Dai Temple (岱庙)

Dai Temple, or Daimiao, stands at the foot of Mount Tai on Yangzhang Road in Taishan District, Tai'an, Shandong, China. It served as the ritual hall where emperors made the Feng Shan sacrifices to heaven and earth and worshipped the Mount Tai deity before or after climbing the mountain. Its origins go back to at least the Han dynasty, and it was enlarged by successive dynasties, especially in the Tang and Song periods. The compound covers roughly ten hectares and is enclosed by walls with a gate at each side, giving it the look of an imperial palace. Its centrepiece is the Tiankuang Hall, dating to 1009 in the Northern Song period and counted among the three great ancient halls of China alongside the main halls in Beijing and Qufu. The hall stands on a two-tiered terrace, has a double-eaved hip roof with yellow glazed tiles, and shelters a large Song mural, the Emperor's Procession, which is about 62 metres long and depicts the god of Mount Tai's inspection tour. Other preserved features include the Yaocan Pavilion, bronze and iron works such as the Bronze Pavilion, and a large collection of steles and inscribed stones, among them stele forests from the Han to the Qing dynasty, with old cypress trees reportedly planted in the Han period. The site is arranged as a sequence of gates, halls and courts on a north-south axis, and visitors walk it in order, much as ritual participants did. Restoration has been carried out repeatedly, including major Qing repairs and later work by the state heritage agency, and the temple is protected as a national heritage site and forms part of the wider Mount Tai UNESCO listing. It is the traditional starting point for many visitors before ascending Mount Tai, and a compact place to grasp the mountain's role in imperial ritual.