Top 10 Monkey King Locations in China: A Journey to the West Travel Guide
From Huaguo Mountain to the Flaming Mountains, discover the real-world locations connected to Sun Wukong and Journey to the West across China.
The Literary Map of Journey to the West
Journey to the West describes a journey from Chang'an (Xi'an) to India, but the novel's geography is a blend of real locations and mythical realms. However, many places in China have strong associations with the story — either as direct inspirations for Wu Cheng'en, as sites associated with the real Xuanzang, or as modern cultural sites dedicated to the Monkey King. Here are the top 10, ranked by significance.
The Top 10
1. Huaguo Mountain, Lianyungang — The birthplace. The Water Curtain Cave. The monkey troops. The #1 Monkey King site in the world. 2. Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an — Where the real Xuanzang stored the scriptures he brought from India. 3. Wu Cheng'en Former Residence, Huai'an — The author's home, now a museum. 4. Flaming Mountains, Turpan, Xinjiang — The novel describes a mountain range that's always on fire — inspired by these red sandstone mountains that reach 50°C in summer.
5. Longmen Grottoes, Luoyang — Buddhist cave art that Xuanzang would have seen on his return journey. 6. White Horse Temple, Luoyang — China's first Buddhist temple, where the first scriptures from India were housed. 7. Chengdu Research Base — Not historical, but the best place in China to see the golden snub-nosed monkey (a possible inspiration for Sun Wukong's appearance). 8. Monkey Kingdom at various Chinese zoos and parks that have Journey to the West themed areas.
9. The Great Wall at various points — The Monkey King somersaults over the Great Wall in the novel. 10. Modern sites: Black Myth Wukong filming locations (Dazu Rock Carvings, Xiaoxitian Temple) that have become pilgrimage sites for gamers.