Mt. Tai-- The Most Majesty Mountain of China

Mt Tai	Mt Tai

Mt Tai, the first of the "Five Sacred Mountains", is located in the central part of Shandong Province, within the precincts of Jinan, Licheng and Tai'an, covering an area of 426 square kilometers. Its circumference is 80 kilometers. The highest peak of this mountain range about 1545 meters above sea level, lies within Tai'an City. Mt Tai abounds in lofty peaks, deep valleys and rare cultural relics of the old days. Rising abruptly above the North China Plain in central Shandong Province, Mount Tai is one of the five sacred mountains of China. Taishan Mountain was once called Mt. Dai or Mt. Daizong before. It was renamed Taishan Mountain during the Spring and Autumn Period. In 1987 UNESCO listed Mount Tai as the World Natural and Cultural Heritage.
It lies in the civilized land of the ancient states of Qi and Lu, with the Yellow River on the north and the sea on the east. A famous saying goes, "Scaling Taishan Mountain makes one feel superior to the whole world", as it creates a feeling of regal dignity and imperial majesty. Many romantic scholars of old considered it a great treat to express their sentiments on top of Taishan Mounain. The mountain is an early birthplace of China's ancient civilization and the area around was one of ancient China's political, economic and cultural centers. Since ancient times Taishan Mountain has been hailed as the "most sublime of the five mountains". Apart from its impressive height and ancient culture, the reason is probably that men have deliberately deified it.

Historical records show that a total of 72 emperors of bygone dynasties, from the first Qin Emperor Shihuang onward, have made sacrifices to Taishan Mountain. This association with feudalism has earned the mountain a widespread fame. Nowadays, after repeated renovations, Mt Tai has become more enchanting than ever before.
For a long time, poets, writers and artists from various historical periods went to Taishan Mountain to enjoy the beauties and elegance of Taishan abundant sources of inspiration, imaginaton and creativities and this accounts for the large quantity of precious cultural relics. After all, climbing 6000-plus steps to a height of 1400 meter above sea level can be a reinforcement of self-confidence. As Confucies once uttered the dictum stop Taishan - "The world is small".

Rain or shine all year round mountaineers carrying heavy loads of food and household items slung from the ends of shoulder poles, work their way, step by step, up the mountain, wearing flat the soles of their shoes on the rugged rocks while the stone steps shine from their sweat. It is they who have developed this remote and wild mountain and made it habitable for human beings.

Tourists come to Mount Taishan in a steady stream all the year round either by tour bus or by rail (the Beijing- Shanghai Railway has a stop here). The recently completed aerial tramway takes non-climbing visitors up and down the mountain, providing them with much pleasure.