The leader of the ‘Five Sacred Mountains’, Mt. Tai is located in the center of Shandong Province, lying across the cities of Tai'an, Jinan and Zibo. The total area of the mountain is 426 square kilometers with a circumference of 80 kilometers. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
Mt. Tai is in a superior geographic location with abundant water and thermal resources, and its climate belongs to the warm temperate zone half wetness monsoon climate.
As regard to its historic position, in the ancient times, Mt. Tai is a developed region—— in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. As regard to its cultural position, it is the center of Dongyi culture.
As a mountainous scenic spot, Mt. Tai has high values in term of aesthetics and science, especially the aesthetic value, which is the foundation for Mt. Tai becoming a famous mountain in the history and the world natural and cultural heritage today. Moreover, in the Mt. Tai scenic culture, the natural scene plays the key role with the literacy scene assisting. The nature and culture penetrate into each other. Here we can see the philosophy, aesthetics and science idea about the harmonious development of Sky, Ground and Human beings. Thereby, either from the point of time or space, Mt. Tai contains extremely abundant contents with high aesthetic, science and historic value. We can say that Mt. Tai is the symbol of spiritual culture of China and the unique heritage of the world.
Mt. Tai has 72 majestic peaks, magnificent waterfalls, centuries-old pines and cypresses and fascinating rocks. There are five tourist zones and two routes up the mountain-one in the east and one in the west. They meet at Zhongtian Gate and there are 6,293 steps in the nine kilometers leading to the top. Scenic spots include Longtan Reservoir, Zhongtian Gate, Five-Doctor Pine, Duansong Hill, 18 Turns, South Gate to Heaven, Bixia Tekmple, Zhanglu Terrace, Sun-Watching Peak, Moon-Watching Peak. The four wonders of the mountain are Sun Rises from the East, Golden Belt Along the Yellow River, Beautiful Sunset and the Sea of Clouds. Other attractive spots are the Rare Rock Dock, Fan Cliff, Aolai Peak, Black Dragon Pool, Longevity Bridge, and the Dragon Pool Waterfall.
Mt. Tai is one of China's mountain parks and is a natural museum of history and art.
