The cable car ride up to the summit of Mount Emei is truly scenic. I can say it is one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. But that is not only what Mount Emei has to offer. There is a bunch of temples on top. Immediately obvious to the visitor is the huge golden statue ten-direction Buddha statue. Incidentally, it is also the highest in the world. It is a wonder how the Chinese have managed to construct this statue way up here.
To the right of the ten direction Buddha statue, is the Golden Summit Temple 金顶. As the name implies, the Golden Summit Temple is indeed golden. The golden roof of the temple shines like the sun, reflecting a wonderous golden color. We are lucky that we are above the clouds, the sky is now a nice shade of blue, it seems I haven’t seen the sky so blue in a long, long time. Visitors need to be careful, although it is still cold on top of the mountain and the sun isn’t hot at all, the sun can still cause sunburn, so it is best to have protection like sun block or protective clothing.
Right in front of the Golden Summit Temple is a rack of candles where worshippers offer their prayers and incense sticks. It only serves to remind me that the Chinese people are still a religious lot despite the prosperity that they have attained.
Just across the Golden Summit Temple is the Silver Temple. And just like the aptly named Golden Summit Temple it is a silver colored temple house Buddhist artifacts. More people were at the Golden Summit Temple though.
Around the temple areas are patches of snow still left, with the sun shining like that, it won’t be long before it all melts away. At least it is not hot here. It feels kind of funny because I normally associate the shining sun with heat but here on top of the mountain, I am shivering from the cold. Actually, I wasn’t really that prepared for the cold up here. I only brought along a jacket I bought from Hong Kong, and I wasn’t sure whether the jacket can stand up against the cold. Fortunately, it was effective in blocking out the cold wind, so although I wasn’t warm, at least I wasn’t freezing, except for my hands and face.
This is really turning out to be a great destination. I’m surprised the there aren’t too many foreigners here on Mount Emei. Then again, the hordes of Chinese tourists are already quite a handful for me.
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