Dai Temple(Dongyue Temple)

After climbing Mount Tai, many people overlook the Dai Temple. Ignoring the Dai Temple means you might only see the majestic mountain body of Mount Tai, missing the key to understanding its "cultural soul." It provides the historical context and depth for understanding why Mount Tai is the "most revered of the Five Sacred Mountains." The Dai Temple was where ancient emperors held grand sacrificial ceremonies and resided before performing the Fengshan ceremony on Mount Tai. The emperor didn't go directly up the mountain, but first completed a series of complex rituals at the Dai Temple to communicate with heaven and earth and obtain "legitimacy." Without the rituals at the Dai Temple, the Fengshan ceremony would be incomplete. The Tiankuang Hall, along with the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Dacheng Hall in the Confucius Temple in Qufu, is known as one of the "Three Great Halls of the East," holding an extremely high status. The massive mural inside the Tiankuang Hall, "The Return of the God of Mount Tai," depicts the grand scene of the God of Mount Tai's procession. It is an outstanding representative of Song Dynasty murals, magnificent in scale and vivid in its figures. Originally, the mural cost 80 yuan to visit, but now you can make a free reservation through a mini-program—truly a great deal! The tall ginkgo trees planted during the Kangxi era in Dai Temple are currently at their most beautiful.

This is truly a worthwhile historical site, perfect for leisurely appreciating the traces of history. Now, in the golden autumn season, the ginkgo leaves have all turned golden, creating a magnificent, shimmering spectacle. The Dai Temple in Tai'an, also known as the Dongyue Temple or Tai Temple, is located at No. 191 Dongyue Street, Taishan District, Tai'an City, Shandong Province. Originally built in the Han Dynasty, it was a place where ancient emperors worshipped the spirit of Mount Tai and held grand sacrificial ceremonies. It is considered one of the four major ancient architectural complexes in China, along with the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Confucius Temple, Confucius Mansion, and Confucius Cemetery in Qufu, and the Mountain Resort in Chengde. In 1988, it was listed as a national key cultural relics protection unit. The Dai Temple covers an area of ​​approximately 96,000 square meters and adopts an imperial palace-style layout. Its main building, the Tiankuang Hall, is one of the three major palace-style buildings in ancient China, and houses the national treasure-level Song Dynasty mural, "The Return of the God of Mount Tai."

It's definitely worth a visit. As a Manchu, I particularly enjoy strolling through the imperial gardens. The Dai Temple is also home to many ancient trees, a tranquil environment, and koi fish roam freely. My only regret was that it rained, so I didn't get to see the Song Tianquan murals.

🏯 **Introduction to the Dai Temple:** The Dai Temple is the largest and most complete ancient building complex in Taishan. It was built in the Han Dynasty and is a place where emperors sacrificed the Taishan God in all generations. There is not only a deep historical and cultural heritage, but also a super beautiful ancient architecture and garden landscape. It is definitely a must-check in attraction in Tai'an! 🎫 Ticket information: ** - Ticket price: 20 yuan (off-season) / 30 yuan (peak season) - Opening hours: 8:00-17:30 (extended to 18:00 in peak season) 📸 **Must-check in attractions: ** 1.**Tianzhu Temple**: The core building of the temple, the murals in the temple are exquisite, the majestic atmosphere, and the solemn atmosphere of the ancient royal sacrifices is felt. 2. **Hanbai Courtyard**: The ancient cypress in the courtyard is towering, the tree age is more than 2000 years, the vicissitudes are full, and the photos are super sensational! 3.**Tongting Iron Tower**: the treasure of the town hall of the temple, the Tongting is exquisite, the tower is simple, showing the superb skills of ancient craftsmen. 4. **Beilin**: The temple has preserved a large number of inscriptions in the past, calligraphy lovers must not miss! 🚶‍♂️ **Recommended tour route: ** - **Zhengyangmen → Tianzhu Palace → Hanbaiyuan → Tongting Railway Tower → Stele Forest → Back garden ** This route can cover the main attractions of the Temple, do not go back, the efficiency is super high! 📝 **Tips: ** 1. **Wearing suggestions**: The temple building is mainly red wall and yellow tiles, it is recommended to wear light or ancient costumes, take pictures and make more films! 2. **Explanation service**: You can rent a explainer (about 20 yuan), or ask the tour guide to explain, and you can better understand the history and culture of the temple. The temple is not only the starting point of Mount Tai, but also the witness of history. Walking between the red walls and yellow tiles, it seems to travel back to ancient times and feel the weight and charm of the millennium culture. When you come to Tai'an, you must come to the temple to see!

Dai Temple, also known as Dongyue Temple, is located at No. 191 Dongyue Street, Taishan District, Tai'an City, Shandong Province. It is a place where ancient emperors worshipped the gods of Mount Tai and held sacrificial ceremonies. Dai Temple was founded in the Han Dynasty. There are records that "Qin built fields" and "Han also built palaces". During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (140-87 BC), the Han court built the Taishan Temple in Bo County, which is the predecessor of the current Dai Temple. During the Tang Wu Zhou period (690-705), Wu Zetian ordered the Daiyue Temple to be moved to its current location. In July of the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1008) of Emperor Zhenzong of Song Dynasty, Tianfu Hall was established. In the 26th year of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (1547), most of the buildings in the temple were burned down and renovated again in the Qing Dynasty. The restoration of Dai Temple began in July 1949. In 1988, Dai Temple was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit. The Dai Temple adopts the form of ancient Chinese vertical and horizontal expansion. The overall layout is divided into three axes: east, middle and west, with the north-south axis as the longitudinal axis. From south to north on the central axis are Yaocan Pavilion, Dai Temple Square, Zhengyang Gate, Peitian Gate, Ren'an Gate, Tianfu Hall, Houqin Palace, and Houzai Gate. Tianfu Hall is the main building of the Dai Temple. It is located in the back half of the Dai Temple. It is high on the platform. It is nine bays wide and has a double-eaved hip roof. It is known as the three major palace-style buildings in ancient China together with the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Dacheng Hall of the Confucius Temple in Qufu. The Dai Temple preserves a large number of steles from various dynasties, a total of 184 pieces, and 48 Han Dynasty stone reliefs. It is the third forest of steles in China after Xi'an and Qufu. The most famous of them is the Qin stone inscription, written by Prime Minister Li Si. There are 10 fragments of characters left, and seven complete ones. It is listed as a national first-class cultural relic. The Dai Temple is the ancestral temple of Mount Tai worship, and is dedicated to the "God of Mount Tai". It is also the place where ancient emperors lived and held ceremonies when they came to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices. The Dai Temple is not only a complex of ancient buildings with a long history, but also an ancient art museum that integrates architecture, gardens, sculptures, paintings and traditional culture.

1. In the urban area of ​​Tai'an, the bus goes directly to the temple. The Dai Temple is a place of worship for the emperors of all dynasties to hold the Fengshan ceremony. It is one of the four ancient architectural complexes in China. 2. Go through the "Dai Temple Square" and enter from the south city gate "Zhengyang Gate". I first go up the city wall from the left to have a bird's eye view of the panoramic view clockwise, and then go down from the west city gate "Xihua Gate" (the gate is not open) to visit counterclockwise. 3. Go south through a row of stone inscriptions to the "Tang Huai Courtyard". The original Tang Huai inside has died, and later generations have planted new Huai in the middle of the dead tree trunks. There is the "Yanxi Hall Ruins" in the courtyard. 4. Go east through the "Yanxi Gate" and "Bingling Gate" to the southeast "Han Bai Courtyard". There are about four or five ancient cypresses with strange shapes, which is eye-opening. There are many stone carvings from various dynasties on the wall. 5. Go north and out of the courtyard, you will see the "Eastern Imperial Seat", which was the living room when Emperor Qianlong came to the Dai Temple. Li Si's "Taishan Qin Stone Inscription" is here, which is a rare treasure. 6. There is no road to the north, so go west to "Ren'an Gate", which is similar to a long corridor building, with old photos of Tai'an cultural relics from various eras on both sides. 7. Go north to the main hall "Tianfu Hall". There is a strange stone in the courtyard in front of the hall. It is said that closing your eyes and walking around it three times to the left and three times to the right will be very effective. 8. Behind the hall, from right to left, there are the "Copper Pavilion" (built in ancient times. When the Qing Dynasty lacked copper for casting coins, the pavilion windows and beams were removed to obtain materials), 2 strange stone landscape gardens "Purple Garden" and "Sujing" (the door was locked in the afternoon), "Houqin Hall", Iron Tower (Ming Dynasty cultural relics, originally 13 floors, only 3 floors left after being bombed by the Japanese army during the Anti-Japanese War), and the "Taishan Research Society" in the south is a national research institute and cannot be entered. 9. Finally, we came to the west courtyard, where there are "Lu Ban Temple" and "Taishan World Geological Museum" (not open). 10. It takes 3 hours to play through the Dai Temple, and 1 hour to visit it in a hurry. 20211116

Whether you want to follow the tradition of worshipping Dai Temple first when visiting Mount Tai, you can totally follow your own preferences. There are temples in all the five mountains. It is not necessary to force people to go in search of the natural history and culture, and to visit mountains and rivers. If you want to worship Dai Temple, you must always be prepared. If it's just a tour, just visit outside the temple so that you don't have other problems to worry about. All kinds of stories, all kinds of statements, all kinds of origins, must finally be implemented in a certain form, you understand. Tickets are not required from Shuanglongchi to Dai Miaofang. Tickets are required to enter the main building of Dai Miao and thick-loaded doors. Like most temples, there are peace charms, prayer cards and concentric locks. There are all kinds of Taoism and rituals. What you think of them is entirely your own business. In other words, we should consider what we want to do first. I did not visit much from Shuanglongchi along the central axis until I came out of the heavy door. Dai Miaofang is worth watching. It is magnificent, exquisite and historical. Dai Miao City Building did not go up, leaving physical strength to go up Mount Tai. I worshipped Grandma Taishan according to my ability to show my respect. Later, he went out to Hongmen through Daizhongfang. Hong Men went back to Wanxian Tower and took 64 special routes to Tianwai Village. Personally, a certain form will have a sense of ritual, but also a kind of spiritual enjoyment. But the premise is to have personal initiative, not be fooled. In a word, it is necessary to visit Dai Temple when we first climb Mount Tai, or at least to see Yaoshen Pavilion and Dai Temple Square in the vestibule.

The first stop on the way to Mount Tai. The Forest of Steles - the First Mountain..., murals, buildings, and ancient trees are all worth seeing. It's better to ask a tour guide to explain, otherwise you will just be in a hurry. However, it's a bit commercialized, so I just think of it as a contribution to the protection and restoration of these cultural relics, and also for good luck.