Mount Emei is one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism, rising from about 500 metres on the edge of the Sichuan Basin to 3,099 metres at Wanfo Ding. Dedicated to the bodhisattva Samantabhadra (Puxian), it has been a pilgrimage mountain since the early centuries CE and, together with the Leshan Giant Buddha, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996.
- UNESCO World Heritage (mixed) · 1996
- Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains
- National scenic area · 1982
Key facts
Overview
Emei is a pilgrimage mountain first and a scenic mountain second. Its paths climb some 2,500 metres through subtropical evergreen forest, mixed broadleaf woods and subalpine fir to a summit plateau that ends in a sheer cliff on its western side. Along the way lie dozens of monasteries, many still active, where pilgrims and walkers have stayed for centuries.
The mountain is the bodhimanda — the seat of teaching — of Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva of practice, who is shown riding a white elephant. It stands with Wutai Shan (Manjushri), Putuo Shan (Guanyin) and Jiuhua Shan (Ksitigarbha) as one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism.
How the landscape formed
Emei is a fault-block mountain lifted along the western rim of the Sichuan Basin, where the basin meets the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Its summit cliffs are built of basalt from the Emeishan Traps, a vast outpouring of lava about 260 million years ago that geologists named after the mountain and link to a mass extinction at the end of the Middle Permian. Below the basalt lie limestones and older granites, cut by deep valleys. Because the mountain rises abruptly from the humid basin, it traps cloud: the summit is shrouded for much of the year, and above the cloud layer the famous sea of clouds forms.
Highlights
Golden Summit
金顶
The 3,079-metre summit terrace with the Huazang Temple, a gilded bronze hall and the 48-metre Ten-Directional Samantabhadra statue.
Ten Thousand Buddha Summit
万佛顶
The highest point of the mountain at 3,099 metres, reached by a monorail or on foot from the Golden Summit.
Buddha's glory
佛光
A rainbow halo around one's own shadow on the cloud below the summit cliff (a glory, or Brocken spectre), long taken as a sign of the bodhisattva.
Sea of clouds
云海
The cloud layer seen from above at the summit, with the snow peaks of Gongga on the western horizon on clear days.
Pure Sound Pavilion
清音阁
Pavilion and bridges where two streams meet around the Ox Heart Stone on the lower mountain.
Elephant Bathing Pool
洗象池
Temple on a ridge at about 2,070 metres where, in legend, Samantabhadra's elephant bathed.
Plants and wildlife
Because it spans more than 2,500 metres of altitude at the meeting point of several biogeographic zones, Emei is one of the richest mountains in China for plants, with more than 3,200 recorded species, and many are found nowhere else. Forest cover is continuous from the foothills to the summit.
Plants
Dove tree
珙桐
Davidia involucrata, a relict tree whose white bracts hang like doves in spring.
Rhododendrons
杜鹃
Dozens of species flower along the upper paths from April to June.
Subalpine fir forest
冷杉
Dark fir woods draped in lichen cover the slopes below the summit.
Wildlife
Tibetan macaque
藏酋猴
Large, bold monkeys that live along the middle paths and are used to taking food from walkers.
Emei music frog
仙琴蛙
A frog known for its zither-like call, heard around the pools of Wannian Temple.
Emei Shan liocichla
峨眉噪鹛
A small babbler endemic to the mountains of south-west Sichuan.
Culture and legend
Legend dates Buddhism on Emei to the first century, when a herb-gatherer named Pu Gong followed the tracks of a deer and saw Samantabhadra. Temples multiplied from the Tang dynasty onward, and the mountain became a meeting place of Buddhism and Daoism, for which it was earlier a sacred site. It also gave its name to the Emei school of martial arts, and its tea — Zhuyeqing, grown on the lower slopes — is well known.
蜀国多仙山，峨眉邈难匹。Shǔguó duō xiān shān, Éméi miǎo nán pǐ.
“The land of Shu has many mountains of the immortals, but none can match distant Emei.”
— Li Bai, “Climbing Mount Emei” (登峨眉山), c. 720s
Baoguo Temple
报国寺
The gateway temple at the foot of the mountain, rebuilt in the Qing dynasty.
Fuhu Temple
伏虎寺
Nunnery in the forest near Baoguo, named after the “subdued tiger” of legend.
Wannian Temple
万年寺
Home of the bronze Samantabhadra on a white elephant cast in 980, in a domed brick hall built without beams.
Huazang Temple
华藏寺
The temple on the Golden Summit.
History
1st century CE (legend)
Pu Gong's vision of Samantabhadra
The founding legend of Buddhism on the mountain.
Tang dynasty (618–907)
Monasteries spread up the mountain
Emei becomes established as the bodhimanda of Samantabhadra.
980
Bronze Samantabhadra cast for Wannian Temple
The Song court's commission is the oldest large bronze on the mountain.
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Height of temple building
Imperial patronage and pilgrim donations raised dozens of monasteries along the pilgrim route.
1982
National scenic area
Listed in the first group of national key scenic areas of China.
1996
UNESCO World Heritage
Inscribed with the Leshan Giant Buddha as a mixed cultural and natural site.
2006
Ten-Directional Samantabhadra completed
The gilded statue on the Golden Summit became the mountain's landmark.
Through the seasons
Spring
Mild and misty on the lower mountain; rhododendrons and dove trees flower from April, while the summit can still see snow.
Summer
The wettest season, with frequent cloud and rain, but the summit stays cool; the best time for the sea of clouds and Buddha's glory in the afternoons.
Autumn
Clearer skies and autumn colour from October, the most comfortable season for the two-day walk.
Winter
Snow and ice on the upper mountain from December; the summit is cold and paths need care, but clear winter mornings bring the longest views to the Gongga range.
Routes and ways in
The pilgrim route on foot
From Baoguo Temple via Qingyin Pavilion, Hongchunping, Xixiang Pool and Leidongping to the Golden Summit: stone steps all the way, usually walked over two days with a night in a monastery or guesthouse.
Bus and cable car
Sightseeing buses climb the mountain road to Leidongping; from Jieyindian a cable car rises to the Golden Summit. Many visitors ride up and walk down part of the route.
Wannian cable car
Links the lower mountain with Wannian Temple, allowing a shorter walk on the middle section.
Practical notes
- The summit is more than 2,500 metres higher than the foot of the mountain and is often 15 °C colder: warm and waterproof layers are needed in every season.
- Cloud can close in within minutes; the Buddha's glory and the sunrise both depend on luck.
- The macaques are wild animals that bite and snatch bags; keep food out of sight and do not feed them.
- Mount Emei is administered by the county-level city of Emeishan within Leshan prefecture; the Leshan Giant Buddha is about 30 km away.
Cities to start from
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Leshan Municipal People's Government — Leshan Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Mount Emei — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More mountains and nature in Sichuan
- Nature reserve · 6,032 mDaocheng Yading稻城亚丁Three sacred snow peaks of the Tibetan borderlands
- National parkGiant Panda National Park大熊猫国家公园One park for the panda's mountains across three provinces
- GlacierHailuogou Glacier海螺沟A glacier on Gongga's eastern flank that ends in forest
- Nature reserve · 5,588 mHuanglong黄龙Terraced travertine pools below the snows of Xuebaoding
- Nature reserve · 4,752 mJiuzhaigou九寨沟Turquoise lakes and travertine falls in the Minshan mountains
- Mountain · 7,556 mMount Gongga (Minya Konka)贡嘎山The highest peak of Sichuan and the eastern Tibetan Plateau's rim
- Sacred mountainMount Qingcheng青城山The secluded green mountain where Daoism took root
- Mountain · 6,250 mMount Siguniang四姑娘山Four snow peaks above the valleys of the Qionglai range