Mountain Tai (泰山) is one of the Five Great Mountains. Since ancient times, Mount Tai has been recognized as a sacred Mountain and held the honor as "Most respected of the Five Great Mountains". The other four are Mount Hua (華山), Mount Song (嵩山), Mount Heng (恆山 in Shanxi Province) and Mount Heng (衡山 in Hunan Province, same pronunciation as the previous one in Chinese). Mount Tai was listed as a Cultural and Natural World Heritage site in 1987 and was honored "World Geopark" in 2006. In China, Mount Tai is among the first group of National Parks of China. The 426 km2 (105,267 acre) Mountain Tai is located in the north of Tai’an. It is about 83 km (51.6 mi) by car from Jinan (濟南), the capital of eastern China's Shandong province.
We got up early in the morning, took a taxi to the Tianwaicun (天外村), and then transferred by the shuttle service to the Zhongtian Gate (中天門). It is recommended to buckle up because most of the 13 km (8.1 mi) journey consists of curved mountain roads. The ride went through landscape, forests, mountains and some relics. Once we reached the Zhongtian Gate, we needed to decide right away whether we would like to take the cable trolley or take the frightening 3,296 steps (in 2.63 km / 1.63 mi from altitude 840 to 1,420 m / 2,756 to 4,659 ft) up to the famous Nantian Gate (南天門). My wife and I decided to take the challenge of climbing of the 3,296 steps up to the Nantian Gate before we are too old to do it. It took us 3 hours with several stops to take photos and rest. The day we went was a sunny day with quite a high temperature and humidity. I encountered leg cramps when we were only few hundred meters to Nantian Gate. We finally reached the destination after resting and massaging my leg. We went to a nearby restaurant (with air conditioning) once we arrived at Nantian Gate. After eating lunch and resting, we decided not to go to the Jade Emperor Peak (玉皇頂) which needs another 671 steps in 824 m (2,703 ft) because we had a train to catch. Of course we took the cable trolley (索道) back to the Zhongtian Gate and took the shuttle back to the Tianwaicun.
It is an unforgettable trip, and we will come back again to finish the rest of the spots. Remember to bring bottles of water (of course you can buy water from the vendors along the steps). Sneakers and some kind of sunburn protection are essential especially on sunny days. If you don’t think you can climb up so many steps, you can take the 2,078 m (6,818 ft) span cable trolley from Zhongtian Gate to the summit. You could enjoy the spectacular scenery of Mount Tai from this route. If you sit on the window side when taking the shuttle, then you might be able to take some amazing photos. Remember to increase your ISO. I would like to suggest staying overnight in Tai'an (which we did) and taking a taxi to the Mountain Tai bus station in Tianwaicun. It costs you around RMB 40.
We got up early in the morning, took a taxi to the Tianwaicun (天外村), and then transferred by the shuttle service to the Zhongtian Gate (中天門). It is recommended to buckle up because most of the 13 km (8.1 mi) journey consists of curved mountain roads. The ride went through landscape, forests, mountains and some relics. Once we reached the Zhongtian Gate, we needed to decide right away whether we would like to take the cable trolley or take the frightening 3,296 steps (in 2.63 km / 1.63 mi from altitude 840 to 1,420 m / 2,756 to 4,659 ft) up to the famous Nantian Gate (南天門). My wife and I decided to take the challenge of climbing of the 3,296 steps up to the Nantian Gate before we are too old to do it. It took us 3 hours with several stops to take photos and rest. The day we went was a sunny day with quite a high temperature and humidity. I encountered leg cramps when we were only few hundred meters to Nantian Gate. We finally reached the destination after resting and massaging my leg. We went to a nearby restaurant (with air conditioning) once we arrived at Nantian Gate. After eating lunch and resting, we decided not to go to the Jade Emperor Peak (玉皇頂) which needs another 671 steps in 824 m (2,703 ft) because we had a train to catch. Of course we took the cable trolley (索道) back to the Zhongtian Gate and took the shuttle back to the Tianwaicun.
It is an unforgettable trip, and we will come back again to finish the rest of the spots. Remember to bring bottles of water (of course you can buy water from the vendors along the steps). Sneakers and some kind of sunburn protection are essential especially on sunny days. If you don’t think you can climb up so many steps, you can take the 2,078 m (6,818 ft) span cable trolley from Zhongtian Gate to the summit. You could enjoy the spectacular scenery of Mount Tai from this route. If you sit on the window side when taking the shuttle, then you might be able to take some amazing photos. Remember to increase your ISO. I would like to suggest staying overnight in Tai'an (which we did) and taking a taxi to the Mountain Tai bus station in Tianwaicun. It costs you around RMB 40.
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James Huang - All rights reserved.
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