Wanghai Temple

Sunrise at the Wanghai Peak of Mount Wutai, Shanxi province [Photo/wutaishan.city.sohu.com]

Wanghai Temple sits 2,996 meters above sea level on the Eastern Peak of Mount Wutai, in Shanxi province. Its name translates as "watching the sea" because of the splendid view of Bohai from the temple.

It goes back to the beginning of the Sui Dynasty (581-618), when the Yang Jian emperor dispatched a minister to have a Buddhist temple built here on Wutai. Then, in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) it was rebuilt, and in the Ming Dynasty (1368－1644), the Great Master Qiu Yue presided over another restoration project. So, it was rebuilt repeatedly throughout its history in taking on its look today.

This is a great place to enjoy some splendid views from Wanghai Tower, the highest part of the temple, from which a person can see as far as Fuping county, in Hebei province, and the Bohai Sea in Shandong province. The current tower was rebuilt in 1985 under the guidance of the Great Master Ben Ru, abbot of the temple, with funding from the local government. The original three-layered tower, 16 meters tall, had been destroyed.

The temple is a wonderful place from which to watch the sunrise, one of the mountain's greatest natural wonders, and something that attracts large numbers of Buddhist followers and visitors, while being surrounded by a sea of clouds.

In recent years, the temple has added more Buddhist materials, for example, a statue of Manjusri, the god of knowledge, which was acquired in 1998.