As the first of the "Five Sacred Mountains", Mt Tai is located in the central part of Shandong Province, within the precincts of Jinan, Licheng and Tai'an, covering an area of 426 square kilometers. The highest peak of this mountain range about 1545 meters above sea level, lies within Tai'an City. Mt Tai abounds in lofty peaks, deep valleys and rare cultural relics of the old days.

Mt Tai became a resort long ago. Emperors down through the ages used to go up there to offer sacrifices to Heaven or their ancestors. The first emperor to do so is said to be Qin Shi Huang, founder of the Qin Dynasty (221-207B.C.). This association with feudalism has earned the mountain a widespread fame. Nowadays, after repeated renovations, Mt Tai has become more enchanting than ever before.

Mt Tai has a lot of famous places. They are Wangmuchi (Heavenly Queen Pool), Hongmen Gong (Red Gate Palace), Nan Tianmen (South Gate to Heaven), Bixia Ci (Azure Cloud Temple). There are also stone carvings from various dynasties, including the Buddhist Diamond Sutra carved on a stone cliff in Jinshi Yu (Sutra Stone Valley), Which is called "The ancestor of big characters." In 1987 UNESCO listed Mount Tai as the World Natural and Cultural Heritage.