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Mount Emei -- Sea of Clouds
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Mount Emei rises 3,099 meters above sea level in Emei County, 160 kilometers southwest of Chengdu. Its charming scenery has won it the name of "Emei, the Greatest Beauty under Heaven." It takes three hours of train ride to reach Mount Emei from Chengdu. Regular tourist bus and public bus services also make the trip from Chengdu easy and convenient. The Hongzhushan Hotel at the foot of the mountain is beautifully located and well-equipped with tourist services.
Mount Emei is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China. Samantbhadra, God of Universal Benevolence and disciple of Sakyamuni, was said to have lectured here. Most of the temples on Mount Emei have a statue of Samantbhadra at the shrine. There were once more than a hundred temples and monasteries on the mountain, but only about twenty remain today, including the following better-known ones: Devotion to the Country Temple (Baoguosi), Ten-Thousand-Year Temple (Wanniansi), and Immortal Peak Temple (Xianfengsi), and the temple at Elephant Bath Pond (Xixiangchi)
Devotion to the Country Temple at the foot of Mount Emei is the first scenic site visitors come upon on the mountain. The four-hall structure, built during the sixteenth century, is surrounded by a quiet and beautiful area.
The summit of Mount Emei commands a grand view of rolling mountain peaks, sometimes visible, sometimes emerging from the clouds like small islands in an enormous ocean. This is the famous "sea of clouds" view of mount Emei. Walking downhill from the summit for about three hours, you will come across Elephant Bath Pond. According to the old legend, Samantbhadra, Sakyamuni's disciple, once bathed his elephant in this pool before continuing his ascent of Mount Emei or, as others say, before flying to heaven on the elephant's back. Monkeys live in the vicinity; they often approach visitors to beg for food.
Immortal Peak Temple was built 1,700 meters above sea level on the slope of Mount Emei. Next to the temple is a big cave where, as the legend goes, the Yellow Emperor who was visiting the place met a white-haired old man who had a young face. The emperor asked him if he had any company, and the old man replied, yes, there are eight others in the cave. Since then, the cave has been called the Nine Elders Cave (Jiulaodong).
Five kilometers downhill from Immortal Peak Temple, there stands the Clear Sound Pavilion (Qingyinge), another well-known scenic site on Mount Emei. Below Clear Sound Pavilion, there are Double Flying Pavilion (Shuangfeige) and Double Flying bridge (Shuangfeiqiao). The nearby White Dragon Cave (Bailongdong) is said to have been the place where Lady Bai Suzhen, a legendary nymph who was originally a white snake but later became a beautiful girl, cultivated her magic skills.
Among the many beautiful plants on Mount Emei, there is the dove tree,, a rare species whose flowers look like butterflies or doves.
(china.org.cn)
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