Yuanzhao Temple is one of the cluster of buildings on the slope below Pusading, squeezed between Luohou Temple above and the central street of Taihuai below. It was built in the Ming dynasty and has had a continuous existence since, although the present compound is mostly Qing.
The temple is small and tightly packed: a paved entrance court, a main hall with three gilded Buddhas, and a quiet rear garden with a small white stupa. The interest, beyond the architecture, is the temple's role as one of the principal Tibetan-Buddhist Gelugpa monasteries on Wutaishan — a reminder that the mountain has been an important pilgrimage site for Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhists for at least four centuries. Stop here for ten minutes between visits to its larger neighbours.