Wutai Shan,the Five Peaks of Serenity        2008-6-22 14:28:50

e room, off-season

Wu Feng Hotel  ¡ï¡ï¡ï
Add:  next to Dragon Fountain Temple, TaihuaTown, Wutai Shan County 
Charge:  380 - double room, peak-season
                 304 - double room, off-season

Yin Du Hotel  ¡ï¡ï¡ï
Add: Dachegou Village, Taihuai Town, Wutai  Shan County 
Charge£º 480-double room, peak-season
                    240-double room, off-season

Yin Hai Hotel  ¡ï¡ï¡ï              
Add: Yangbaiyu, Taihuai Town, Wutai Shan  County
Charge: 580-double room, peak-season
        470-double room, off-season

Yunfeng Hotel  ¡ï¡ï     
Add: Yangbaiyu, Taihuai Town, Wutai Shan County
Charge:  480 - double room, peak-season
         280 - double room, off-season

Food £¦ Restaurants
Flour is the basis of most dishes in Shanxi and chefs here are known for their variously shaped noodles. The noodles get their unique names from how they're made or the odd shapes the chef molds them into. The most common variety is la mian , which are hand-pulled noodles served up with a variety of sauces. Watching the chef pull and twist the lump of dough into long thin noodles is as entertaining as the noodles are tempting. There's an assortment of thicker noodles cut from lumps of dough then boiled or stir-fried, these types include daoxiao mian , which come in large flat pieces. Don't be put off by cat's ear noodles they're called that because they're shaped like cat's ears.

Many roadside restaurants offer simple noodles with their own homemade sauce. A specialty in Wutai Shan is tai mo, a mushroom dish can cost up to RMB 80 a plate. The fat, juicy mushrooms only grow in the area around Wutal Shan and are considered to have medicinal properties that help miscellaneous ailments like arthritis. Wanjuansu, a very delicate cookie, was an imperial favorite. Lotus flower beans make good snacks, beans are first boiled then deep fried until they turn into the shape of a lotus flower.

A good place to try out these tasty treats are at the morning and evening markets. There's one at Jinjie Temple at the  top of Dalluo Ding  and in Taihuai's travel area's parking lot.

RESTAURANTS
Dongfang Jiujia
Add:  Mingqingjie Bridge 

Haitian Dajiudian
Add:  Mingqingjie Bridge

Souvenirs
Local special souvenirs include paper cuttings.lacqueware, inkstands, mushrooms and ginseng. In Taihuai, the shopping district, brimming with souvenir shops, is centered on Yanglin Lu. If you feel like brushing up on your calligraphy, then buy a chengni yan  ink stone. These were popular during the
Tang dynasty and modern ones cost RMB 50 to 80. For the ink stone connoisseur, tai yam is a great gift, they can cost over RMB 200. Exquisite multi-colored wood bowls go for around RMB 10. Walking sticks  are an elaborate souvenir and are handy when climbing the mountain, they go for around RMB 10. As in most places, bargaining is a must. If you want to go the source of these goodies, head to the Industrial Arts Factory of Wutal County . It's 500m east of Da Baita in the Tayuan Temple on Wutai Shan.

Quotes
"The temples are very beautiful and solemn. It's very quiet at night. I can feel the spirits floating intheair."
"Perhaps nowhere else in all of China can one view so clearly the traditional ways and the superb temple architecture of old China."