The Wannian Temple of 10000 Years is the oldest surviving Emei monastery. Its dedicated to the man on the white elephant, the Bodhisattva Puxian, who is the protector of the mountain.

This monastery is the oldest surviving Emei Temple (reconstructed in the 9 th century). It's dedicated to the man on the white elephant, the Bodhisattva Puxian, who is the protector of the mountain. This 8.5 m-high statue is dated from AD 980, cast in copper and bronze and weighs an estimated 62,000 kg. If you can manage to rub the elephant's back, good luck will be cast upon you.

The statue is housed in Brick Hall, a domed building with small stupas on it. When the temple was damaged by fire in 1945, Brick Hall was the only building left unharmed. There is also a graveyard to the rear of the temple.

High recommend you to stay overnight in Wannian Temple.  At least one night!  In this way, you might be more close to the monks' daily life.  You might join in the morning class, sleep on hard bed, eat their vegetarium food, enjoy the peaceful and quiet life in the mountain and forest.

Mt. Emei is a sacred Buddhist site, and has a Buddhist history of over 1,500 years. It is said that during the 15th century, there were as many as 1,000 monks living on Mt. Emei. According to the records inscribed on a number of stone tablets, an eminent Indian monk came to spread the Buddhist doctrine as early as the 4th century.

Later, Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty ordered that Puguang Hall on the mountain be expanded into a temple, setting a precedent for the imperial court to construct temples on Mt. Emei. From that time onwards, emperors of succeeding dynasties all endowed celebrated temples and eminent monks on the mountain with their gifts. Today, it still houses numerous relics of poems, couplets (written on scrolls and hung on the pillars of a hall), and inscriptions bestowed by emperors and scholars of ancient times.