Things To Do in Emei Shan

Emei Shan (tel. 028/8737-1405; www.ems517.com; Admission ¥150 [¥100 Dec 15-Jan 14], student discount ¥80; monasteries ¥6-¥10) has two main hiking routes to the Jin Ding summit, and two involving bus and/or cable car. Both hiking routes follow the same path from Baoguo Si (at the entrance) to Niuxin Ting. At Niuxin Ting, they split into a higher and a lower trail, which meet up again at Xi Xiang Chi, where they merge into a single path that leads to Jin Ding Peak. Since there are 80km (50 miles) of trails to the peak, a combination of hiking, buses, and cable car is recommended.

You can take a bus from Baoguo Si to Leidong Ping; from there, take a cable car to the top. Buses travel between Baoguo Si and Leidong Ping all day (golden weeks 5am-5pm; Nov-Apr 7am-4pm; and May-Oct 6:30am-5pm). The trip each way takes 2 hours and costs ¥70. The cable car runs the 500m (1,666-ft.) leg between the last parking lot, at Jieyin Dian (next to Leidong Ping), and Jin Ding (Golden Peak); ¥40 for the ascent, ¥30 descent, and round-trip fare is ¥70; 5:30am-6pm.

Another option is to take the bus as far as Wannian Cable Car Station (Wannian Chechang). Begin your trek there or take the 8-minute cable car ride to Wannian Si and start climbing from there. The cable car ride costs ¥40 for the ascent, ¥30 for the descent, and ¥60 round-trip, from 6:40am to 6pm.

All roads lead to Jin Ding, but the highest peaks are Qianfo Ding and Wanfo Ding. These can be reached by a monorail that runs between Jin Ding and Wanfo Ding. The round-trip takes 20 minutes and costs ¥60; 8am-6pm.

Note: If you get caught without enough warm clothing, rent a Chinese army jacket for ¥10 at several spots on the mountain, including the Leidong Ping (Leidong parking lot).