Golden Summit Auspicious Light

Golden Summit Auspicious Light

The Golden Summit is the symbol of Mount Emei, and the crown jewel of the “Ten Scenic Spots of Emei,” the “Golden Summit Auspicious Light,” represents the essence of the mountain. It consists of four major wonders: sunrise, sea of clouds, Buddha’s halo, and sacred lamps.

Sunrise: At the Golden Summit of Mount Emei, standing at an altitude of 3,077 meters, the view of the sunrise is extraordinarily vast and magnificent. The sky before dawn is magical, gradually, a sliver of light appears on the horizon, with streaks of rosy clouds drifting upward, cradling one or two golden-rimmed colorful clouds. A brilliant day is about to break. Beneath the colorful clouds, against the vast purple-blue sky, in an instant, a touch of purplish-red emerges, slowly rising and gradually forming a small arc, then a half-circle; turning orange-red, then golden-red; then with a slight leap, trailing a fleeting tail of light, a full red sun emerges on the horizon. Accompanied by the rising sun, the sky fills with morning glow, and golden rays shine upon the earth. Mount Emei seems to gradually don a golden mantle from head to toe, revealing its entire exquisite form.

Sea of Clouds: On a clear day, white clouds rise slowly from the myriad valleys and peaks. In an instant, the vast, boundless sea of clouds spreads out like a snow-white velvet carpet across the horizon, smooth, thick, and endless. When the mountain wind suddenly rises, the sea of clouds scatters, and the peaks become tiny islands floating in the mist. When the clouds gather again, the mountains and valleys vanish without a trace. The sea of clouds opens and closes intermittently, resembling “dancing green serpents on the mountains,” a majestic and spectacular sight. The most breathtaking moment is when countless mushroom-shaped cloud pillars surge upward from the sea of clouds, then slowly drift back down, quickly dissipating into faint, drifting wisps.

Buddha’s Halo: When you stand on the Golden Summit with your back to the sun, and the sunlight shines from behind while the area in front and below is shrouded in fog, you may see a circular spectrum of colors appear on the cloud and mist canopy in front of you — with red on the outside and purple on the inside. In the center, your own shadow appears, moving exactly as you do. This is the Buddha’s halo. Even if hundreds or thousands of visitors are watching at the same time, each person can only see their own shadow enclosed within the halo, which is truly magical. Hence, the Buddha’s halo is also known as the “Emei Precious Light.” In reality, the Buddha’s halo is a natural optical phenomenon caused by the diffraction of sunlight on the surface of clouds and mist. The Buddha’s halo appears on average more than 70 times a year, mostly between 2 and 4 p.m.

Sacred Lamps: Also called Buddha’s Lamps, on moonless nights at the Golden Summit, green glowing orbs are often seen drifting beneath the Sacrificial Cliff. Starting as one or two, they multiply into thousands, flickering and dancing like stars, drifting unpredictably through the dark valley. In ancient times, they were praised as “ten thousand lanterns paying homage to Samantabhadra.” The phenomenon of the sacred lamps is extremely peculiar, and there are three theories about their origin: some say they are phosphorescent lights from the valley, others suggest they are emitted by fireflies, and another theory claims that certain trees host a type of mycorrhizal fungus that glows when the air humidity reaches 100%. However, the sacred lamps remain an unsolved mystery to this day.