3 Days Mount Emei Buddhist Pilgrimage Tour
Seeking Brightness and Happiness
Seeking Brightness and Happiness
Known as one of China’s Four Sacred Buddhist Mountain and the ashram for Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (the place of enlightenment), Mount Emei has been a lodestone to Buddhist pilgrims for centuries. It played a vital role during the development of Buddhism in China. It is said the Buddhism was introduced into China in the 1st century CE via the Silk Road from India to Mount Emei, and the first Buddhist temple in China was built at the Golden Summit of Mount Emei, and then the Buddhism spread widely through the East.
This 3 days Buddhism itinerary, with Buddhist essence of Mount Emei covered, is especially designed for Buddhist followers or travelers who are interested Chinese Buddhism. You will firstly pay a pilgrimage to the World Heritage Site Leshan Giant Buddha – a huge statue of Maitreya Buddha, and then explore most spiritual Buddhist temples (like Baoguo Temple, Fuhu Temple, Qingyin Pavilion, Huazang Temple, etc.) hidden in lush forest of Mount Emei. Beyond its rich Buddhist heritage, Mount Emei also perches on the edge of Himalayan Kingdoms which make it a land of diversity. The stunning natural scenery will be an added bonus during your sacred journey among these Buddhist sites.
China Discovery's exclusive offer: we can make an appointment with the abbot of Huazang Temple at Golden Summit to open a lecture of Buddhism for you if the abbot is available. If you want to experience the lecture, you are required to make early booking and leave us at least a month to prepare.
Day 1 Chengdu - Leshan - Mount Emei (L)
Highlights of today: Leshan Giant Buddha, Dofo Temple
In the morning, you will be picked up at your hotel, and then be driven about 2 hours from Chengdu to pay a pilgrimage to the 1300-year-old and 71-meter-tall Leshan Giant Buddha which is the world's largest and tallest stone-carved statue of Buddha. This magnificent statue, depicting a seated Maitreya Buddha, as constructed to calm the turbulent waters that plagued the shipping vessels and killed many people each year in ancient time. The construction started in 723 AD, led by a monk called Hai Tong. It took 90 years to finish the project. On the right cliff of the Giant Buddha, there is a plank road built along with the Giant Buddha. From the top to foot, the plank road has nine turns, thus it's called Nine Bends Plank Road. The widest part of the road is 1.45m and the narrowest part is only 0.6m, and there are 217 stone steps in total. You will walk down to the feet of the Giant Buddha for a closer worship.
After the Leshan Giant Buddha Visit, you will drive about a half hour to Emeishan and pay a religious homage to Dafo Temple, which holds various religious ceremonies to pray for individual health, social property and peace of the world every year. It is usually the first stop of many Mount Emei Buddhist trips. This temple has three areas, including Buddhist Worship area, Garden Area and Buddhist Education Area, combing the function of Buddhist educating, Buddhist research and promoting Buddhism. Spend some time worshiping the Buddha here in the temple, then drive to check in your hotel.
Note: These ceremonies usually take place in China's traditional festivals and Buddhist holy days, like the birthday, enlightenment day, and renunciation day of Buddha. Visiting Emei Mountain in the below listed date (based on Chinese Lunar calendar) gives you a bigger chance to join in a Buddhist ceremony:
Jan. 1 — Birthday of Maitreya Buddha & Chinese New Year Jan.15 - Chinese Lantern Festival Feb. 8 — Renunciation Day of Sakyamuni Buddha Feb. 15 — Mahāparinirvāṇa Day of Sakyamuni Buddha Feb. 19 — Birthday of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Feb. 21 — Birthday of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva April 4 — Birthday of Manjusri Bodhisattva April 8— Birthday of Sakyamuni Buddha June 19 — Enlightenment Day of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva July 30 — Birthday of Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha Sep. 19 — Renunciation Day of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Sep. 30 — Birthday of Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha Nov. 17 — Birthday of Amitabha Buddha Dec. 18— Chinese Laba Festival
UNESCO World Heritage Site - Leshan Giant Buddha
Day 2 Mount Emei Pilgrimage (B, L)
Highlights of today: Baoguo Temple, Fuhu Temple, Qingyin Pavilion
This morning after breakfast, meet your tour guide and set out for Mount Emei pilgrimage. After the first Buddhist temple in China was built at the Golden Summit of Mount Emei, there has been up to 30 Buddhist temples established in different locations of the mountain over the centuries. Today you are going to worship four of the most influential temples of Mount Emei.
You will firstly visit Baoguo Temple, the biggest temple of Mount Emei at the mountain foot. It has several serene gardens with rare plants, a library of sutras and a huge porcelain Buddha. Another famous historical relic in the temple is the 25-ton bronze Bell, reputedly as the second largest bell in China. While traveling deeper into the temple, you will enjoy different views of Mount Emei. After Baoguo Temple, you will visit another famous temple – Fuhu Temple which is the largest nunnery in Mount Emei. Don't miss Arhat Hall which houses a magnificent four-face Buddha statue of the Arya Avalokiteshvara (Goddess of Mercy), surrounded by 500 Buddhist Arhats, all sculpted according to different traditional Chinese Buddhist figures. The 7-meter-high Huayan Pagoda is a must-see of Fuhu Temple as well. This copper pagoda is stamped with over 4,700 small Buddhist figures and inscribed with complete version of the Avatamsaka Sutra. Continue your journey and your next stop is Shenshui Pavilion where you can find many inscriptions from the poets and literary men. After that, hike to Qingyin Pavilion which is named after the natural music of the waters flowing around the rock formation. Qingqin Pavilion acts as the symbol of traditional Buddhist Garden and show the harmony between human and nature.
After worshiping these holy temples, you will take an Eco-bus back to tourist center and return to your hotel.
Day 3 Mount Emei - Chengdu (B, L)
Highlights of today: Golden Summit, Huazang Temple
After breakfast, You will first take your private car to the tourist center, then shift on to an Eco-Bus which will take you up to the mountain top area in 1.5~2 hours. Once you reach at Leidongping (2400m), keep on walking about 30mins along stone steps to the cable car station, along which you will have chance to see the wild monkeys. Take a cable car (about 5mins) up to the Golden Summit (3077m) which is the biggest highlight and very essence of Mount Emei. Once you get to the Golden Summit, the first view appearing in front of you is a towering multi-faced golden statue (48m) of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Next to the golden statue sits the bronze Huazang Temple which is the first temple established on Mount Emei whose history can be traced back to 1st century CE. You can stroll around the Golden Summit to explore Buddhist architecture and tradition, and enjoy panoramic view of Mount Emei and surrounding. In clear days, you can even see the snow-clad of Mount Gongga (7556m), Asia’s largest table mountain - Wawu Mountain and winding rivers flowing through Emeishan city. If weather permits, you will have luck to enjoy its magnificent wonder of Cloud Sea.
China Discovery's exclusive offer: we can make an appointment with the abbot of Huazang Temple to open a lecture of Buddhism for you if the abbot is available. If you want to experience the lecture, you are required to make early booking and leave us at least a month to prepare.
Lastly, take a cable car back to Leidongping and take an Eco-bus to Wannian Temple Parking. Hike about 30mins to Wannian Temple, one of the six earliest Buddhist temples on Mount Emei. Built in East Jin Dynasty (265-420), this temple is sacred for housing a 7.35-metre (24.1 ft) high statue of Samantabhadra Buddha and three Buddhist treasures: the Wanli Golden Seal, tooth relic of the Buddha and palm leaf manuscript. After the worship, take a cable car down the mountain, then shift on to the eco-bus to the tourist center. Your driver is ready to transfer you back to Chengdu or to catch your flight/train to next destination.
Note: There are also several sacred Buddhist sites to worship in Chengdu, such as Wenshu Temple, Daci Temple, Zhaojue Temple and Baoguang Temple, etc.Feel free to contact us to extend your itinerary.
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in 4-star hotel and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
2. This price is subject to change according your traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities in your itinerary and possible fluctuation of currency exchange rate. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
3. This price is only valid to March 31, 2025.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1=RMB 6.85. The final quote is based on current exchange rate. It may change according to the currency fluctuation, while the RMB quotation will be remained the same.
Hi Mr Wang,
Thanks! I had a weekend away to Xi’an, China to celebrate my birthday. It was an exciting weekend and it was certainly something off the beaten trail for most of my friends. The itinerary you have suggested provided good coverage of the city’s rich history. From the fascinating Terracotta Army to the City Walls to the sacred Mount Hua, to the Muslim Quarter to the Drum & Bell Towers, there’s an interesting story from every historical era in Xi’an. I managed to hike up Mount Hua from North Peak to West Peak, but I didn’t get to do the dangerous plank walk as it was closed.
The hotel Eastern House was very accessible too with food places within steps and its proximity to the Drum Tower is a plus. The room was very clean and comfortable.
At this point, I have to quickly mention our amazing tour guide Betty Jiao Yan who was assigned to us as part of our private tour package. She made our time feel so very special and I wonder if Xi'an would have been as awesome without her. She had such a positive and caring nature and when we had to say goodbye, we felt very sad. It was strange to miss a guide after only knowing her for 5 days! Luckily we still keep in touch on WeChat. Our driver Mr Ma was very polite, punctual and accommodating, making our travel a pleasant experience
Anne
Hi Jack,
Thanks. The Harbin and Snow Town trip was excellent and very enjoyable. We are now in Japan skiing, and will send our feedback upon our return on 31st Jan.
Best wishes
Leong
Hi Rita,
From my end, everything is remarkable! Jane is amazing! She really make us feel welcome.
All the hotels were amazing too! My parents also very impressed.
I will definitely reaching out again, next time when I visit China. There’s many more places I want to visit.
Best regards,
Jefry
Dear Rita,
We are home. Thanks for arranging this nice trip. Everything worked out nicely except the smoking room problem in Chengde.
Thanks again.
John
Hi Rita,
In response to your enquiries, we had a wonderful experience with the tour arrangements in both Guilin and Yangshuo. Both the tour guide and driver were very professional and handled the arrangements well.
I am surely recommending any friends or relatives who are interested in travelling to China in future to use China Discovery. Also, will be looking at other destinations for ourselves too.
Thanks once again for the wonderful experience.
Kwan
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UNESCO World Heritage Site - Leshan Giant Buddha
Baoguo Temple at the foot of Mount Emei
Elegant beauty of the Double Flying Bridges at Qingying Pavilion
Pilgrims whorshiped Samantabhadra Bodhisattva in Golden Summit
Wannian Temple in March
Stunning scenery of Cloud Sea on Golden Summit
Chengdu / Leshan / Mt. Emei / Chengdu
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