Éméi

Mount Emei rises above the western edge of the Sichuan Basin, its forested slopes and cloud-covered heights among the great sacred landscapes of Chinese Buddhism. Temples and pavilions are scattered up the mountain. At Wannian Temple stands a great bronze image of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, cast in the tenth century and associated with the mountain's long religious tradition.

Monasteries continued to be built and renewed during the Ming and Qing. Baoguo Temple dates from the early seventeenth century, while the halls, pavilions and paths of the mountain received pilgrims making their way towards its higher sanctuaries, through a landscape of temples and ancient religious sites. The ascent passed through changing forests and steep valleys before reaching the mist and light of the summit.