Tai'an City

is a stretch of ancient and mystical land. Five thousand years ago here originated the brilliant Dawenkou Culture, which reflects the whole course of the transition from matriarchal society to patriarchal society and the disintegration of the primitive society. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Period of Warring States. 

Qi-Lu Culture in the Taishan Mountain Area is so magnificent that it wins people's admiration all over the world. Since entering the period of Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, Taishan Mountain has gradually become a famous mountain where the emperors granted titles to Buddhists and did their worship until the Ming and Qing Dynasty, which has lasted for more than a thousand years.

Geography Tai'an

Tai'an City is situated at the center of Shandong Province, located at 11602´to 11759´ east longitude and 3538´to 3628´north latitude, and is about 176.6 kilometers long from east to west and about 93.5 kilometers wide from north to south with a total area of 7,762 square kilometers.

Tai'an City is a part of the Middle Lu mountainous region, of which the whole terrain inclines from northeast to southwest, and there are many kinds of landforms within the boundaries, such as mountains, hills, plains, marshlands, lakes, etc. The mountainous regions are mainly grouped in the north and the east of the city, which have an area of 140,700 hectares, occupying 18% of the total area of the city, with the altitudes from 400 to 800 meters. The hills are distributed mainly over the southwest of Xintai City, the east of Ningyang County, the northwestern suburb of Tai'an City, the fringe of Feicheng Basin and the north end of Dongping County. The plains are distributed mainly along the mountains and rivers, mostly are the valley plains, conoplains and diluvia plains. The marshlands and lakes are mainly distributed within the Dongping County. The Dongping Lake is the second large freshwater lake in the province, and is the only survived waters of "Liangshan Waters and Lakes".

Culture Tai'an

Tai'an City has a long history and a brilliant culture. Taishan Mountain is the key famous scenic spot ofthe state and the natural cultural legacy of the world; the ruins of Dawenkou Culture, Daimiao Temple (Temple of Taishan Mountain) and Tomb of Feng Yuxiang are the important historical relies under the state protection. Since the reform and opening up, the cultural undertakings of Tai'an City have been developed quickly, all sorts of cultural facilities such as library, museum and cinema have been improved greatly, and the newspaper, broadcast, television and cultural causes are in the forefront of Shandong Province. The technical education of Tai'an City is advanced, and there are 21 scientific research institutes, 14 universities and colleges, and 45 polytechnic schools in the city.

A Survey of Tourist Industry Tai'an

Tai'an City possesses the tourist resources with particularly favorable natural conditions which have the Taishan Mountain as the representative, and the tourist industry has developed vigorously since the reform and opening up, and it is becoming the pillar industry of the city's economy. In 1998, approximately 4.05 million domestic tourists visited the city, and the direct income from tourist industry totaled 1.683 billion CNY.

Taishan Mountain is a traditional sightseeing and touring product, and if it wants to attract tourists at home and abroad to come continuously, it should be uninterruptedly developed according to the demands of the tourist market. 

Pursuing new style, heightening the ancient style, laying stress on the characteristics and radiating over the surroundings, Tai'an has done a lot to expand the sightseeing area of Taishan Mountain and enrich the tour items, which is helpful to the development of tourist industry.

Additionally, the basic touring facilities of Tai'an City have been perfected constantly, and tourist service functions of the city have been improved unceasingly. Developed to nowadays, the whole city has established 9 star-rated hotels and over two hundred restaurants of various kinds. There are thirty travel agencies in the city, which have the ability to receive thirty thousand people simultaneously. The chain of tourist industry of "eating, lodging, walking, touring, shopping and amusing" has come into being and is operating.
As a new industry, the tourist industry of Tai'an City has unfolded its exuberant vigor, and Tai'an City is forwarding toward the aim of becoming an extensive tourism, big market and large-scale industry.