Sunrise from Mountain Taishan is one of the most magnificent spectacles offered by Mountain Taishan.

Standing on the top of the mountain at fine dawn and looking down at the distance to the east, one sees a ray of morning light change from murky grow to light yellow, and then to orange red. Later, red and purple clouds in the sky, under going myriad changes in the twinkling of an eye, become redder and redder. Then, vast rosy clouds blend into a sea of clouds on the horizon-Just at the right moment, the sun breaks through the cloud layer, finally lifts the cloud curtain like a drifting palace lantern, and has slowly risen on the horizon. The peaks at this moment become colorful, and the earth immediately receives color and life.

Mountain Taishan is located in the east of China. Since ancient times, people thought that Mountain Taishan was nearest to the sun. The ancients once held various ceremonies at the top and foot of Mountain Taishan expressing their worship of Heaven and the sun. This custom has been kept from generation to generation. Ascending to the top and watching the sunrise from Mountain Taishan has become the desire of each visitor. People praise the sun and feel grateful for the present of the sun. The feeling between man and the sun on the top of Mountain Taishan is very moving.

The rainfall on Mountain Taishan is abundant, and the water is easily stored in the granite hills and mountains. The total quantity of stored water reaches 300 billion cubic meters, and the groundwater is about 1,500 million cubic meters, and has made Mountain Taishan a place that “water reaches as high a place as the peaks do”. The mountain is densely covered with springs and streams.

The major rivers of the scenic spots on the sunny slopes are the Nai River and the Suxi River. The Suxi River originates from the peaks to the east of the Halfway Gate to Heaven, and is also called “middle stream”. It is paralled to the middle route and the fall of the 5-kilometer stream ismore than 800 meters. Therefore, the water is rapid, and the waterfalls connect with deep pools and form a very grand sight.

The sight of “the waterfalls between the three deep pools” is in the middle section of the middle stream. When the stream reaches here, it forms 3 waterfalls, and each one falls 3 meters and the pools are about 2 meters deep. The spray spatters in the deep pools, making rainbows under sunlight, together with the sound of the rich rhythm of very great waves like drums and musical instruments, producing the effects for poetry and paintings. The ancient people loved this place, and built “a building for listening to waterfalls” in the Palace to Goddess Dou Mu on the bank. When one looks through window in the building, one becomes a part of the beautiful scenery.

On the sides of the steps north of the Halfway Gate to Heaven, the double peaks stand facing each other, covered by ten thousand pine trees. This is “the Opposing Pines Mountain” and also called “the Ten Thousand Pine Mountain”. Because of the difference of altitude, the types of vegetation on Mountain Taishan are also different. Lower than 800 meters above sea level, the vegetation is mainly pagoda trees and cypresses; but higher than 800 meters above sea level, the vegetation remains the world of pine trees.

On the mountain, thousands of pines form various shapes in emerald green. The rustling pines and musical springs make a pleasant sound for the ear. Whennever the mountain breeze rise, the soughing of the wind in the pines blows like billows beating the shore, but when cloud and mist appears, the pines seem to be flying like the flood dragons. It is a very grand sight.

About the Opposing Pines Mountain, the ancients had many descriptive phrases. Li Bai said that “the pines might be as high as Heaven, but at a distance they seem to be shorter than a foot”. Qianlong, an emperor of the Qing Dynasty wrote about it in this way, “The most charming scene of Mountain Taishan lies by the extremely marvelous Opposing Pines Mountain”.

Although the two poets used different techniques, both pointed out the features of the Opposing Pines Mountain. In order to let visitors take a short rest at this place, appreciating the pines and listening to the sound, a pavilion called “the Pavilion for Watching the Opposing Pines Mountain” has been built on the western side of the path on the side of the pavilion, the ancients, the sight striking a chord in their hearts, left multitudinous inscriptions to express themselves.

“The Sky-in-the-Ewer Tower” is a wonderful construction. It crouches in the middle of the way and blocks people's vision to the north. Standing in front of the tower, visitors can see nothing but the mountain ranges around them, even the way they came from seems to disappear. People look up here as if seeing the sky in the ewer and have sunk into a vast and hazy state. But this was just the intention of the ancients who built this pavilion.

The antithetical couplet at the two sides of the gate reveals the idea:“Ascending halfway you are here at the Sky-in-the-Ewer Tower. There will be happier lands when you arrive at the summit.” The meaning is that the way ahead is still very long, and only those who continue to climb hard can reach the peak and understand the artistic conception of “Come to the top and you see the world dwarfed”. The ancients had already considered the human physical and psychological factors when they made the route to the mountain and had made short intervals in the long journey, such as the Feiyun Pavilion at the Red Gate Palace, the Ten Thousand Immortals Tower and so on. People are kept in suspense, like reading the chapters in a novel, and go on climbing the mountain for the more beautiful landscapes ahead. This represents the vivid embodiment of the ancient Chinese aesthetic thought:“leaving somebody at large in order to catch him” and “a winding path leads to quiet seclusion”. Or in other words, the promise of a great achievement can lead you to make sacrifices.

The Sleeping-Dragon Pagoda Tree is located at the middle section of the mid-route, outside the west gate of the Doumu Palace (the Palace of Goddess Doumu). It was planted in the Ming Dynasty and was struck by lightning. The trunk topped to the ground, bred roots and grew the branches 8 meters away like the very image of the sleeping dragon holding up its head, and trying to fly. It is a well-known sight of Mountain Taishan.

The pagoda trees are also called “the national trees”, and are as famous as the pine trees and cypresses on Mountain Taishan. There are altogether more than 30 ancient pagoda trees in the scenic spots on Mountain Taishan and are all called “the National Trees of the Tang Dynasty”. It was recorded in history books that the pagoda trees were favored in the Tang Dynasty. Both sides of the streets before the royal palaces were planted with pagoda trees, and arranging the formation just like ministers lined up to embark on a journey. Tang Gaozong and Tang Xuanzong, two emperors of the Tang Dynasty, made pilgrimages and bestowed honorable titles on Mountain Taishan and planted the pagoda trees throughout their journeys in order to demonstrate the emperor's impressive power. The emperors of successive dynasties followed suit and constantly planted the Pagoda trees. New trees together with the old ones have formed the scenery of Mountain Taishan.

The pagoda tree is strong in adaptability and long in life. The tree shape is thinly scattered, natural and unrestrained. So it is the tree for viewing and has been made the “City Tree” by Tai'an City. Planted along both sides of the streets and roads, the trees are very simple and naturally graceful.