Went with a friend Sept. 8-11th.

Many things have already been said on how beautiful this place is; so I won't add anymore on that. It is definitely a place to visit!

From the Wutaishan Railway station, there are buses to Taihuai town for 20RMB - takes about two hours to get to town. The entrance fee for Wutaishan is 220-ish RMB per person (quite pricey) though the free shuttle bus rides within Taihuai help in visiting many temples.

Trips to the mountain peaks will need bus tickets ranging from 60-80RMB, depending on which of the five peaks one wishes to visit. My friend and I decided to choose the South Peak since our guide book mentioned it is the most beautiful among the five. In general, these mountain peak bus trips take 1.5 to 2 hours (one-way) and the driver gives guests 40 minutes to one hour time to worship and/or take photos. The shuttle needs a minimum of ten passengers before it leaves.

I have to agree on the comments written earlier about the new buildings constructed in Taihuai town. Many restaurants, hotels, toilet rooms and souvenier shops were built "temple style" to somehow fit with the scenic landscape of Taihuai - and some were poorly designed and even ugly. Clearly, these buildings are for tourism purposes but I would sure hope they'd be placed far away from the Tayuan Pagoda area.

We were lucky to visit Wutaishan during the weekdays. I can imagine how crowded the place must be during weekends and holidays. It is only 6 hours by train from Beijing and is a popular destination for a weekend trip.

The most wonderful experience is visiting the south peak and hiking the hills around Taihuai town. Away from the noise and tourist crowd! Up there, one can really feel the sacredness of Wutaishan.