Scenic area · Historic city · Cultural centre · Shandong
Tai'an
泰安
The city at the foot of Mount Tai
Tai'an is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong built at the southern foot of Mount Tai, the foremost of China's Five Sacred Mountains and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987. The Dai Temple in its centre was where emperors prepared for the sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and the pilgrim stairway to the summit starts in the city.
Key facts
Overview
The name Tai'an, “Tai at peace”, reflects the saying that when Mount Tai is secure, the whole country is at peace (泰山安则四海皆安). The city grew up as the starting point of pilgrimage and imperial ritual on the mountain, around the Dai Temple, and the axis from the temple through the Red Gate to the summit still shapes its plan.
Mount Tai is not especially high, at 1,545 metres, but it rises abruptly from the plain and has been the most revered mountain in China for more than two thousand years, associated with the east, with sunrise, birth and renewal, and with the destiny of the dead.
Names and nicknames
泰城
Common short name of the city.
岱宗
Honorific name of Mount Tai — “the ancestor of mountains” — used in Du Fu's poem and in the name of the Dai Temple.
History
According to the historian Sima Qian, many ancient rulers performed the feng sacrifice to Heaven on the summit and the shan sacrifice to Earth on a hill below it. The historically recorded ceremonies were those of Qin Shi Huang (219 BCE), Emperor Wu of Han (110 BCE), the Tang emperors Gaozong (666) and Xuanzong (725) and the Song emperor Zhenzong (1008). Later emperors, including Kangxi and Qianlong, visited and made offerings. The mountain has thousands of inscriptions, from Qin to modern times.
219 BCE
Qin Shi Huang's feng sacrifice
The first emperor ascended Mount Tai to announce his unification of China to Heaven.
110 BCE
Emperor Wu of Han
Performed the feng and shan ceremonies, the first of several visits.
Northern Qi (550–577)
Stone Sutra Valley
Text of the Diamond Sutra in large characters was carved into a stream bed on the mountain.
726
Tang cliff inscription
Emperor Xuanzong's gilded inscription recording his sacrifices of 725 was carved on the cliff near the summit.
1008–1009
Song Zhenzong's sacrifice and the Tiankuang Hall
The last emperor to perform the feng sacrifice; the great hall of the Dai Temple dates from his reign.
1987
UNESCO World Heritage
Mount Tai was inscribed as one of the first mixed natural and cultural sites.
Landmarks
Temple or shrine
Dai Temple
岱庙
Walled temple of the god of Mount Tai in the city centre, with the Tiankuang Hall and its Song-era mural of the god's procession.
Historic site
Red Gate and the Eighteen Bends
红门·十八盘
The start of the central stairway and its steepest section below the South Gate to Heaven.
Historic site
South Gate to Heaven
南天门
Gate tower at the top of the stairway, opening onto the summit ridge.
Temple or shrine
Temple of the Azure Clouds
碧霞祠
Temple of the goddess Bixia Yuanjun near the summit, with bronze and iron roof tiles against the wind.
Nature
Jade Emperor Peak
玉皇顶
The summit, with a small temple and the traditional viewpoint for sunrise.
Historic site
Stone Sutra Valley
经石峪
Northern Qi carving of the Diamond Sutra on a sheet of rock in a stream bed.
Neighbourhoods
Around the Dai Temple
岱庙周边
The old centre with the temple, the Daimiao Square and the street leading north to the Red Gate.
Food
The three delicacies of Mount Tai
泰山三美
Chinese cabbage, tofu and mountain spring water, cooked together into a simple soup.
Mount Tai jianbing
泰山煎饼
Thin, crisp pancakes of millet or maize, the traditional food of pilgrims.
Tofu banquet
泰山豆腐宴
Meal of many tofu dishes made with the mountain's water.
Culture
Mount Tai is the focus of a popular religion centred on the goddess Bixia Yuanjun, protector of women and children, and on the god of the mountain, judge of the dead. Pilgrims still climb, and the stone tablets inscribed 泰山石敢当 (“the stone of Mount Tai dares to resist”) placed against evil influences across China draw on the mountain's power. Climbing through the night to see the sunrise from the summit is a long-standing custom.
岱宗夫如何？齐鲁青未了。Dàizōng fú rúhé? Qí-Lǔ qīng wèi liǎo.
“What is the Ancestor of Mountains like? Over Qi and Lu its green never ends.”
— Du Fu, “Gazing at the Mountain” (望岳), c. 736
Getting around
- Tai'an station is on the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed line between Jinan and Qufu.
- The central stairway starts at the Red Gate; buses run to the Zhongtian Gate, and cable cars reach the summit area from Zhongtian Gate and from the Taohuayu and Tianzhu Peak sides.
Day trips
Qufu
曲阜
The home of Confucius, south on the high-speed line.
Lingyan Temple
灵岩寺
Monastery on the north side of the Tai massif with Song-dynasty clay arhats.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Tai'an Municipal People's Government — Tai'an Municipal People's Government (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
- Mount Taishan — UNESCO World Heritage Centre (retrieved 27 September 2026)
More cities in Shandong
- Jinan济南Capital · Historic city · Cultural centreThe City of Springs between Mount Tai and the Yellow River
- Qingdao青岛Port · Historic city · Scenic areaRed roofs, beer and the sea on Jiaozhou Bay
- Qufu曲阜Historic city · Cultural centreHome town of Confucius and capital of the state of Lu
- Yantai烟台Port · Historic city · Scenic areaTreaty port of wine and apples on the Bohai Strait
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