Its population was 5,494,207 as of the 2010 census, of whom 1,735,425 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of two urban districts (Taishan District and Daiyue District).
Tai'an is named after Mount Tai. In Chinese, Tai (泰) means "significant". Thus, the name Tai'an is derived from the ancient saying: "If Mount Tai is safe, then the four seas (the world) are safe (安; ān)."[4]
Early history
Tai'an was home to the Dawenkou culture during the Neolithic era. During the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, the region belonged to the states of Qi and Lu. The site of major historical and cultural significance in the area is Mount Tai. It attracted multiple emperors throughout the dynasties to visit, offer sacrifice to the heaven gods and pray for harvest. Confucius, Sima Qian, Cao Zhi, Li Bai, Du Fu and other litterateurs visited here and many great works were produced.
Modern history
In 1909, German colonials built Tai'an-Fu Railway Station along with the construction of Tianjin–Pukou railway (Tientsin–Pukow railway). On 10 November of the following year, the first train service passed through the station.[5]
On 1 May 1928, Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of KMT and nationalist revolutionary army, commanded the attack of Tai'an and occupied it the next day.[6]
In October 1937, exiled students from Peking, Tianjin and other major cities arrived in Tai'an seeking asylum after the north of Yellow river was occupied by the Japanese forces.
On 24 December 1937, Japanese troops crossed the Yellow River, occupied Jinan on the next day, and bombed Tai'an. On the night of 31 December, the Japanese occupied Tai'an.[7] Local resistants were assembled autonomously to fight against the occupation.[8]
Culture
Tai'an holds significant historical and cultural importance due to its association with Mount Tai, which is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Worship at Mount Tai began in prehistoric times where the religious Confucianism ritual Feng Shan would be performed by the kings of Zhou and later emperors of China. While the last traditional Feng Shan was performed in 1790, Tai'an holds an annual large-scale live performance called "Chinese Taishan·Fengshan Grand Ceremony".[9][10]
Tai'an is a tourist city, and the Tai'an government has also been trying to promote the development of tourism in Tai'an.[11]
Tai'an lies in the northern temperate zone and has a continental, semi-humid monsoon climate. The average annual temperatures are −2.1 °C (28.2 °F) (January), 12.8 °C (55.0 °F) (annual average), and 26.0 °C (78.8 °F) (July). The average annual precipitation is 681 mm (26.8 in).
Climate data for Tai'an, elevation 129 m (423 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2010)
^《泰山文化纪年Archived 2021-01-08 at the Wayback Machine》：1、乾隆十三年（1748年）二月二十八日，清高宗奉皇太后（孝圣宪皇后钮祜禄氏，高宗之母）东巡，驻跸泰安府。次日，祭岱岳庙，侍太后登岱顶，祀碧霞元君。2、乾隆十六年（1751年）四月十六日，清高宗与皇太后南巡回銮，幸泰安，祀岱岳庙。3、乾隆二十二年（1757年）四月十一日，清高宗南巡回銮，抵泰安，谒岱岳庙，登岱顶，礼碧霞祠。4、乾隆二十七年（1762年）四月十九日，清高宗南巡回銮，途经泰安，谒岱岳庙，次日登山祀碧霞祠。5、乾隆三十年（1765年）四月，清高宗奉皇太后南巡，回銮谒岱岳庙， 驻跸灵岩寺。6、乾隆三十六年（1771年）二月，清高宗为恭贺皇太后八十寿辰，奉太后东巡，二十四日至泰安府， 驻跸白鹤泉 （此地是年建成行宫）。次日高宗躬谒岱庙。7、乾隆四十一年（1776年）三月，为庆祝大小金川叛乱平定，清高宗“恭奉皇太后巡幸山左，登岱延禧”。三月十四日至泰安府，谒岱庙，驻跸白鹤泉行宫。十五日登岱顶，祀碧霞祠。8、乾隆四十五年（1780年）正月，清高宗南巡，过泰安府。二十六日，驻跸白鹤泉行宫，次日谒遥参亭、岱庙。9、乾隆四十九年（1784年）二月初六，清高宗与皇子顒琰（即后之清仁宗嘉庆皇帝）南巡江河至泰安，躬谒遥参亭，“诣岱庙行礼”。10、乾隆五十五年（1790年）二月，清高宗东巡。三月初四日至泰安府，谒岱庙，驻跸白鹤泉行宫。次日以八旬之龄与皇子顒琰登岱顶，祀碧霞祠。初七日躬诣岱庙。
