Since the beginning of the Qing dynasty, Mongols have viewed Wutai Shan as a substitute for Tibet pilgrimages. Relying on various Mongolian, Chinese, Japanese, and Western sources (stone inscriptions, local gazetteers, travelogues, mountain guides), this paper tries to document the pilgrimage of Mongols to Wutai Shan from the late Qing dynasty to the early twentieth century. Who were the ordinary pilgrims, where did they come from, and what were their motivations? How were they informed about the pilgrimage and how did they travel to Wutai Shan? What were they particularly looking for and what were their priorities? The final section deals with a particular type of cave, the famous “Womb Cave,” and its connection to pilgrimage sites in Mongolia.
