A mountain that makes cloud
Emei stands at the edge of the Sichuan basin, where moist air meets the highland. The result is frequent cloud, sudden rain and a summit that can be clear and cold above a white layer. Wanfoding, the highest point of the Golden Summit, is 3,099 metres. Forest covers 87 percent of the mountain, and the flora is unusually rich: more than 3,200 species of higher plants, many of them named for Emei. The weather is not scenery; it is the reason the mountain has a distinct ecology.
A working sacred mountain
Emei is one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains. Temples are not isolated monuments: Baoguo at the foot and Wannian higher up are part of a route that has been walked for centuries. The mountain was inscribed on the World Heritage List in December 1996, for both its cultural and natural values. That double status matters. A visit that only photographs the summit misses the relation between the buildings, the path and the forest that made the route possible.
Go slowly, and go early
The climb is a sequence of stairs, temple courtyards and stretches of forest. Weather changes quickly, and the difference between the foot and the summit is large. A morning start gives the best chance of a clear interval; a waterproof layer is more useful than an umbrella. The mountain is busy, but the path has quiet sections. Stop at the places where the forest opens, and the scale of the ridge becomes visible.
