October 19, 2005
Mount Taishan
Mount Taishanis located in the central part of Shan Dong Province between the cities Ji'nan and Tai'an Cities. At 1,545 meters, it's not the highest mountain in china, but it is probably the most famous. I don't know much about the history but I'm told that Emporers used to go there to worship and there's a big stone gate that they would walk through during certain ceremonies.
People go here for he sun set and the sun rise. Somehow I managed to get on the tour that missed both. It was the first tour I've ever taken, and I'm not anxious to go on another.
It took 5 or 6 hours to hike up (we had a local guide and he started us off about half way up the mountain in a very rural area where locals where breaking rocks apart by using hammers to smash wedges into the large stones). It was supposed to take 3 or 4 hours but some people couldn't keep up. This was irritating not only because we missed the sunset, but also because we had to finish the hike in the dark which was fairly dangerous.
Then the next morning we had to take the cable car down the mountain early in he morning, leaving us with too little time to get from our hotel to the peak to see the sunrise.
Regarding hotels, we stayed in the Xian Ju hotel. We had to because it is very close to the cable car and while we hiked our luggage was brought up in cable cars and transferred to the hotel. Getting the luggage to one of the better hotels would have been too difficult for the guides.
If you're traveling light enough, stay in the Shen Ji hotel. You'll have to carry your luggage 10-15 minutes including up a bunch of stairs, but the Xian Ju hotel is a real dump.
Anyway, I recommend Taishan Mountain as long as you leave enough time to see the sunset and the sunrise. If you're taking the cable car thi should be no problem (it's 45 Yaun each way), but if you're hiking then leave early and choose your company wisely.
An images search for Tai Shan mountain, or Taishan (and similar terms) yields some great photos of the most famous mountain in China.
Posted by James Trotta at October 19, 2005 7:58 PM