Dai Temple

Situated in the north of Tai'an City, the Dai Temple is a Taoist temple as well as the largest and

best-preserved architectural complex on Mount Tai. Also called the East Dai Temple, it is one

of the four most famous ancient architectural complexes including the Forbidden City in Beijing,

the Temple of Confucius, the Kong Family Mansion and the cemetery of Confucius in Qufu, and

the Mountain Resort in Chengde.

Covering an area of 96,000 square meters, the Dai Temple is about 405 meters long from south

to north and 237 meters wide from east to west. Constructed in the Han Dynasty, it had been

renovated by the emperors in the past dynasties and became prosperous in the Tang and Song

Dynasties. It is where the emperors make sacrifice to the Gods of Heaven and Earth and worship

the God of the Mt. Taishan. The Temple has various architectural structures including the Tiankuang

Hall, the Yaocan Pavilion, the Zhengyang Gate, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Han Dynasty

Cypress Courtyard and the Tang Dynasty Pagoda Tree Courtyard.

The Dai Temple is also famed as the forest of stone tablets. It houses many stone inscriptions of

different periods in history and some Han Dynasty stone sculptures. The most celebrated is Li Si's

inscriptions on the stone. Li was the Prime Minister in the Qin Dynasty . Meanwhile, there are also

some cultural relics, offerings and the sacrificial utensils bestowed by the emperors in the temple.