Back to Sichuan, This Time Only for Mount Emei: ‘Only Mount Emei’

Sichuan has always been on our travel list.

The catchy song ‘Chengdu’ made me even more fascinated and longing for it.

Then, by chance, I got to visit Chengdu. Indeed, it was as wonderful as the song described. That trip fulfilled my longing for Chengdu. This year, I decided to go to Sichuan again, to visit Mount Emei. This trip once again added a new chapter to my impression of Sichuan.

Day 1: Encountering Mount Emei

Mount Emei is a famous Buddhist mountain and the bodhimanda of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva. Scattered throughout the mountain, you’ll find various temples.

With every step, you can almost feel the devout faith brought by Buddhism.

And what is most unmissable on Mount Emei is the scenery that changes with the four seasons.

That’s also an important reason why I chose to come to Mount Emei.

Mount Emei covers a large area and has a high altitude. Different altitudes offer different views.

The scenic area is divided into the foot, the low-altitude area, the mid-altitude area, and the high-altitude area.

Foot: Huangwan Town (many guesthouses), the live performance ‘Only Mount Emei’

Low-altitude area: the line from Baoguo Temple to Qingyin Pavilion

Mid-altitude summer resort area: the line from Qingyin Pavilion to Xixiang Pond

High-altitude area: the line from Leidongping to Golden Summit

This time, I went directly to the high-altitude area of Mount Emei, which features the landmark of the scenic area—Golden Summit, at an altitude of 3077 meters. Standing here and looking down at the mountains below, you truly understand the meaning of ‘to see the whole world at a glance.’

Looking down from Golden Summit, you see a sea of clouds, sometimes rolling like waves, sometimes calm—truly fantastical and wondrous.

Here, you feel the perfect resonance between the mysteries of nature and human civilization. Atop the high peak stands a golden statue of the Ten-Direction Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, symbolizing that Samantabhadra’s boundless vows can help the Buddhas of all directions and times and all sentient beings.

If you’re lucky, you can witness four great wonders on Golden Summit—sunrise, sea of clouds, Buddha’s halo, and holy lamps. However, the best time to see them is early morning. Their magnificence is enough to inspire awe for nature.

Accommodation: Mount Emei Hongzhushan Hotel

After coming down from Mount Emei, I checked into a hotel described as ‘a hotel planted in the forest,’ also a hotel with a century of history—Mount Emei Hongzhushan Hotel.

The hotel has a hot spring villa area and a huge hot spring pool. Every corner is a scenic view.

The hotel has extremely high forest coverage, with fresh and exceptionally quiet air. You don’t have to worry about being disturbed.

As dusk approaches, soaking in a rose hot spring bath accompanied by beautiful scenery is a romantic experience.

The room I stayed in was the Zen Mountain Retreat Hot Spring Forest Suite.

The room was very large and spacious, with its own in-room hot spring. The decoration style blends traditional Chinese and modern elements.

It offers physical and mental relaxation, allowing you to freely enjoy nature.

Waking up in the morning, breathing fresh air, feeling the moisture of the forest and the touch of the wind, listening to the whispers of nature—it starts the day in a good mood.

Night Excursion: Visiting the Trendy Spot ‘Only Mount Emei’

On the way from the city to the scenic area, I saw a distinctive building. Curiosity made me ask the driver, who said it was a recent trendy spot for Mount Emei tourism—the ‘Only Mount Emei’ Drama Fantasy City. Huh? Drama Fantasy City? What’s that? I searched online and found it was a work by director Wang Chaoge. If you’ve heard of ‘Impression Liu Sanjie,’ ‘Impression Lijiang’ and other ‘Impression’ series, as well as ‘See You Again Pingyao,’ ‘See You Again Dunhuang’ and other ‘See You Again’ series, you’ll know her. Now she has created the ‘Only’ series, her first work in this series, also a major innovation in China’s tourism performance history. It is China’s first immersive drama fantasy city. So I had to explore it.

It’s easy to find, located next to Huangwan Town, surrounded by green mountains and clear waters—truly a blessed location. According to introductions, the theater of ‘Only Mount Emei’ faces the Golden Summit Samantabhadra Bodhisattva from afar, echoing each other.

I’ve seen countless shows before, but I’ve never seen a whole scenic area that is a theater, where every corner is a performance.

The director used the sea of clouds on Mount Emei as a creative point, dividing the theater into three performance spaces: ‘Above the Clouds,’ ‘In the Clouds,’ and ‘Below the Clouds.’ At the same time, it pioneered a performance approach that combines live-action performances with surrounding original villages.

‘Above the Clouds’ performance time: 19:00–20:40 daily; ‘In the Clouds’ performance time: 18:30–18:45 (free); ‘Below the Clouds’ performance time: 20:00–21:20. You can choose which show to watch based on your schedule.

I also looked into their differences:

‘Above the Clouds’ theater is a more modern indoor theater. It has six performance spaces that tell stories happening on Mount Emei. The stage, lighting, and scenes are grand and stunning.

‘In the Clouds’ theater is an open area, free of charge, but there are really many people taking photos and videos. The ethereal feeling makes it hard to tell if it’s a dream or a real performance.

It is also the performance that most tourists can’t resist pulling out their phones to photograph. Every shot is beautiful, and it has become a trendy photo spot on Mount Emei.

As for the ‘Below the Clouds’ real-life village theater, it is China’s first theater transformed from an actual old village. It has a strong sense of the times, very realistic scene design, and nearly a hundred performance points according to official introductions, mainly telling stories that happened in Gaohe Village in 1980.

Walking through the old village, you see countless small theaters gradually performing. This performance style is quite novel and worth looking forward to. Since I have seen many indoor shows, I chose to watch the outdoor ‘Below the Clouds’ theater this time.

The ‘Below the Clouds’ theater has nearly 100 scattered theatrical pieces and courtyard dramas. You can imagine how massive its storyline is. The diverse theatrical performances can satisfy audiences of different appreciation levels and age groups.

Viewing the ‘old village’ of ‘Only Mount Emei’ from the perspective of the sea of clouds on Mount Emei, every roof houses a family, and every courtyard tells a story. It feels like travel and watching a play are perfectly integrated.

The storyline summary of ‘Below the Clouds’ theater comes from an event in 1980 when a construction company from Shenzhen came to Gaohe Village to recruit workers, and the things that happened in that village. It tells many things that happened that day—two brothers turned against each other, a mama’s boy grew up overnight, a village widow outwitted Director Zhang, and many more...

When you watch this kind of theater, you get a sense of being present in a live broadcast of the performance. It’s as if they are shooting a movie right in front of you, and because the setting is from 1980, it has a flavor of watching an old film. The old houses and countless antique objects evoke memories of the past.

Using 395 rooms to create a 90-minute super-long real-time movie—‘Only Mount Emei’ ‘Below the Clouds’ theater achieved this, and it is unique. One hundred people will have one hundred feelings after watching it.

Some might recall their childhood and nostalgia, some might think of old Chinese scenes and the Huaxia spirit, while others might be simply amazed by the creative performance that no one had expected...

Encountering ‘Only Mount Emei’ on Mount Emei, everyone can find their own memory of Mount Emei.

What left the deepest impression was the tofu pudding. This Gao Ji tofu pudding shop is a trendy place in the bustling city.

We also have tofu pudding where I come from, but the tofu pudding in Mount Emei gave me a different taste.

I used to hardly eat any soy products, but when I stepped into this shop, I could smell the aroma of tofu pudding from afar, which changed my impression of its flavor.

The most special was the mandarin-duck-egg mixed with tofu pudding. ‘Mandarin duck’ here refers to steamed beef and pork intestines.

When the owner handed it to me, I could feel the enthusiasm and generous portion of the Sichuan people.

The owner said to mix it well before eating for a better taste. The hot soup, substantial beef, and smooth egg flower were extremely satisfying, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

One sea of clouds on Mount Emei, one summer retreat cultivation in the mountains, one performance of ‘Only Mount Emei’—

Let me see the most beautiful side of Mount Emei. Two days and one night were too short; I didn’t want to leave.

Mount Emei is vast, and I think I will come again to explore more.