Emeishan Overview

Emeishan, named after Mount Emei, is an ancient city with a history of more than 1400 years and a profound cultural heritage. Mount Emei is one of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, a national 5A level scenic spot and one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China. It is known as the “fairy mountain Buddhism country ” and “Geological Museum”. Emeishan Travel Overview introduces Emeishan fast facts including the Basic Information, Population, Climate, Geography, Culture History, Economy, Natural Resources, landmarks, Administrative Diversions.

Basic Information 

Geography of Emeishan

Location

Emeishan City is located on the southwest edge of Sichuan Basin, bordering the western Sichuan Plain in the northeast and connecting Liangshan Mountain in the southwest. It is the transition zone from basin to mountain. It is adjacent to Leshan Shizhong District and Shawan District in the east, Ebian Yi Autonomous County in the south, Hongya County and Jinkouhe District in the west and Jiajiang County in the north. The geographical coordinates of the city are between 103 10' 30 "and 103 37' 10" east longitude and 29 16' 30 "and 29 43' 42" north latitude. 

Landform

Emei mountain landform can be divided into erosion landform (Emei mountain area) and accumulation landform (Emei fan-shaped alluvial-proluvial plain) according to the landform shaping method. According to the origin, it can be divided into structural landform, flowing water landform, karst landform and glacier landform. The main geological foundation of Emei Mountain is a short anticline in the north-south direction, surrounded by faults. Emei Mountain is located in a rainy region in the country. Water erosion is very active. The cutting depth can reach 1,000 meters and the relative elevation difference can reach 2,649 meters. The mountain is high, the valley is deep and long. The valley source is close to the watershed. 

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People of Emeishan

In 2010, according to the data of the Fifth National Population Census: Emeishan has a total population of 423070. The population of each township: Suishan Town(95665), Gaoqiao Town(15979), Luomu Town(23885), Jiuli Town(28737), Longchi town(28902), Ledu Town(15252), Fuxi Town(27306), Eshan Town(13993), Shuangfu Town(24370), Guihua Town(49135), Dawei Town(13775), Shengli Town(19679), Longmen Township(9872), Chuanzhu Township(6791), Shaxi Township(5058), Xinping Township(10127), Puxing Township(12617), and Huangwan Township(21927).

At the end of 2012, Emei City had 437,700 registered residents, including 247,100 agricultural residents and 186,600 non-agricultural residents.

Emeishan City has ethnic minorities of Han, Yi, Tibetan, Qiang, Miao, Hui, Dong, Yao, Mongolian, Tujia, Susu, Manchu, Naxi, Buyi, Bai, Zhuang, Dai, etc. In 2010, according to the fifth national census data, the total population of Emeishan City is 423070.

Climate of Emeishan

Emeishan City has a subtropical humid monsoon climate with a pleasant climate. The annual average temperature is 17.2 ℃, and the annual average rainfall is 1555.3 mm. The land is fertile and the natural resources are very rich. The climate varies significantly with altitude. So it's very common to be hot and intolerable at the foot of mount Emei, while it's cool and pleasant higher up the mountain.

The mountainous area is covered by clouds and fog, with little sunshine and abundant rainfall. The annual rainfall of Mount Emei is 1933 mm and the annual snow day is 83 days. The plain area is humid climate influenced by subtropical monsoon, with an average temperature of 6.9 ℃ in January and 26.1 ℃ in July. Because of the altitude is very different, the weather conditions are also different. You should take warm clothes with you no matter what the season is. The highest part is over 2000 meters above sea level and will be covered with snow from October to next April.

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Best Time to Visit

Emei Mountain is a good place to explore all the year round. However, for most of us, spring and autumn are the best time to visit when the climate is mild and the scenery is the best. During the seasons, you can appreciate abundant blossoms of azaleas and red leaves changing from green to yellow and from yellow to red.

In summer, it's cool in Mount Emei which is a good place to escape from the heat. Full of green makes it a good place to relax. In the winter, the scenery of Mount Emei is also amazing. Besides, you can join the activities of skiing, skating, tug-of-war competition etc.

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Administrative Divisions of Emeishan

Emeishan City is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Sichuan Province and administered by the prefecture-level city Leshan. Up to 2013, Emeishan City governed 12 towns and 6 townships. The Municipal People's government is located in Suishan town. Emeishan City Administrative Division introduces Places to Visit in Emeishan and explore the interesting Regions, Areas, Towns and Townships. 

  • 12 Towns: Suishan Town(绥山镇), Gaoqiao Town(高桥镇), Luomu Town(罗目镇), Jiuli Town(九里镇), Longchi Town(龙池镇), Ledu Town(乐都镇), Fuxi Town(符溪镇), Eshan Town(峨山镇), Shuangfu Town(双福镇), Guihuaqiao Town(桂花桥镇), Dawei Town(大为镇) and Shengli Town(胜利镇)
  • 6 Townships: Longmen Township(龙门乡), Chuanzhu Township(川主乡), Shaxi Township(沙溪乡), Xinping Township(新平乡), Puxing Township(普兴乡) and Huangwan Township(黄湾乡)

Culture of Emeishan

For thousands of years, the three cultures of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism collided, merged and evolved here, forming the Emei Mountain culture with Buddhism, martial arts and tea. The religious culture of Emeishan, especially the Buddhist culture, constitutes the main body of the historical culture of Emeishan. All the buildings, statues, implements, rituals, music, paintings, etc. show the strong flavor of religious culture. Besides, Emei Buddhist music, Martial Arts, festivals, etc. are also the colorful culture of Emeishan.

Transportation of Emeishan

Emei Mountain is located in the south of Sichuan Province, about 150 kilometers away from the center of Chengdu, and about 120 kilometers away from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. Emeishan is a tourist city in Sichuan Province open to the outside world, with complete infrastructure and convenient transportation. Chengdu-Kunming railway runs through the whole area from north to south, with highways extending and distributed in all directions densely. At present, there are only two ways to Mount Emei: railway or road. 

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Things to Do in Emeishan

Mount Emei is one of the world’s natural and cultural heritage, a national 5A level scenic spot and one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China. Emeishan Attractions include a list of top things to do and must-see attractions in Emeishan. All attractions picked by our seasoned travel advisors and rated by our customers.

Top Attractions in Emeishan

Economy of Emeishan

Emei city's agricultural industry has formed four major agricultural leading industries of "tea, vegetables, medicine and livestock". It has built a national pollution-free tea demonstration base and a provincial pollution-free base for vegetables, coptis chinensis, edible bamboo shoots and other agricultural products. it has become the country's largest straw mat production base and tea distribution base. Emei Chinese herbal medicines are well-known throughout the country, and Emei ash production accounts for 1/2 of the country's total. According to the development model of "one district and two gardens", Emei city's industry has formed a "3+1" industry development pattern with three pillar industries of building materials, water drinks and aluminum as the main industry and light and clean industries of footwear as the auxiliary industry. The representative enterprises of the aquatic beverage industry are Nongfu Mountain Spring and CR Beer.

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Tourism of Emeishan

Emei Mountain is an excellent tourist city in China. In 2012, the city received 6.86 million Chinese and foreign tourists, an increase of 26.5% over 2011. Its tourism revenue reached 8.712 billion yuan, an increase of 32% over 2011. Tourism has become an important pillar of the city's national economy. There are 125 hotels and restaurants in the city (including 1 with 5 stars, 3 with 4 stars and 11 with 3 stars), with more than 3,500 direct tourism employees and 15,000 indirect tourism employees. There are 13 scenic spots (among them, Emei Mountain is Grade 5A, Buddha Monastery is Grade 4A, and Feilai Temple is Grade 2A). Emei Mountain has started the construction of "Huang Chuan" International Tourism Resort. E'xiu Lake International Tourism Resort has already settled in Anata, Amy and other hotel projects. The National Development and Reform Commission has been entrusted with the preparation of "Emei Mountain Tourism Comprehensive Reform Pilot Zone Plan" for inclusion in the National Tourism Comprehensive Reform Pilot County. The first Sichuan International Tourism Fair was held in Emei City from September 26 to 29, 2014.

Honors of Emeishan City

  • Emei Mountain is an Excellent Tourist City in China, a National Garden City, a National Hygienic City, a national advanced city of landscaping, a national model city with double support, a national advanced city in scientific and technological work, a national advanced city in culture and sports, an ecological city in Sichuan Province, a national advanced city in civilized work and the province's first national comprehensive tourism reform pilot city. 
  • In November 2018, Well-to-do magazine, in conjunction with the National Information Center, released a list of 2018 happy counties in China, of which Emei Mountain was one of them. 
  • In April 2019, Sichuan Provincial Culture and Tourism Industry Leading Group Office named the first ten "Tianfu Famous Tourism Counties", with Emei Mountain among them. 
  • In September 2019, it was selected into the first batch of national global tourism demonstration zones. 
  • In October 2019, he was selected into the top 100 counties and cities in western China in 2019.

Natural Resources of Emeishan

Plant Resources

As of 2012, Emeishan has 242 families of higher plants with more than 3200 species, accounting for about one tenth of the total plant species in China and one third of the total plant species in Sichuan. 

Mineral Resources

As of 2012, there are 21 kinds of mineral resources of 17 categories that have been proven in Emei City, including coal reserves of more than 32 million tons, gypsum reserves of more than 100 million tons, and limestone for cement of more than 500 million tons. Emei City is a major nonmetallic mining area and building materials base in southwest China.

Animal Resources

As of 2012, there are more than 2,300 species of wild animals in Emei city, and 29 species of animals under national protection, such as red panda and springbok.

Water Resources

There are eight natural rivers in emeishan city. As of 2012, the total amount of water resources in Emei City is 1,052 million cubic meters. There are 12 reservoirs.

Edited by Hellen He/何琴

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