Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
front of the complex is a Yuan-dynasty
Confucius Temple
( Wen Miao; admis-
sion ¥10)
, with a beautiful three-tiered wooden pagoda.
Two direct buses (¥17, one hour, 8.50am and 1.10pm) leave from Pingyao's
bus station, returning at 12.40pm and 4pm. Regular buses go to Jiexiu ( ¥9, 40
minutes), where you can change to bus 11 (¥5, 40 minutes), which terminates
at the complex. The last bus back to Jiexiu leaves at 6pm.
Shuanglin Temple
Within easy reach of Pingyao, this
Buddhist temple
(Shuanglin Si; admission
¥40; 8.30am-6.30pm),
surrounded by cornfields, houses a number of rare,
intricately carved Song- and Yuan-era painted statues. The interiors of the
Sakyamuni Hall and flanking buildings are especially exquisite. A rickshaw or
taxi from town will cost ¥40 to ¥50 return, or you could cycle the 7km here (al-
though expect to swallow coal truck dust if you do).
WUTAI SHAN
0350
The gorgeous mountainous, monastic enclave of Wutai Shan (Five Terrace
Mountains) is Buddhism's sacred northern range and the earthly abode of
Manjusri ( Wenshu), the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. Chinese students sitting the
ferociously competitive
gaokao
(university entrance) exams troop here for a
nod from the learned Bodhisattva, proffering incense alongside saffron-robed
monks and octogenarian pilgrims. A powerful sense of the divine holds sway
in Wutai Shan, emanating from the port-walled monasteries - the principal
sources of spiritual power - and finding further amplification in the sublime
mountain scenery.
There's a steep ¥218 entrance fee for the area - including a mandatory ¥50
'sightseeing bus' ticket (
luyou guanguang chepiao
) for transport within the
area, which is valid for three days. Some of the more popular temples charge
an additional small entrance fee.
