Location: Taian City is located in the center of Shandong Province, only 50 km (31 miles) from Jinan City.Situated at the center of Shandong Province, Tai'an City is a stretch of ancient and mystical land. Centered on Mount Tai, one of the five sacred mountains in China, the city is about 176.6 kilometers (109.7 miles) long from east to west and about 93.5 kilometers (58.1 miles) wide from north to south with a total area of 7,762 square kilometers (2,997 square miles). It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east, Liaocheng to the extreme west and Jining to the south. To the west Tai'an is separated from the province of Henan by the Yellow River. With a population of 5,499,000 (2004), the city is divided into two districts and four counties.
History
In the Neolithic, the area of present day Tai'an was home to the Dawenkou culture, which reflects the whole course of the transition from matriarchal society to patriarchal society and the disintegration of the primitive society. Since the period of Qin Dynasty (221 - 207 BC) and Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), Mount Tai has gradually become a famous mountain where the emperors granted titles to Buddhists and did their worship.
Landform
Tai'an is a part of the Middle Lu mountainous region, of which the landform is higher on the northeast and tilts to southwest. The terrain is complex in Tai'an, including mountains, hills, plains, marshlands and lakes. Mountainous area takes up 18.3 percent of the total and the average altitude is 400 - 800 meters (1,312 - 2,625 feet) above sea level.
Climate
Tai'an is under the influence of temperate continental sub-humid monsoon climate. It has distinct seasons and it is dry and windy in spring, hot and rainy in summer, sunny and fresh in autumn and cold and little snow in winter. The annual average sunshine hours, temperature, the amount of rainfall is 2,528 hours, 13 degree Celsius (55.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and 675 millimeters (26.6 inches) respectively. Due to the impact of the varied topography, the local micro-climate zones are formed, where types of local products are grown.
Tourist Sites
Tai'an City has a long history and a brilliant culture. It possesses the tourist resources with particularly favorable natural conditions which have Mount Tai as the representative. The ruins of Dawenkou Culture, Daimiao Temple (Temple of Mount Tai) and Tomb of Feng Yuxiang are the important historical relies under the state protection. Lying in the south of the famous Mount Tai, Tai'an and the mountain set harmoniously into one. It is a beautiful cultural tourist city with time-honored history.
What to see: Mount Tai
