Mt. Wutaish is one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains along with Mt. E'mei, Mt. Jiuhua and Mt. Putuo. It is located close to the northeastern border of Shanxi, not far from both Datong and even the Great Wall (about 150km). 

'Wutai' means five platform-shaped peaks in Chinese, which is called the East, West, South, North and Central Platform respectively. All of them stand at altitudes of over 2,500 meters above sea level. The tallest one is the northern peak platform, that reaches to 3058 meters above sea level, making it the largest in the north of China. The valley that these five peaks surround is centered upon a small village, Taihuai, that itself holds around 15 to 20 temples, and that is the focal point for travellers to start their trecking in the area.

The mountain contains as many as 48 temples, which began to be built there during the years 25-220 AD. Many of them dedicated to the worship of the Yellow Hat Sect of Tibetan Buddhism (Gelukpa). Hundreds of monks can be seen performing active duties in the temples. 

The mountain is now a tourist area combining natural landscape, historical relics, ancient architecture, arts, Buddhist culture and folk customs, making it an ideal summer resort.