Mount Tai

Mount Tai, or Taishan, is the foremost of China's Five Great Mountains, rising to 1,545 metres above the plains of Shandong. For three thousand years it has been the supreme site of imperial pilgrimage, where emperors performed the rare feng and shan sacrifices to heaven and earth, making it perhaps the most culturally revered mountain in China.

Its grandeur is expressed in stone: temples, gateways, cliffside inscriptions and shrines line the ascent, culminating at the Jade Emperor Peak. The mountain has shaped Chinese art and religion for millennia, and watching the sunrise from its summit is a tradition reaching back to antiquity.

On the trail the classic pilgrim ascent climbs a stone stairway of some 6,600 steps from Dai Temple in Tai'an, through the Midway Gate to Heaven and the steep South Gate, taking about four to six hours. Graded moderate but relentlessly steep, it is a sustained staircase rather than a wilderness trek; a cable car offers an alternative for the upper section.

Practical notes: an entrance ticket is required, and summit hotels let visitors stay overnight for the dawn. Spring and autumn bring the clearest air and most comfortable climbing, summer is green but hazy and crowded, and winter coats the steps in ice and occasional snow. Mount Tai is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.