In recent time, we wrote about a lot of travel destination like Jiuzhaigou, Leshan or Kangding while doing your internship in China. But the area around Chengdu has of course a lot of more destinations. Today, we will write about another famous place in Sichuan called Emeishan (峨眉山).
Emeishan is a mountain with more than 3000 meters height located to the south of Chengdu. In its historical and religious meaning, Emeishan is one of the four sacred mountains of the Buddhism and a base of Chinese martial arts. According to a Buddhist legend, the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra was flying to the top of the mountain on a white three-headed elephant. Today, you can admire the 48 meters high golden statue of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra on the top of the mountain, which is the biggest golden Buddha statue in the world. Besides the golden statue, there are several Buddhist temples spread on the whole mountain side.
But Emeishan is not only famous for its golden Buddha statue, but also for its wild monkeys. And to be honest, they are very cheeky beasts. When you want to watch them, better hide your food as they won’t hesitate to steal it out of your hands and will become even very aggressive, if you try to keep it. The author of this article got the feeling, that all of these bamboo canes, which are sold at the mountain side by different traders are not only intended as a climbing assist, but also as a useful tool to keep cheeky monkeys on distance.
If you want to go from Chengdu to Emeishan, you will only need about one hour with the high-speed train. The fee for the train ticket is only about 70 RMB. There is also the option, to take the bus. The entrance for the mountain will cost about 150 RMB. If you have a student card, you can get the entrance for half of the price.
If you want to completely climb the mountain, you will probably need about 2 – 3 days depending on how fit and fast you are. On the mountain side, you can either sleep in one of the hotels or spend the night in one of the temples for a very reasonable price. If you made it until the top of the mountain, you will be rewarded with a breathtaking view to the cloud sea beneath your feed and a selfie with the golden Buddha statue.
If you don’t have too much time or just be too lazy to walk, you can also consider to take the bus to the near of the top of the mountain. From the bus station, there is still some way to go to the top, which can take you a few hours or even half of the day, if there are too much people on the path. If you don’t want to climb the small path or if you have too less time left, before it’s getting dark, you can also take the cable car between the bus and the top of the mountain up or down for an extra fee.
You should also think about taking some different kind of suitable clothes, as the climate and the temperatures will change depending on your height. While it can be very hot at the feed of the mountain with nearly jungle like vegetation, it will be very cold on the top with snow fall. And please also consider not going during the Chinese holidays. You can learn more about the reason in this article.
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