泰山地处我国山东省的中部，绵延200多公里。泰山横亘于泰安、历城、长清三市之间，以雄伟著称，其巅峰位于泰安市北面，海拔1545米。由于其地处东方，故被尊为五岳之长、古代帝王登基时，都要来泰山举行封禅大典，祭告天地。据传夏、商、周三代就有七十二个君主来这里祈祷。历史上泰山封禅最隆重的是汉武帝和唐玄宗。

Situated in central Shandong Province, Mount Tai stretches over 200 kilometers, pushing out its spurs into Tai’an, Licheng and Changqing. Its main peak, overlooking Tai’an city from the south rises 1545 meters above sea level. Because it lies in east China, where the sun rises, it is crowned as the most famous one of China’s Five Holy Mountains. Since ancient times, most emperors came to worship Heaven and Earth here when they ascended the throne. It is said that during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties (2100-221BC), a total of 72 monarchs journeyed to Mount Tai for prayers. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty held the grandest ceremony there.

泰山有五个游览区，登山路线有东西两路到中天门汇合，直达山顶，总路程9公里，6,566个石级。从中天门上山顶必须经过十八盘，盘道陡峭，像天梯高悬，是较险的地方。但据说此道是古代帝王所取之道，名胜古迹自然更多，所以，大多数人还是选择由此道登山。而西路登山较快，也为很多人喜欢。

There are five tourist spots and two main routes up the mountain-----eastern and western. Both routes converge at Zhongtianmen, Halfway Gate to Heaven, which leads to the summit. The entire journey covers 9 kilometer and 6,566 winding stone steps. To get to the summit from by the eastern route, climbers have to scale a steep flight of Eighteen Mountain Bends (Shibapan), the most precipitous section.  However, most climbers prefer going up by this route, since it is said this used to be the one taken by royalty and hence has more cultural sites and beautiful sceneries. While still many climbers ascend through the western route due to the easy scaling.

盘道尽头是南天门，离泰山顶仅一公里，且山道易登。山顶有供奉女神碧霞元君铜像的寺庙。极顶称天柱峰，因建有玉皇殿，又名玉皇顶。殿门外有无字碑。据考证2100年前，汉武帝树此碑，由于不满意那些御用文人所撰之词，就留此无字碑，以供观光者展开想象。泰山顶上有四大奇观：旭日东升，晚霞夕照，黄河金带，云海玉盘。玉皇顶东面的观日峰是观看日出的最佳之处。

The bends end at Nantianmen, South Gate to Heaven, only one kilometer away from the top, and a smooth climbing ahead to the summit. At the top of Mount Tai, there is a temple dedicated to Princess of the Azure Clouds, Bixia, and a Taoist deity.

Perched on the highest point of the mountain is Tianzhu Peak, Post to Heaven, also called the Jade Emperor Summit (Yuhuangding) owing to the Jade Emperor Palace. A Wordless Tablet stands outside the gate. The story goes that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty set up the rock 2,100 years ago, but was dissatisfied with the words his scribes produced. Therefore, he was determined to leave it to the viewers’ imagination.

Up to the summit of Mount Tai, climbers can enjoy the four grand sceneries: the Morning Sun Rising in the east, the Evening Sun Setting in the west, the Golden-belt of the Yellow River and the Jade Plate in the Sea of Clouds. The Sun Watching Peak east of the Jade Emperor Summit is an advantageous point to appreciate the sunrise.