Emeishan · 150km south
Mount Emei: one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains
3,099 metres, a golden summit statue, and clouds that arrive in the afternoon. In 2026 it is also a logistics problem — the summit has a daily cap and the cable car is being rebuilt.
- Admission
- CNY 160 peak · CNY 110 low season
- Golden Summit cable car
- CNY 65 up · CNY 55 down
- Sightseeing bus
- CNY 90 full loop
- Getting there
- High-speed rail to Emeishan station, then bus 12 or the free shuttle
Prices and hours checked 21 October 2026WaysChina — 2026 tickets, bus slots and the Golden Summit cap
What the mountain is
Emei is one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains of China, and the reason most people climb it is the Golden Summit: a bronze and gold statue of Samantabhadra on elephant backs, standing above a sea of cloud that forms most reliably in the morning. The mountain rises from about 500 metres at Baoguo Temple to 3,099 at the top, and the road between them is long enough that nobody walks the whole thing in a day.
There are two ways up. The fast one takes the sightseeing bus to Leidongping and then the cable car to the summit. The slow one walks from Wannian Temple up through the middle stations, which takes a full day in itself and is a serious staircase.
The 2026 numbers, including the cap
- Admission, peak
- CNY 160 (approx. 16 Jan–14 Dec)
- Admission, low season
- CNY 110 (15 Dec–15 Jan)
- Golden Summit cable car, peak
- CNY 65 up, CNY 55 down
- Wannian cable car, peak
- CNY 65 up, CNY 45 down
- Sightseeing bus
- CNY 90 full loop; CNY 50 one way to Leidongping
- Golden Summit daily cap
- 8,000 visitors during reconstruction
- Bus booking
- Real-name, timed slots, released up to 15 days ahead
- Train
- Chengdu East or South → Emeishan station, 1–1.5 hours
Checked 21 October 2026. The Golden Summit is limited to 8,000 tickets a day from 23 May 2026 while the summit cable car, the Leidongping car park and the bus station are rebuilt — work expected to run into 2027.
The two-day plan that survives the construction
- 1
Day one: train down, bus up to Leidongping, sleep high
Book the train and the bus slot together. The point of sleeping at Leidongping is that the summit is then a short cable car away at dawn, instead of a two-hour race from the valley.
- 2
Day two: summit at sunrise, descend through Wannian
Take the Golden Summit cable car up before light, then walk down or ride to Wannian Temple on the way out. Downhill cable-car slots are booked separately on the day.
- 3
Book the bus, the ticket and the cable car as one decision
During the rebuild, capacity is the constraint, not price. If a slot is unavailable, the whole itinerary moves — check before you book the hotel.
One day or two?
One day is possible if you take the earliest train, go straight to Leidongping by bus, ride up, look, and come back down. You will see the summit in the middle of the day, when the cloud sea has often burned off or turned into fog, and you will spend seven hours in transit for three hours on the mountain.
Two days costs one hotel night and gets you sunrise, which is the entire reason the mountain has a reputation. If you are already travelling to Leshan, Emei is one stop further on the same line and deserves the extra night.
Questions people actually ask
How much does Mount Emei cost in 2026?
CNY 160 admission in peak season (CNY 110 mid-December to mid-January), plus CNY 90 for the sightseeing bus and CNY 65 up / CNY 55 down for the Golden Summit cable car.
Why is the Golden Summit capped at 8,000 visitors?
Because the summit cable car and the Leidongping car park and bus station are being rebuilt, expected to run into 2027. Bus slots are timed and must be booked in advance.
Which station do you get off at for Mount Emei?
Emeishan station (峨眉山站), not Emei station. The scenic-area station connects to Baoguo Temple by bus 12 or the free shuttle.
Can you visit Mount Emei in one day from Chengdu?
You can, but you will reach the summit in the middle of the day and miss the morning cloud sea. Two days with a night at Leidongping is the plan that works.