at least three big fires since Puxuan’s statue, one of Emei’s best-known, was installed here in the 10th century. But the fires left the 62-tonne statue untouched.

During a recent visit, I saw scores of Buddhists from Jiaxing in Zhejiang kneeling in front of the temple and reading scriptures advocating compassion for all living beings. Taking a clue from the Buddha’s teachings, I shifted my gaze from humans to other living beings and was enraptured by the beauty of a rare species of frog and two monkeys.

Wannian Temple and its surroundings are home to a rare kind of frog whose croaks sound like the notes of a zither. According to local legend, four beautiful fairies drawn to the temple by the enlightening preachings of an eminent monk were transformed into the frogs. I was lucky enough to hear the frogs “singing” in a pond full of lotus blossoms.

Just as I was about to leave, two monkeys appeared on the roof of a building opposite the pond, greeted by “oohs” and “aahs” and the furious  clicking of tourists’ cameras. The excited creatures began jumping up and down, breaking roof tiles, while the the house owner fetched a long bamboo pole to drive them away.

Monkeys on Mount Emei are notorious for robbing tourists of their food. That’s why locals often advise visitors to show their empty palms to the simians to avoid being attacked. But most tourists prefer to offer food.

Emei is a poetic term for “beautiful women” in Chinese. Spread over 154 square kilometres and named Unesco World Heritage in 1996, the peak offers a panoramic view of Mother Nature that changes throughout the year. In spring, its azaleas are brilliantly red. In summer, lush trees and grass paint it green. In autumn, the mountain is a riot of colours, the green, yellow, orange and red of the trees mingling with the blue of the sky. And in winter, it becomes a dazzling-white wonderland, with the ancient temples, trees and mountain slopes covered in snow.

The same landscape also boasts the Giant Buddha of Leshan, which is close by on the pilgrim trail  at Lingyun Hill, east of Leshan City.

“Snow usually lasts until April,” says Wang Yu, a frequent visitor. But since winter offers more clear days, it is the best season to see the “Buddha’s Halo”, the mountain’s most celebrated natural phenomenon.

But only the lucky few see the rainbow-like rings that surround and move with your shadow against the background of the Golden Summit, 3,077 metres above the sea level. In past times, devoted pilgrims are said to have interpreted the phenomenon as a call from beyond and jumped off the Cliff of Self-Sacrifice on the Golden Summit.

Believers may no longer be leaping into the afterlife at the sight of the “halo”, but even sceptics consider it a blessing to see one.

Be warned, though, that despite travel guides claiming you can see all four “wonders” – the Buddha’s Halo, Sea of Clouds, the Holy Lamp and the Golden Summit Sunrise – during a single visit to Emei, it is rarely possible. But even if you witness one of the four, consider your trip a grand success.

And since no tour is complete without food, don’t forget to enjoy a mountain meal of bamboo shoots, bean curd and vegetables. Eating on sacred Emei is a vegetarian affair.

But “for 30 yuan [Bt160], you can eat ‘fish’ made from potatoes and ‘meat’ made from gourd in the temples, including Wannian,” says Liu Jinghua, a waiter in the vegetarian restaurant in a Wannian Temple.