Mount Taishan - Temple of the Princess of the Azure Cloud Bixia Ci

The Temple of the Princess of the Azure Cloud (Bixia Ci), built between 1008 and 1016, is now reinforced with heavy metal struts. In the main hall stands a bronze statue of the princess, who is revered as the tutelary goddess of Mount Taishan. In the courtyard can be seen two stelae, also in bronze, with inscriptions dating from 1615 and 1625.

The most important of the many inscriptions carved on the group of rocks known as Great View (Daguan) on the nearby Daiding peak is the essay about Taishan (Ji Taishan Mingbai). Standing 13.3m/44ft high and 5.3m/17ft wide, the stone contains 996 ideograms, each of which is 1m/3ft in diameter. The calligraphy was the work of the Tang Emperor Xuanzong in 726.