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This sacred mountain sanctuary crowns the Twin Peaks of Fanjingshan, a sheer stone pinnacle rising above a UNESCO-listed sea of clouds in the Wuling Mountains of Guizhou. Two ancient temples, the Temple of the Buddha and the Temple of Maitreya, occupy the split summit, connected by a narrow stone bridge suspended over a dizzying void.

Reached by 8,888 stone steps or a cable car climbing through mist-veiled cliffs, the site has drawn Buddhist pilgrims for centuries to this remote outpost of faith. At 2,336 metres, the temples seem to float above the forested ridgelines, wrapped in shifting fog and golden light at dawn.

Fanjingshan is one of China’s last refuges of ancient subtropical forest, home to the endangered Guizhou snub-nosed monkey and relic flora found nowhere else on Earth. The atmosphere is one of hushed reverence and elemental drama, where geology, biodiversity and centuries of devotion converge on a single, improbable summit.