Chengshantou

Chengshantou, aka Mount Chengtou, is situated on the easternmost point of Shandong Peninsula, itself known under the alternate name of Jiaodong Peninsula, one of the two peninsulas that embrace, as it were, the Bo Hai Sea (the other is the Liaodong Peninsula farther north, which is contiguous with the Korean Peninsula).

In ancient times, i.e., during the Qin (BCE 221-207) Dynasty, the Cheng Mountain range, which lay at the northwesternmost extremity of what was known as China at the time, was considered the end of the world (there was similarly a southwestern extremity of China that was also considered the end of the world, since the highly socially developed Chinese, who tended to consider others as somewhat barbaric, considered China as the world, or perhaps at least the civilized world). Since tou means "end" in Chinese, Chengshantou translates to "the mountain range at the end of the world", and since shan, which means "mountain", is generally separated from the rest of the name in English and either placed in front ("Mount") or behind ("Mountain") the rest of the name, we get the rather idiosyncratic English form, Mount Chengtou ("Mount Cheng-at-the-end-of-the-world").

Not surprisingly, Mount Chengtou/ Chengshantou was considered in ancient times as "the place from whence the sun rises". Chengshantou still offers stunning views of the sunrise. Here, you can see "undulating" peaks - or peaks that alternate sharply in height, and many with sharp crags - interspersed with green plateaus and valleys, and vast expanses of water as you gaze out to sea, protected by the mountain's height from the tall waves that come crashing in toward you, all of which makes Chengshantou a fascinating place to plan a sightseeing trip of a few days, or an interesting, cool place to retreat from the heat during the summer holidays.

There is an interesting legend about Chengshantou and China's first emperor. From BCE 219-210, during the latter part of the reign (BCE 246-210) of Shi Huangdi, or Emperor Qin, as the emperor of the Qin Dynasty was known (Shi Huang was the first Chinese sovereign to style himself "emperor", though there would be many who would take up that mantle after him), the emperor paid two visits to Chengshantou in search of the elixir of life. To make it easier for him to get around the undulating peaks of Chengshantou, the emperor ordered that long bridges be built connecting many of the lesser peaks of Chengshantou. Thanks therefore to this effort, present-day tourists can betread the same bridges and paths that were trod by Emperor Qin over two millenia ago, places such as Qinling Ridge and Shejiao ("Flood-Dragon Shooting") Platform, as well as Shi Huang Temple, all of which are unique places from their history alone. Emperor Qin's serving premier at the time appended a new distinction to this end-of-the-world place, referring thereafter to Chengshantou as "the end of the world and the eastern entrance of the Qin Empire".

Later, in CE 94, when Emperor Wu of the Han (BCE 206 - CE 220) Dynasty made his annual inspection tour to the Eastern Sea (East China Sea), he had a new temple built on Chengshantou, the Temple of the Sun God (Rizhu Ci), in recognition of this holy mountain where the sun first shines on China every morning. Wudi, or Emperor Wu, spent much time enjoying the sunrises on Chengshantou. Later still, Emperor Wu had a Taoist temple, Chengshan Taoist Temple, erected on the mountain, which he consecrated with an ode.

Major scenic sites on present-day Chengshantou include Hailu Island, Shihuang Temple, Bairitai ("Sun Worshiping") Platform, Wanghaiting ("Sea-Viewing") Pavilion, Guantaoge ("Wave-Enjoying") Pavilion, Zhenlong ("Dragon-Subduing") Stone, and a new safari park as well as a number of stelae and the ruins of a number of bridges that were erected during the Qin Dynasty.