I am 66 years old and I have been making 300-400 pancakes daily for over 50 years. My large pan is called “Aozi”. It was passed on to me from my family’s past generations of however many years ago. With it, my pancakes are thin and crispy.

Made from lamb’s meat, bone and organs. Usually eaten during the winter. The soup is clear and the fragrance is overwhelmingly attractive.

The belief is that this food shows how the local people are honest and simple. For tourists who enjoy other kinds of foods besides scallions, there are plenty of other fillings that can be used as a replacement

Taishan’s tofu is very famous. They were one of the best dishes offered to emperors when they arrived at Mt. Tai.

Dry-fried red-scale fish is a special dish only in Taishan, which used to be a tribute in the Qing Dynasty. The meat is tender, delicious, with fewer thorns, no astringency smell, and high nutritional value.

Taishan cooks often take advantage of Taishan’s weather and soil condition as there are many ingredients that are good for Chinese herbal medicinal growth. Some of the recommended dishes are lucid Ganoderma steamed chicken, lucid Ganoderma steamed duck, Polygonum stewed lamb, four-leaf ginseng steamed chicken, Rock candy Huangjing soup, Ginkgo biloba knuckle and almond tofu.

Taian people love organic vegetables; and when they dine with friends in Shandong, the local organic vegetables collected from depths of the forest are always the first thing that comes to mind. Local people often share with visitors that these are the Emperor’s favorite dishes to purify the body. The most famous dish are ginger leeks, fried lotus and fried pheasant.

Zhongtian Gate marks the halfway to the summit of Mt. Tai. It is a two-pillar single-door stone gate. In ancient times, Mt. Tai had many tigers; therefore, people built a temple on the north side of the gate to worship the black tiger god.

Yuhuang Peak (Jade Crown Peak) was a place where emperors of the Dynasties worshipped the Heavens. The old fables of Yuhuang Peak have made this grand mysterious hall more superior.

Every tourist souvenir shop in Taian will have rocks of different sizes at their doorstep and on these rocks, they will have the engraving of “Mt. Tai Dare to Be (Shi Gan Dang),” which gives a solid impression. In fact, this is not any ordinary toy for kids.

The Mount Tai Feng Shan Grand Ceremony highlights how emperors from five dynasties, namely the Qin, Han, Tang, Song, and Qing (221BC – 1912AD) worship heaven and earth at the very location that you stand.

At #Taian’s Daiyue District, we found this oldest working bridge across Da Wen River. Built in 1567-1573, it is the oldest bridge on this river and in entire Shandong.

Feicheng City is considered to be the holy land of peach flowers as well as the hometown of the Chinese Buddha Peach. The peach orchards take up 66,700 hectares (16.5 thousand acres). According to the Guinness Book of World Records, this peach orchard is the largest in the world.

Built 2,400 years ago. There is a section in Tai’an City, about 82 km long

To the north of the Yitian Gate of Mt. Tai stands a stone memorial archway with an inscription reading the “Site Where Confucius Started Climbing the Mountain.” The memorial archway was constructed in 1560 (the 39th year of the Jiajing reign period of the Ming Dynasty) to commemorate a well-known saying by Confucius: “At the top of Mt. Tai, the world looks small.”

Gambling pastimes like horse racing, F1 racing, World Cup matches, and even chicken fights have taken to people’s entertainment. I bet you’ve never heard of this type of gamble – “Cricket Fighting”. Only male crickets fight, but not nearly as bad as modern boxing. Crickets come in various sizes. The Ningjing cricket, also known as the “emperor cricket” is a popular one among cricket enthusiasts. It is among the largest in size, strong, and powerful enough to defeat its opponent.

Displaying more than 300 antique cars from all over the world, the Taishan World Antique Auto show houses the largest antique car collection in China. What is interesting is that you can find China’s very own “Jay Leno” private antique car collection here. Also, inside China’s very first car is an imperil sedan. At the time, 2 car manufacturers were making cars in China with 2 very different styles; but obvious enough, they are early Soviet and Western styles. One of the cars was used as Chairman Mao’s first car, and the Lincoln Limo was used by…

The Glass Bridge certainly gains popularity across Shandong. Creativity is manifested or emancipated. The Water Margin Glass Bridge cracks when you are least prepared. Try not to go with your significant other, unless you can save him or her by instinct when the crack happens.

Home to the Dongping Lake and the second largest freshwater lake in all of Shandong, the Lashan national forest is also famous for an uprising led by a local gentleman, Songjiang, from the Song Dynasty. Songjiang led 108 heroes to punish the greedy officials, and helped the poor and needy. This entire saga was written in one of the Four Great Classic Novels called the Outlaws of Water Margin during the Ming dynasty by Shi Naian.

Dongping Lake Scenic Area is located in Tai’an City, Dongping County. It is the only remaining water body of the 400 sq kilometer is described in the novel “The Water Margin”, which has now been named a “Water Margin” tourist route.

Another attraction is the Dawenkou Museum which was built on the base of the Dawenkou archeological site. The museum is located in Dawenkou Town which is at the southern edge of Mount Tai. Historically, the Dawenkou culture lasted from 4300 BC to 2500 BC in the Neolithic Age. The museum shows tourists stone tools and pottery as well as the lifestyle of this ancient culture.

It reveals the simplicity and colorful life of local culture. The choreography is unique, where one person is playing, singing, talking, dancing, and managing percussions – all at the same time. There are at least two people during a show performance. The play has a history of 1,700 years, and recently became a world cultural heritage item in the “non-material” category. As of 2016, Mr. Fan Zhengan’s family studio remains the only one who has passed on his skillsets to his children.

It is no brainer everyone will visit Mt. Tai when they travel to Tai’an. The Taishan underground rift is a secret zone between the two mountains of Mt. Tai and Lushan. The miraculous and grand sight shows how nature created a geological change. The rift is hundreds of meters deep and a rich groundwater resource in the cave provides the base to water-raft. Even the Guinness World Records certified it as the longest unpowered underground river rafting.

This hot spring is flanked by a ski resort and an entertainment center at the foot of Mt. Culai. The Mt. Tai Hot Spring is 20 minutes away by car from downtown Tai’an City.  It is on the national historical hot spring registrar as one of the top four that is over 1,000 years old. The best springs to enjoy the most are oven the mountain stops. While the spring resort operates all year long, many people choose to enjoy bathing over snowflakes. There are also fish-massages which create a unique sensation as well.

Mt. Culai is a twin mountain of the many mountains at Mt. Tai. It is known for its vast collection of cultural relics. The national park is located 20 km south of Tai’an City and southeast of Mount Tai. The park has an area of 250 km2 (61,776 acres) featuring deep meandering canyons, waterfalls, lakes, lush forests, and 99 sharp peaks piercing through the sky. The highest peak, Taiping Peak is 1,027 meters (3,369 feet) above sea level.

At the foot of Mount Tai surrounded by 2,000-year-old twisted Cyprus trees lies the Dai Temple (known in Chinese as the Daimiao). For centuries, China’s emperors would pass through the temple on their route up the mountain. Built in the Han dynasty, the design of the temple mimics the style of an imperial palace, one of the only existing buildings of this type in China, along with the Forbidden City and the Temple of Confucius in Qufu.

Every tourist souvenir shop in Taian will have rocks of different sizes at their doorstep and on these rocks, they will have the engraving of “Mt. Tai Dare to Be (Shi Gan Dang),” which gives a solid impression. In fact, this is not any ordinary toy for kids.

Yintai shopping center

Taonihuan Shopping square

Taishan walnut

Ningyang jujubes

Mt. Tai tea

Mt. Tai papercut

Mt. Tai jade

Laoxianyadayuan

Feicheng Peach tree sculpture

Dark Jade

Confucius Feast

Recommended souvenir/must-buy items:

A folk art carnival at Dai Temple, this festival is known to be a relatively large festival celebrated in Taian. Tradition can be traced back as far as 2,000 years ago. Folk art performances, parades, flea markets, meditation, etc. can be enjoyed here.

Dragon boat racing, and picking lotus. Reenactment of 108 legendary heroes.

Many monks will attend to pray for people.

People walked on the old bridge to expel bad luck and gain good luck. Hope everything will be better next year.

2018 is the 31st Climbing Festival in Tai’an. This event is the largest of its kind in the entire province, and it has even gone international. Registration is required. Participants are divided into 6 groups by age, gender, and nationality. The current record for men is 0:56:22, and for women, it is 1:08:33. “Rumor” has it that the entire length of the path built is 6666 steps, an auspiciously good number according to Chinese fortune tellers. Time to prove that is true.

The Peach Flower Festival is held in Liutai Village every April. The peach orchards covers over 16.5 thousand acres. Tourists from all over China and the world attend this festival. You can feel the world is full of peach smell at here.