If you’re going to climb one mountain in China, Tai Shan (Tai Mountain) is the one. There are a series of reasons why the Chinese see it as the most sacred of China’s mountains, but one piece of info stands out as significant:
- UNESCO have 10 criteria that they use to qualify a site as World Heritage (6 for cultural significance, 4 for natural). Tai Shan meets 7 of these criteria which, along with the Tasmanian Wilderness Area, puts it top of the list of all sites in the world.
It was one of my standout experiences in this mesmerising, vast country.
Key tip – try to catch the sunrise
I find many “you must go for sunrise” experiences turn out to be a bit of a let down – once you’ve seen one sunrise you’ve kind of seen them all. But Tai Shan felt different because
- You’re on top of a mountain so the views are naturally better.
- You avoid the vast majority of crowds – bear in the first cable cars only start 730am summer, 830am winter. And this is China so not a small consideration.
- The experience, if you choose to walk, is a cracking one as you’re doing it by moonlight and all part of a buzz with other night-hikers.
