Mt. Tai (Tai Shan), Shandong Province

Tiankuang (Celestial Gift) Hall, the main hall of the Dai Temple, consists of nine rooms with double eaves, eight cornices and yellow glazed tile roofs. The frescoes (10 ft. high and 170 ft. long) of life-like figures, covering the east, west, and north walls are rare, outstanding works of art. 

Jinshiyu Valley: Half a mile to the northeast of Doumu Palace is a huge wall of rock (one 15th of a hectare) bearing an engraving of the Diamond Sutra. Each character is more than a foot high. The forceful calligraphy of this ancient inscription is regarded as the prototype of the bank (placard) style. 

Nantianmen (South Celestial) Gate: This is opposite the Beitianmen Gate (the Northern Celestial Gate) and can be reached by a steep, winding staircase. At the top is Mokong (Touching the Sky) tower with a stone table bearing an inscription by Du Renjie, a Yuan Dynasty poet. 

Mt. Tai (Tai Shan) Related News and Reports

Confucius's Hometown Finished Renovation

Xinhua News Aug. 29, 2005 - Qufu, the birthplace of China's preeminent philosopher Confucius, plans to restore its ancient city walls and streets ahead of the philosopher's 2556th birthday anniversary, which falls on September 28. (Click for full report).

China to hold monthly rituals for Confucius to promote tourism
Hindu, India, March 28, 2006 - Qufu, the hometown of Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC), a great thinker and educator in ancient China, has decided to hold memorial rituals for him on the 28th day of each month from April to October to popularise his thoughts as well as promote tourism. The activities are a simplified version of the grand ceremony held on September 28, the birthday of Confucius, when people dressed in traditional ancient costumes perform the rituals which had been held in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), according to a tourism official of Qufu city in eastern China's Shandong province. The monthly rituals are aimed at entertaining domestic and foreign tourists who want to appreciate the memorial activities for Confucius, the official said. Confucius, or Kong Fuzi in Chinese, was a great ancient Chinese educator and philosopher, with benevolence being one of his key doctrines. His profound thinking has been an integral part of China's cultural system. Such memorial events can be traced back to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 24 AD) in China. Since the 1980s, a grand ceremony is held annually in Qufu on September 28 to commemorate the birth of Confucius.