Yi De Abode

Nothing fancy, but it was clean and close to WuTai.

The food was good, and so was the hotel.

The location worked well for getting around. Longquan Temple is about a 20-minute walk from Flower Villa, and Jingge Temple and Qingliang Temple are along that route. Qingliang Temple takes around 40 minutes on foot, though a private car is more convenient. The counter can provide private car contact numbers, and free bus No. 10 leaves from the bridge outside for Dailuo Peak. Shanzui Station, with gas stations and restaurants, is about 2 kilometers away; the Youyi Road intersection has plenty of restaurants, eateries, and supermarkets and is one of Wutai Mountain’s busiest streets. I stayed four nights at Flower Villa after visiting Wutai Mountain on December 23, 2024. It was around 0°C to -12°C, but the hotel’s underfloor heating kept the room very warm. I could open the window if it got stuffy. The hotel had been renovated in early 2024 and felt cleaner and more refined. The bathroom had separate shower and toilet areas, though the shower itself was a bit small. The hairdryer was very hot and had strong airflow. Breakfast began at 7:30 AM. Maybe because groups of monks were on pilgrimage, much of it was vegetarian, which was fine with me. By 8:30 AM

The easiest thing to find nearby is food: turn right when leaving the resort and walk about three minutes to an intersection with noodle shops, restaurants, and small supermarkets. The group meals were quite good at the 50 RMB per person rate. There were three side dishes: tasty pickled cabbage, refreshing cold noodles or possibly bean curd sheets with soybeans, and acceptable shredded radish. The tender braised chicken strips with cucumber, carrot, and peanuts tasted good. Chicken soup with goji berries and cilantro was flavorful, light, and not oily, although the chicken was a little dry. The aged-vinegar pork with wood ear mushrooms was tender and pleasantly sour. Sweet tomatoes made for soft, tasty eggs, and the corn with pine nuts, a little green pea, and diced carrot was also good. The pumpkin was soft, sweet, and delicious. The braised tofu had a slightly charred aroma, a bit like Shenkeng tofu. The boneless carp was tender and sweet. Bok choy with mushrooms was slightly overcooked. Along with white rice, there was noodle soup with thin, soft knife-cut noodles that weren’t chewy, plus daylily buds, wood ear mushrooms, and pickled vegetables. The flavor was acceptable. Watermelon, cantaloupe, and bananas were served; the bananas were cut into pieces with the peel still on, which was unusual. The rooms aren’t new, but they were clean. The bathroom was basic, with just a showerhead and no separate shower or bathtub, so the floor got completely wet after showering. Breakfast was served in a big restaurant that could seat about 200 people. It was Chinese style with a decent range of mostly vegetarian dishes. The food wasn’t too salty, though some of it was a little oily.