A long time ago in a land far, far away ... there was a peaceful community of Buddhist monks nestled deep within a mountainous plateau in Northern China. Legends claimed the mountain's connection with a certain Bodhisattva, which sprang a little hamlet of secluded temples and monasteries below where the clear snow-fed river flowed. Well, at least that was the legend of how Wutaishan started.
But this is no fairytale, but a sad story of how money and greed destroyed the innocence of a remote thousand-year-old town. If you're planning a trip to Wutaishan, I encourage you to first do a little research about the town's current state. Despite all its past reputation as a genuine religious community and (or perhaps due to) its recent inclusion as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the new reality of the scams and schemes awaiting unsuspecting pilgrims may surprise you.
In fact the scamming is so rampant that many tourists, both domestic and foreign, get scammed before even arriving at Wutaishan. Many first-time visitors board taxis from nearby Datong, Taiyuan and Xinzhou and arrive at a small town with all the Wutaishan signages, hotels named Wutaishan Binguan or Wutaishan Fandian, and even an official train station named Wutaishan. Except this town was known as Shahe Zhen until a few years ago, and actually sits at the bottom of the mountain range, 50 km of treacherous mountain roads away from the monastic community. It would cost another RMB 40 on a 75 minute bus ride up the mountain.
The real destination is a mountain town known to locals as Taihuai Zhen, which sits in a lush green valley among the five sacred peaks (hence the term Wu Tai Shan, or literally Five Terrace Mounts). But before you arrive in town, the local government will charge a RMB 168 (actually RMB 218, as I'll explain) per-person toll for the privilege of passing through its gates, even if you're only stopping by for an afternoon. Fortunately China's oldest wooden structure (Nan Chan Si) is outside the gate, but expect to pay to see everything else.
And on top of the RMB 168, there is another compulsory RMB 50 to contribute to the town's environmental initiative of providing low-emission buses for all of its residents. Note that this fee is automatically added on top of the RMB 168 ticket, bringing the total cost of entrance to RMB 218 (CAD$33).
To make it even more confusing this RMB 50 fee applies even if you're driving your own car into Wutaishan and have no intention of using its buses! Once in town you will then enjoy "free," unlimited local transport on these green buses as you're now a local. According to one local we spoke with, the government made the mistake of purchasing a whole fleet of expensive new buses that no resident would pay to ride, and subsequently decided to turn it into a tourism cash grab.
Arriving is only the beginning. While it's true that prices at hotels and restaurants are typically two to three times the prices at the closest cities (Datong or Taiyuan), that's just a fact of supply and demand and should be expected in most popular tourist destinations. Taxis still prowl the street for any clueless tourist unaware of the "free" bus system, but that's not completely a scam either as they do have a service to sell. The real professionals though are the legions of fake monks, fortune-tellers and other scam artists too numerous to list.
It begins with trivial schemes in which individuals dress up in Buddhist monk attire to gain the sympathy of passers-by. Go to the steep uphill stairs on the paths towards Pusading and Dailuoding and watch the several monks with brooms. Look closely for a few minutes and you'll see that they will sweep the hardest when tourists walk by, even though there's really nothing to clean. Currently there's also a monk with one prosthetic leg crawling up the long stairs with tremendous difficulty, but when nobody is watching you'll see him on his one leg hopping around town. Not a bad way to earn wages better than many shop owners.
Higher up the food-chain are the fake monks and fortune-tellers who operate inside semi-legitimate temples such as the always crowded Wuyemiao (literally Temple of the Fifth Master-dragon). As one of the only temples on Wutaishan with no entrance fee, it has become a mandatory stop for domestic tour groups and thus receives thousands of visitors a day. Stand at a corner and you can watch these groups being herded into a small incense-filled courtyard behind closed doors. Incense boxes and the associated year-round prayers by resident monks are rumoured to cost up to of RMB 2000 each, though I fortunately cannot verify. If you speak any Chinese at all, this is a good place to pretend you don't.
But these intermediates only receive a commission out of the temple's huge profit. At the top of the food chain are professional entrepreneurs with their own fake temples, complete with their own dedicated teams of fake monks and other peripheral agents, each with their own specialized ... ahem ... expertise.
You may have watched a monk asking for a vacant seat at a restaurant table and striking up a conversation (which happened to the next table at our lunch spot). Or you may have met a random local who offered his own list of must-visit temples of Wutaishan. Domestic Chinese tourists often report stories of random monks offering words of wisdom, or blessings, or help to avoid some predestined calamity. Once the prey is led to a seemingly legitimate temple, the compulsory provision of service can come in the form of fortune-telling, spiritual guidance or the sale of personalized amulets. The lack of cash is no defense, as temples do have credit card readers.
That's not to say Wutaishan isn't worth a visit -- it has reached World Heritage Site status for good reasons and the architecture is stunning. But it's essential to do some minimal homework beforehand and plan out which temples to visit and which ones to avoid. Not all temples are scams and not all monks are fakes -- there are genuine monks who devote their entire lives to serve their religious and altruistic purposes in the community, and you can watch and talk to them (in Chinese) at legitimate temples.
The safest and most authoritative list of legitimate temples is the inventory of World Heritage buildings on the UNESCO website, which has a total of 9 temples listed: Xiantong Si, Tayuan Si, Pusading, Bishan Si, Shuxiang Si, Nanshan Si, Longquan Si, Jin'ge Si, and Foguang Si. Apart from Foguang Si, the other 8 are all located within the town of Taihuai (ie. within the tourist area requiring an entrance fee). Most temples charge a separate, nominal entrance fee of around RMB 5-10, though some smaller temples are free.
My own favorites include Xiantong Si (largest and oldest monastery complex in town), Tayuan Si (landmark white Stupa), Longquansi (spectacular carvings on a white marble Pailou gate at the entrance), Pusading (a.k.a. little Potala Palace). The long stairs to Nanshan Si and the popular Pusading offers nice sweeping views of the town, and if you're up for a stair-climbing exercise, skip the ropeway or the horses and climb the steep stairs up the Dailuoding hill.
Avoid questionable temples such as Wuyemiao (Temple of the Fifth Dragon-master) and Caishenmiao (Temple of the God of Wealth), or any other temple you haven't heard of for that matter. And don't buy goldfish or birds for release from vendors like this guy -- it only feeds his deep pockets and results in more birds being captured for this purpose.
HOTEL REVIEW
Hotel Review: XIN JING LUN (Wutaishan (Taihuai), Shanxi)
Address: Ming Qing Jie, Taihuai
Price: RMB 200 for double room, private shower/toilet, buffet breakfast, summer 2011
Website/Map: Booking page from CTrip.com
Directions: There is a chaotic open-air market on the side of the river, just south of and across the road from the major temple of Shuxiang Si. Walk south from the market into the quiet street of Mingqing Jie. Xin Jing Lun is the large hotel near the beginning of the street.
Unless you're content with staying at informal guesthouses with the rowdy Chinese travelers and pilgrims, you'll probably pay a small fortune for any proper hotel room within Taihuai town. In May 2011 the cheapest on CTrip.com for rooms within Taihuai town was the 3-star Xin Jing Lun. IMHO 3-star was really stretching it, but at least it was reasonably clean and the discounted RMB 200 price including a decent Chinese-style buffet breakfast was acceptable.
RESTAURANT REVIEWS
As a Buddhist community, Wutaishan is best known for two contrasting styles of cuisines: the Buddhist-inspired Sucai (vegetarian cuisine), and the peasant farmer's dishes known as Nongjiacai. Vegetarian cuisine is generally quite elaborate and mostly served at expensive specialty restaurants, while peasant dishes are often found in roadside eateries at more reasonable prices. In this article I'm reviewing one of each type.
Food Review: MIAO JI XIANG (Wutaishan (Taihuai), Shanxi)
Address: Ming Qing Jie, Taihuai
Hours: 11:00 to 21:00?
Website/Map: From Dianping.com
Directions: Find Xin Jing Lun hotel (reviewed above) on Mingqing Jie, and the restaurant is just half a block down the street.
We visited the original Wutaishan branch of the Miao Ji Xiang vegetarian restaurant chain that has now invaded Beijing. As in most Chinese vegetarian places, they specialize in dishes that look and taste like real meat but are made out of mostly bean curds and other vegetable products. While it's definitely not cheap, prices are reasonable as long as you stay clear of one local specialty -- a dried wild mushroom known as Taimo. (see next restaurant review below for Taimo)
The best dish was the above Hong Shao Yu (Red-Braised Fish), which actually tasted of seafood due to the clever use of seaweed to resemble fish skin. The meat, which was probably made out of mostly soy bean products, was surprisingly chewy and "meaty." The price of RMB 98 was not unreasonable, as long as you're used to the pricing of Shanghai or Hong Kong.
The ubiquitous Mogu Qingcai (Mushrooms and Greens, at RMB 26) cost about 50% more compared to the nearest cities of Datong or Taiyuan, but that's also expected as most fresh vegetables need to be trucked in from the bottom of the mountain. The mushrooms were thick, chewy and smothered in a good clear sauce, and we have no complaints.
Dao Xiao Mian, or Knife-Sliced Noodles, is probably Shanxi Province's most famous export to the rest of China aside from coal and vinegar. The noodles here were good and chewy, though it was also overpriced at RMB 12.
We originally wanted Zha You Gao (Fried Doughnuts) again after a memorable experience earlier that afternoon at Hengshan Fandian, but to our disappointment the doughnuts here had no fillings and we opted to order Nan Gua Bing (Pumpkin Cakes) instead. This also turned out pretty good.
You get the idea -- the food was actually decent for such a touristy town with little competition. Be warned though, that you should expect to pay Shanghai or Hong Kong prices.
Bill for Two Persons
| Red-Braised Fish | RMB 98 |
| Mushrooms and Greens | RMB 26 |
| Knife-Sliced Noodles | RMB 12 |
| Pumpkin Cakes | RMB 38 |
| TOTAL | RMB 174(CAD$26.4) |
Food Review: JIAN GUANG FAN DIAN (Wutaishan (Taihuai), Shanxi)
Address: Unknown
Hours: Unknown
Website/Map: N/A
Directions: On a North-South alley just north of the Shuxiang temple, on the way towards the Wuyemiao complex.
If you're a foodie and want a taste of Wutaishan's exorbitantly priced wild mushrooms, Taimo, at a reasonable price, you probably should hit one of these cheap, hole-in-the-wall peasant eateries serving Nongjiacai, or Farmhouse Cuisine. In fact I'm not even going to review the other dishes we had -- the exquisite Taimo mushroom was all we're after.
On our last night in Shanxi Province we again ordered its most famous dish, Guo You Ruo (Oil-Rinsed Pork), except this dish was made with Taimo in addition to the usual Yun'er mushrooms. It arrived with the refreshingly familiar smell of Aged Vinegar and a healthy heap of the reconstituted dried fungus. The same mushrooms were sold at souvenir shops for RMB 150 per 500g, and we were naturally curious about the taste.
To tell the truth it tasted remarkably similar to reconstituted Porcini mushrooms used extensively in Italy, with the same intense woody flavor that even the complex and strong Shanxi Aged Vinegar did not overpower. Even the unexceptional cooking (all the other dishes turned out too bland) here could not conceal the excellent aroma and flavors of the Taimo mushrooms. Average restaurant, but one excellent ingredient.
This little discovery wrapped up our culinary discovery of Shanxi Province and its uncanny parallels to Central Italian cuisine -- a wide variety of noodle / pasta shapes, the extensive usage of aged vinegar, and wild autumn mushrooms that taste amazingly alike. IMHO the Taimo mushroom is as good a reason to visit Wutaishan as any architectural or cultural attractions that the town's UNESCO resume may boast.
Bill for Two Persons
| Oil-Rinsed Pork with Taimo Mushrooms | RMB 38 |
| Homemade Tofu | RMB 14 |
| Luohan Noodles (Large Bowl) | RMB 10 |
| TOTAL | RMB 62 (CAD$9.4) |
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