Cultural significance

The Temple of the God of Mount Tai, known as the Dai Temple (Dai Miao) is the largest and most complete ancient building complex in the area. It covers an area of 96,000 square meters. The temple was first built during the Qin Dynasty. Since the time of the Han Dynasty (206BC - 220AD), its design has been a replica of the imperial palace, which makes it one out of three extant structures in China with the features of an imperial palace (the other two are the Forbidden City and the Confucius Temple in Qufu). The temple has five major halls and many small buildings. The centerpiece is the Palace of Heavenly Blessings (Tian Zhu), built in 1008, during the Northern Song Dynasty. The hall houses the mural painting "The God of Mount Tai Making a Journey", dated to the year 1009. The mural extends around the eastern, western and northern walls of the hall and is 3.3 metres high and 62 metres long. The theme of the painting is an inspection tour by the god. Next to the Palace of Heavenly Blessings stand the Yaocan Pavilion and the entrance archway as well as the Bronze Pavilion in the northeast corner. The Dai Temple is surrounded by the 2,100 year-old Han Dynasty cypresses.

Other major temples on the mountain include the Azure Cloud Temple dedicated to the daughter of the God of Mount Tai, the goddess Laomu and the Divine Rock Temple which features the Thousand-Buddhas Hall with painted Arhat statues.