CHINA is home to one of the oldest and richest civilizations in the world. It has numerous cultural treasures and spectacular natural landscapes, all in the context of a rapidly growing modern economy. Besides the well-known World Heritage sites of Beijing and Xian it has many mountains with temples on their peaks which are holy to Buddhists, such as Wutai Shan in Shanxi province and Emei Shan in Sichuan province.