Description : A small village in a valley surrounded by mountains and temples.

Comments : Avoid the week end, when the Chinese tourists' carnival take place. Especially avoid the WE during summer when guesthouses double their prices to accommodate the flow of tourists who came here to cool off

What to do : Refuse to pay Y2 for an insurance that come separate with the Y48 entrance ticket / Walk the town, between temples / Sweat on the stairs up to Dailuo Peak /

What you may not like : The main entrance rip off as most of the temples have a separate entrance fee of 3, 4 or 5Y / The circus associated with the Chinese tourists / The noise from the traffic / The dirty town / The disgusting river / After buying the ticket, finding that most of the temple's doors are closed /

How long ? One day is enough for Taihuai but a few more days will let you experience the surroundings and spread the ticket expense...

Where to stay ?   A lot of places exist so shop around if you are not happy with what you see and negotiate if you are happy with what you have seen... Prices below are during week days or low season only

Next to the main road : (noisy)

• Jiaotong Binguan (654 2840), dark blue sign / Small dorm 10(4), 15(3) without bath (20 & 30 HS) / Dbl or Trpl with shower 100 or 120 (200 HS) / Bad toilets / No common shower / HW 19:30 to 21:30 // Go there for the cheapest bed in town and the nice and clean rooms with shower. / What you may not like : the sanitary or the lack of them...

• Xinjie Zhaodaisuo (654 2063), light blue sign / Dbl or Trpl without bath 30 or 45 (30 per bed in HS) / Dbl or Trpl with shower 80 or 120 / Bad toilets / No common bath but it should be OK to use one of the room / HW 20 to 22 // Go there to get a big discount on Sgl occupancy. / What you may not like : the OK but basic rooms, the noise from the street

• Jiabin Hotel (654 2654), dark blue sign with "Guesthouse" / Dbl or Trpl with bath or shower 60 or 70 (120 or 150 HS) / HW 24 hrs // Go there if you pass nearby, to check...

Off the main road : (more quiet)

• HongYun Hotel (654 2325), blue sign, on the right of the small alley opposite the bridge / Sgl, Dbl or Trpl with shower for 20 per bed (30 HS) / HW 24 hrs // Go there for the best quality-price ratio (by far) in town and the great rooms.

• Xinxing Hotel (654 2320) / OK dbl or Trpl with shower 25 or 20 per bed (50 or 35 HS) / Discount for Sgl occupancy / HW 19 to 24 // Go there for the second best deal in town, even so the rooms are not as nice as above.

• Juyouge Zhaodaisuo (654 2645), at the end of a small alley opposite the bridge / Dorm 12(4) without bath / Dbl or Trpl with bath 60 or 90 (100 or 150 HS) / Bad toilets / Common shower / HW 20 to 22 // Go there for the cheapest bed in town with acceptable common shower

A bit more south, on Taiping Jie : (even more quiet)

• Gongyi Meishu Hotel (654 2531) / Dorm 15(4) / Dbl or Trpl with shower 60 or 90 (100 or 150 HS) / Bad toilets / Not so clean common shower / HW 24 hrs // Go there for the nice and clean Dbl & Trpl

• Hongyun Hotel (654 2670) / Dbl or Trpl with shower 60 or 75 / HW 24 hrs // Go there for the clean rooms and to check if the rates are the same during HS...

• De Cheng Hotel (654 2992), white bldg with a green sign / Dbl or Trpl with bath 100 or 150 / HW 24 hrs // Go there for the great clean rooms with a view on the street and to check if the rates still apply during the HS. / What you may not like : being seen from the street (GF) ?

Jiaotong Hotel	jiaotong binguan
Xinjie Hotel	xinjie zhaodaisuo
Jiabin Hotel	jiabin binguan
Xinxing Hotel	xinxing binguan
Juyouge Hotel	juyouge zhaodaisuo
Gongyi Meishu Hotel	gongyi meishu zhaodaisuo
Hongyun Hotel	hongyun zhaodaisuo
De Cheng Hotel	decheng binhuan

What to see/visit ?  Most of the temples have an entrance fee from 3 to 5Y, with the exception of Wanfo Temple and Shancai Cave Temple.

Backpacker's Tips : Horia Grecu, New Zealand (August 07)
« Entry fee in WuTai Shan 90RMB but still worthwhile to pay. An oasis of green, the quietest old street in China - upstream the Railway hotel, lovely, I managed to bargain a very clean/new room to 100 RMB/night in a small anonimous hotel on this street - has a very interesting .acrobatic show Shaolin monks, Tibetan dances, acrobatics. etc. running on the same street for 180 RMB/ pers.Suggestions: 1. don't look for Internet here, 2.Food expensive and mediocre 3.Try to see the surroundings (lots of temples on each mountain + some caves) rather than the Taihui temples which are crowded. 4. Bargain a 1 day horse ride for 300 RMB, or at least 1/2 day (better for your back) for 150RMB.You can try Yang Se (horseman) mobile: 13994173237 - not speaking English like most fo the natives. 5. Good chance to enhance your body lamguage though 6 Try to sleep in a temple - I prefer the small ones. »

Bus Schedules :

Trains

To Beijing, you can take the train K702 from Shahe Train Station, about 50km from Taihuai. The train, coming from Taiyuan, depart at 00:31 and arrive in Beijing at 7:00. 

Ask in Taihuai about other possible trains.

The trip to Taiyuan : Iveco / SSS / L / Y40 / 3h30

For this trip, you have the choice between a fast but expensive Iveco bus or a slow but cheap public bus. Iveco buses come from the North, pick passengers along the way, but really depart from the Wutaishan Hotel near the public bus stand. This mean that the first one leaving at 6:10 will probably pass the Guesthouses half an hour earlier. After a week end, they are usually packed. For the mountain scenery, it is better to seat on the left but once you have left Wutaishan, the right side offer the same good view on the countryside as well as on the Chinese vomiting...

See also trip from Beijing to Wutaishan...

See also trip from Datong to Wutaishan...