Tai’an: A city shaped by sacred mountain

Tai'an, Shandong province, is leveraging its deep cultural bond with Taishan Mountain—a UNESCO World Heritage site and symbol of Chinese mountain culture—to boost cultural tourism and heritage preservation, building on its 2007 designation as a National Historical and Cultural City.

The city's roots reach back over 6,000 years to the Dawenkou culture along the Wenhe River. Here, prehistoric people fired painted pottery, polished jade, and built settlements, laying the foundation for later Qilu civilization.

In ancient times, Taishan Mountain became a site for imperial sacrifices. Qin Shi Huang, the founder of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), performed the first Fengshan ceremony after unifying China.

The Fengshan ceremony was an ancient sacrificial ritual emperorsperformedto pay homage to Heaven and Earth. These grand rituals prayed for peace and prosperity, leaving behind temples, inscriptions, and stone carvings along the mountain paths.

Literati also flocked here. Confucius said climbing Taishan Mountain made the world seem small; Du Fu wrote his famous lines atop the peak. Today, over 2,000 cliff inscriptions and steles form a "stone history book" carved into the mountain.

At the foot of Taishan Mountain lies Dai Temple, where emperors prepared for the Fengshan ceremony. Its grand halls and ancient cypresses anchor a unique mountain-city layout — a central axis connecting temple, city, and mountain.

For centuries, ordinary people have climbed Taishan Mountain to pray, keeping a rich folk traditionalive. As a National Historical and Cultural City, Tai'an protects not just ancient buildings but an entire cultural system.

From the Dawenkou dawn to imperial sacrifices and literary tributes, Taishan Mountain and Tai'an stand together — a mountain and a city, intertwined for millennia.

Taishan Mountain and the city of Tai'an createa unique landscape where mountain, temple, and urban life are deeply intertwined. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]