Confucius once said that when he mounted on the top of Taishan, the world beneath would seem small to him.  Well, the concept of world to Confucius might be quite different from it is now.   Taishan has only an altitude of 1,500 meters or so, but it abruptly erects out of the vast plain of northern China that has made it a wonder to people as to deify it the "noblest mountain among mountains"(五嶽獨尊).

Throughtout imperial China, the pomp and circumstance of consecration at Taishan (封禪) was one of most important royal affairs.  Only those emperors with magnificient achievements dared to do such a significant thing without self-effacement.  Now there is a simulated performance of 封禪 displayed at the foot of Taishan, but we didnt watch it.  (Perhaps its a nocturnal activity.) 

Of course, a party of septuagenarians like us was not able to mount on the top of Taishan as Confucius did, so we first took in-park bus to the entrance of the funicular railway in the middle of the mountain, then we rode on the gondolas of shuttled, non-stop cabled car to 南天門, where a 600-odd steps waiting for us to climb onto the top.  (The adventure in gondola to view the deep canyon of Taishan reminded me of that I experienced in Spain: the black-faced Madonna(Virgin Mary) in Montserrat Monastery at "西班牙之旅(十)...Barcelona, part two" on http://blog.udn.com/kkuo0810/51951704 )

The thick mist brought us only blurred image on the mountain top and its surroundings, let alone watching "the world beneath".  Except drones of tourists, the only visible things were those inscriptions, including that famous 五嶽獨尊.  We also found some ancient "carvings", similar to those of modern "到此一遊"; well, not everyone of the us could leave nothing in the place weve visited but the memories and observations in writing like Xu Xiake did.    

「五嶽獨尊」碑