Mount Wutai is one of China's 4 sacred Buddhist mountains. It is an important active and historic religious site and featured on the UNESCO tentative list since 2001 before being granted World Heritage Status in June 2009. It is popular with groups of Chinese tourists, but visitors should remember that religion is still a sensitive topic for the Chinese authorities. Despite being listed in various leading guidebooks, at least one western traveller to the area has been followed, harassed and confronted by Chinese police who intimidated local people, including restaurant and shop staff offering services to the tourist during 2005. They appear to have mistaken the individual for a foreign journalist, after the unsuspecting tourist spent an afternoon hiking in hills and visiting temples outside of the main tourist centre of Taihuai.
The following link is to a description the individual posted on the Internet.
http://sourceanonymous1.blogspot.com/2009/03/police-intimidation-at-mount-wutai.html
Those who do decide to visit this famous scenic area, should be considerate of the precarious position of local people who live in the surrounding area. Be especially cautious when interacting with temples inhabitants as there is a risk that they may later face repercussions, resulting from accusations derived from the presence of unsuspecting tourists in locations that make the authorities suspicious.
Thursday, 26 March 2009
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