This archway was once believed to bestow immortality on those dedicated enough to reach it. Emperors made sure to get off their huge litters to amble through.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
4.29 MILES
This magnificent Taoist temple complex is where all Tai'an roads lead, being the traditional first stop on the pilgrimage route up Tai Shan. The grounds,…
28.6 MILES
This park on the Hucheng River is built around Black Tiger Spring (黑虎泉, Hēihǔ Quán), which empties into the old city moat through three stone tiger heads…
27.88 MILES
The enormous provincial museum, 7km east of the city centre, surveys local culture from the mesolithic age to the present. Its collection began as one of…
27.39 MILES
Beginning in the Sui dynasty (581–618), pious folk carved Buddhas into this mountain southeast of the city centre. The oldest are at Xinguochan Temple,…
29.39 MILES
All the water from Ji'nan’s springs eventually flows into Daming Lake, set within the largest park in the city, with boat rides, paddle boats, temples,…
2.06 MILES
The name of this hall means 'Hall of the Goddess of the Northern Star' and it was first constructed in 1542 under the magical name ‘Dragon Spring Nunnery’…
4.19 MILES
The main hall of Dai Temple is the colossal, twin-eaved, nine-bay-wide Hall of Heavenly Blessing, which dates to AD 1009. The dark interior houses an…
28.67 MILES
This park's namesake 'spurting spring' once shot metres into the air, inspiring ancient poets and painters alike. Today, as more water has been channelled…
Nearby Shandong attractions
0.04 MILES
The South Gate to Heaven is the third celestial gate, which marks the beginning of the summit area.
0.1 MILES
Prosaically labelled '18 Twistings' on signposts, the gruelling Path of 18 Bends is an extremely steep 400m ascent to the mountain’s false summit;…
0.2 MILES
Statues of Confucius, Mencius, Zengzi and other Confucian luminaries are venerated at this high-altitude temple.
0.3 MILES
The sublimely perched Azure Clouds Temple is dedicated to Bixia. The iron tiling of the temple buildings is intended to prevent damage by strong winds,…
0.32 MILES
Each Chinese character carved in the Ten-Thousand Zhang Tablet, dated 1748, measures 1m across.
0.36 MILES
This Taoist Qingdi Palace can be found right before you reach the fog- and cloud-swathed mountain summit.
0.37 MILES
This huge pine tree, the last standing of the five ancient pines, was traditionally considered to be among the eight great sights of Tai Shan.