prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...
in Western
Shandong Province
Shandong is a coastal province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center ...
of the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Centered on
Mount Tai
Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...
, the city borders the provincial capital of
Jinan
Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...
to the north,
Zibo
Zibo () is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province of China, province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Bi ...
to the east,
Linyi
Linyi ( zh, s=临沂 , t=臨沂 , p=Línyí) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the eas ...
to the southeast,
Liaocheng
Liaocheng ( zh, s=, p=Liáochéng), is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the provinces of Hebei and Henan t ...
to the extreme west and
Jining
Jining () is a former capital of Shandong. Is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the no ...
to the south. To the west, Tai'an is separated from the province of
Henan
Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...
by the
Yellow River
The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...
.
Its population was 5,494,207 as of the 2010 census, of whom 1,735,425 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') area made of two urban districts ('' Taishan District and
Daiyue District
Daiyue () is a district of the city of Tai'an in Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reach ...
'').
Administration
The
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, province and above a Counties of the People's Republic of China, county in China's ...
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
, two
county-level cities
, map =
, category = Third level administrative division of a unitary state
, territory = People's Republic of China
, upper_unit = Prefectures, Provinces
, start_date =
, current_number = 411 (408 controlled, 3 claimed)
, number_da ...
and two
counties
A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
Daiyue District
Daiyue () is a district of the city of Tai'an in Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reach ...
()
*
Xintai
Xintai () is a county-level city in the central part of Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It is the easternmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Tai'an and is located about to the southeast of downtown Tai'an.
...
City ()
*
Feicheng
Feicheng ( zh, s=肥城, p=Féichéng) is a county-level city
A county-level city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judic ...
City ()
*
Ningyang County
Ningyang () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province of China, p ...
Tai'an is named after Mount Tai. In Chinese, Tai () means "significant". Thus, the name Tai'an is derived from the ancient saying: "If Mount Tai is safe, then the four seas (the world) are safe ()."
Early history
Tai'an was home to the
Dawenkou culture
The Dawenkou culture was a Chinese Neolithic culture primarily located in the eastern province of Shandong, but also appearing in Anhui, Henan and Jiangsu. The culture existed from 4300 to 2600 BC, and co-existed with the Yangshao culture. Turquo ...
during the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
era. During the
Spring and Autumn period
The Spring and Autumn period () was a period in History of China, Chinese history corresponding roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou (256 BCE), characterized by the gradual erosion of royal power as local lords nominally subject t ...
and the
Warring States period
The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...
, the region belonged to the states of Qi and Lu. The site of major historical and cultural significance in the area is
Mount Tai
Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...
. It attracted multiple emperors throughout the dynasties to
visit Visit refer as go to see and spend time with socially.
Visit may refer to:
*State visit, a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country
*Conjugal visit, in which a prisoner is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visit ...
, offer sacrifice to the heaven gods and pray for harvest. Confucius, Sima Qian,
Cao Zhi
Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232), courtesy name Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style o ...
, Li Bai,
Du Fu
Du Fu (; 712–770) was a Chinese poet and politician during the Tang dynasty. Together with his elder contemporary and friend Li Bai, Du is often considered one of the greatest Chinese poets of his time. His greatest ambition was to serve ...
and other litterateurs visited here and many great works were produced.
Modern history
In 1909, German colonials built Tai'an-Fu Railway Station along with the construction of Tianjin–Pukou railway (Tientsin–Pukow railway). On 10 November of the following year, the first train service passed through the station.
On 1 May 1928, Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of KMT and nationalist revolutionary army, commanded the attack of Tai'an and occupied it the next day.
In October 1937, exiled students from Peking, Tianjin and other major cities arrived in Tai'an seeking asylum after the north of Yellow river was occupied by the Japanese forces.
On 24 December 1937, Japanese troops crossed the Yellow River, occupied Jinan on the next day, and bombed Tai'an. On the night of 31 December, the Japanese occupied Tai'an. Local resistants were assembled autonomously to fight against the occupation.
Culture
Tai'an holds significant historical and cultural importance due to its association with Mount Tai, which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Worship at Mount Tai began in prehistoric times where the
religious Confucianism
Religious Confucianism is an interpretation of Confucianism as a religion. It originated in the time of Confucius with his defense of traditional religious institutions of his time such as the Jongmyo rites, and the ritual and music system.
Th ...
ritual
Feng Shan
Feng Shan or feng-shan (), also referred to as the Feng and Shan sacrifices, was an official rite offered by the Son of Heaven ( kings of Zhou and later emperors of China) to pay homage to heaven and earth. The sacrifices were usually offered at ...
emperors of China
Throughout Chinese history, "Emperor" () was the superlative title held by the monarchs of imperial China's various dynasties. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was the " Son of Heaven", an autocrat with the divine manda ...
. While the last traditional Feng Shan was performed in 1790, Tai'an holds an annual large-scale live performance called "Chinese Taishan·Fengshan Grand Ceremony". 泰山文化纪年 》：1、乾隆十三年（1748年）二月二十八日，清高宗奉皇太后（孝圣宪皇后钮祜禄氏，高宗之母）东巡，驻跸泰安府。次日，祭岱岳庙，侍太后登岱顶，祀碧霞元君。2、乾隆十六年（1751年）四月十六日，清高宗与皇太后南巡回銮，幸泰安，祀岱岳庙。3、乾隆二十二年（1757年）四月十一日，清高宗南巡回銮，抵泰安，谒岱岳庙，登岱顶，礼碧霞祠。4、乾隆二十七年（1762年）四月十九日，清高宗南巡回銮，途经泰安，谒岱岳庙，次日登山祀碧霞祠。5、乾隆三十年（1765年）四月，清高宗奉皇太后南巡，回銮谒岱岳庙， 驻跸灵岩寺。6、乾隆三十六年（1771年）二月，清高宗为恭贺皇太后八十寿辰，奉太后东巡，二十四日至泰安府， 驻跸白鹤泉 （此地是年建成行宫）。次日高宗躬谒岱庙。7、乾隆四十一年（1776年）三月，为庆祝大小金川叛乱平定，清高宗“恭奉皇太后巡幸山左，登岱延禧”。三月十四日至泰安府，谒岱庙，驻跸白鹤泉行宫。十五日登岱顶，祀碧霞祠。8、乾隆四十五年（1780年）正月，清高宗南巡，过泰安府。二十六日，驻跸白鹤泉行宫，次日谒遥参亭、岱庙。9、乾隆四十九年（1784年）二月初六，清高宗与皇子顒琰（即后之清仁宗嘉庆皇帝）南巡江河至泰安，躬谒遥参亭，“诣岱庙行礼”。10、乾隆五十五年（1790年）二月，清高宗东巡。三月初四日至泰安府，谒岱庙，驻跸白鹤泉行宫。次日以八旬之龄与皇子顒琰登岱顶，祀碧霞祠。初七日躬诣岱庙。
Tai'an is a tourist city, and the Tai'an government has also been trying to promote the development of tourism in Tai'an.
Geography and climate
Tai'an is centered on the south side of
Mount Tai
Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the ''Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being t ...
.
Dongping Lake
The Dongping Lake () is a freshwater lake in Shandong Province of China. It is situated in Dongping County in the west of Shandong Province, south of the lower reaches of Yellow River. The lake has a total area of about 148 square kilometers. T ...
is the biggest lake.
Tai'an lies in the northern temperate zone and has a continental, semi-humid
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
climate. The average annual temperatures are (January), (annual average), and (July). The average annual precipitation is .
Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway
The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway (or Jinghu high-speed railway) is a high-speed railway that connects two major economic zones in the People's Republic of China: the Bohai Economic Rim and the Yangtze River Delta.Taishan railway station on the
Beijing–Shanghai railway
The Beijing–Shanghai railway or Jinghu railway () is a railway line between Beijing and Shanghai.
The line has a total length of and connects the municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, as well as the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, ...
.
Tai'an is served by the
G2 Beijing–Shanghai Expressway
The Beijing–Shanghai Expressway designated as G2 and commonly abbreviated as the Jinghu Expressway is a major expressway of China, linking the capital Beijing in the north to Shanghai on the central coast. It extends 1262 kilometres in length ...
Laiwu
Laiwu () was a prefecture-level city in central Shandong Province (China), Province, China. Bordered the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east and Tai'an to the southwest, it was the smallest prefecture-level city in the p ...
). There is a four-lane highway from Tai'an to the
Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport
Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport is an airport serving Jinan, the capital of East China’s Shandong province. It is located approximately northeast of the city center and immediately to the north of the Yaoqiang Subdistrict ( zh, s= ...
. Within Tai'an there are large tree lined avenues throughout the city.
The nearest major airport is Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport, about to the north.
See also
*
List of twin towns and sister cities in China
This is a list of places in China which have standing links to local communities in other countries known as "Sister city, town twinning" (usually in Europe) or "sister cities" (usually in the rest of the world).
A
Anguo
* Dongdaemun Distri ...