A hiker travelling to a sacred mountain was awestruck when a glowing halo appeared over their shadow and moved along.

The hiker, not identified in local media, reportedly encountered the strange phenomenon atop Mount Emei, a 10,167-foot-tall mountain in Sichuan Province, China regarded as one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in the country, on 14th January.

Phone footage shows the colourful halo shining around the head of the climber’s shadow amid a greyish fog.

Another tourist, also not named, captured the same spectacle on the mountain just hours later.

Known among locals as Buddh’a light, the phenomenon can often be encountered on Mount Emei, and is commonly regarded as a sign of good luck and fortune.

People have noted instances of this phenomenon at Mount Emei since the year 63 A.D. The vibrant halo has been linked to the observer’s spiritual enlightenment, often associated with Buddha or divine experiences.

More widely known as a glory, this halo is an optical phenomenon that appears as a set of concentric. Circular rings of colour around the shadow of an object, formed due to the diffraction and scattering of light.

It occurs when sunlight interacts with water droplets, like those in clouds or mist. The phenomenon is often observed from an aircraft looking down at clouds, or from a mountaintop when there is mist or fog below.

Glories are often seen when the observer is situated between the sun and the mist or clouds. Creating a shadow of the observer surrounded by the rings of colour.