Sichuan

A cool, misty retreat from Sichuan basin’s heat, Emei Shan (峨眉山; 3099m) is one of China’s four sacred Buddhist Mountains (the others being Putuo Shsn, Wutai Shan and Jiuhua Shan. This excludes sacred Buddhist mountains in the Tibetan regions). A farmer built the first Buddhist temple near Jinding summit in the 1st century. That temple stood until it was gutted by fire in 1972, and many of the more than 150 temples on the mountain suffered fires or looting over the centuries but around 30 have been maintained and restored in various degrees. Reconstructed in the 9th century, Wannian Temple is the oldest surviving temple on the mountain.

Beyond its rich cultural heritage, the mountain also stands on the edge of the eastern Himalayan highlands and hosts a diverse range of plants and animals, all of which helped place it on Unesco’s World Heritage list.

Established as a national park in 1994 and declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2006, Four Sisters Mountain (四姑娘山; Sìgūniang Shān) is famous among Chinese tourists as one of the most impressive natural areas of the entire country. At a magnificent 6250m the fourth of the Four Sisters, pyramid-shaped Yāomèi Fēng, comes in as the second-highest peak in all of Sichuan.

Composed of three distinct valleys with a combined area of 450 sq km, the park has plenty of hiking and rock climbing for adventurous travellers looking to test their mettle. Anything beyond a day hike will require a permit and a local guide, but these peaks are well known among climbers and you may well see a group headed back down after a successful attempt.