旅游觀光參考譯文：第六篇 Passage 6

第六篇 Passage 6

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.

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.

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.

Mount Tai is a perfect example of the kind of mountain resort that embodies natural scenery and cultural heritage, boasting numerous exotic stones, pouring waterfalls, age-old pine trees, stone bridges, ancient pagodas, temples, pavilions and halls. And in particular, tourists will invariantly marvel at the vast number of stone inscriptions left by famous ancient writers, scholars, and calligraphers of various dynasties.

Each season here has its beauty: bright flowers in full bloom covering the green slopes in spring, spectacular summer thunderstorms which are rarely seen elsewhere, blue rivers running across the mountains overlaid with red maple leaves in fall, and snow-topped mountains and frosted pine trees in winter that stage a quiet grandeur spectacle of particular interest. On a sunny day one can see the peaks rising one upon the other. On a cloudy day, the horizon disappears into a sea of clouds. Mount Tai is most famous for its spectacular sunrise and sunset. Its landscape and numerous historical sites have inspired many great classics of ancient writers and calligraphers. It has long been the preferred gathering place of artists and poets.

The modern world has also recognized the tourist and cultural values of Mount Tai. Early in 1985, Mount Tai was listed as World Natural and Cultural Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).