China Guide
The Yellow River
Tai Shan
Tai Shan is not just a mountain, it's a god. The easternmost and holiest of China's five holy Taoist mountains, it has been worshipped by the Chinese for longer than recorded history. It is justifiably famed for its scenery and the ancient buildings strung out along its slopes. Once host to emperors and the devout, it's now Shandong's biggest tourist attraction: the ascent is engrossing and beautiful – and very hard work.
More so than any other holy mountain, Tai Shan was the haunt of emperors, and owes its obvious glories – the temples and pavilions along its route – to the patronage of the imperial court. From its summit, a succession of emperors surveyed their empires, made sacrifices and paid tribute. Sometimes, their retinues stretched right from the top to the bottom of the mountain, 8km of pomp and ostentatious wealth. As well as funding the temples, emperors had their visits and thoughts recorded for posterity on steles here, and men of letters carved poems and tributes to the mountain on any available rockface.
In recent years, this huge open-air museum has mutated into a religious theme park, and the path is now thronged with a constant procession of tourists. There are photo booths, souvenir stalls, soft-drinks vendors and teahouses. Halfway up, there's a bus station and cable car. Yet Tai Shan retains an atmosphere of grandeur; the buildings and the mountain itself are magnificent enough to survive their trivialization.
It is surprising, though, to see that numbering among the hordes of tourists are a great many genuine pilgrims. Taoism, after a long period of communist proscription, is again alive and flourishing, and you're more than likely to see a bearded Taoist monk on the way up. Women come specifically to pray to Bixia Yuan Jun, the Princess of the Rosy Clouds, a Taoist deity believed to be able to help childless women conceive.
The small town of Tai'an, at the foot of the mountain, is the departure point for all journeys to the summit and the place for accommodation and transport links.
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