Nature is rich in striking and picturesque landscapes. When hand-made masterpieces appear nearby, the view becomes even more beautiful. This is how two temples can be called, located on the tops of one forked mountain, and are united with each other only by an old bridge. True, it takes at least four hours to get there, and back is even longer and more difficult. Yes, and you can get into the temples if you squeeze into the daily visit limit.
Mount Fanjingshan is located in the Chinese province of Guizhou, and there it is considered a sacred site for local Buddhists, and therefore one of the most visited attractions, and received the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The height of the mountain is 2572 meters above sea level, thanks to which you can see the surrounding hills from its top.
However, not only the beauty of Fanjingshan itself attracts a huge number of visitors to it, but also what literally crowns it. The fact is that it is not in vain that the name of the mountain is translated as “Buddhist paradise” - there are two small Buddhist temples on the forked peak.
Interesting fact: in fact, the unusual upper part of Fanjingshan has its own name "Golden Peak", or more expanded - "Golden Peak of Red Clouds".
The temples themselves - the Temple of Buddha and the Temple of Maitreya - are about half a thousand years old, however, there is very little authenticity left in them, although they tried to preserve their appearance during numerous restorations. Of course, the union of these two structures by a bridge is perhaps the main feature of this place.
However, the real tourism boom for Mount Fanjingshan began after it was included in the lists of the most amazing places on the planet as of 2019. And so many tourists began to come that the Chinese authorities had to introduce a limit for visits - 23,800 people per day. But this is, to some extent, good, because this is the only way to unload the long staircases to the temple, which are simply packed with people at the height of the tourist season.
Visitors have to climb a long stone staircase that has almost nine thousand steps. That is why the way up only takes at least four hours. But at the very top of the time, you won't be able to spend much - because of the large flow of people, tourists are quickly taken to the temples, and then they have the opportunity to enjoy a gorgeous view, take memorable photos and relax, because there is a long way down several hours long. However, these difficulties of the path do not stop those who want to see with their own eyes both the mountain itself and the temples on its forked peak.
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