Fangcun Town

Fangcun Town

Fangcun Town, Daiyue District, Tai’an City, is situated in the southern part of Tai’an, covering a total area of 96 square kilometers with a population of 60,000. It belongs to the Dawenkou River Basin, boasts a long cultural history, numerous historical sites, and a simple and honest folk culture. To the north lies Mount Culai, the sister mountain of Mount Tai, and it is surrounded on three sides by the renowned Dawen River. The town has a dense forest network with a forest coverage rate as high as 46.2%, offering fresh and oxygen-rich air, making it a natural oxygen bar. It is honored as the “Red Holy Land and Green Homeland.”

I. Superior Location and Convenient Transportation. Fangcun Town is 20 kilometers from the world-famous Mount Tai, borders the Culai Mountain National Forest Park to the north (the entrance to Mount Culai is within the town’s territory), and is located in the prime area in front of Mount Culai. It will be the biggest beneficiary of the development of Mount Culai and can compensate for the lack of tourism functions on the mountain itself. Surrounded by water on three sides, it lies along the scenic and historic Dawen River. To the south, it is 30 kilometers from Qufu, situated in the middle section of the golden tourism route of “one mountain, one river, and one sage.” According to the comprehensive development plan of the Dawen River in Tai’an City, the areas along the Mouwen River in our town and the region around Mount Culai will become part of the greater Mount Tai tourism circle (two mountains embracing one river), offering huge development potential. Transportation is convenient: to the east, there is a road passing through the mountains; to the west, there are the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, -, and National Highway 104. The 104 National Highway to Mount Culai sightseeing avenue, specially built by Tai’an City for the development of Mount Culai, has been completed and opened to traffic. The Beijing-Fuzhou Expressway also passes through the Daiyue District. The establishment of the Tai’an West Railway Station on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway will surely benefit tourism in Mount Culai. The tourism route from Jinan — Mount Tai — Mount Culai — Qufu is under planning. Once completed, the town’s geographical and transportation advantages will become even more prominent.

II. Abundant and Diverse Tourism Resources

(1) Mount Culai. In ancient times, Mount Culai was already a famous mountain under heaven. Historically, figures such as Laozi, Confucius, King Helü of Wu, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Guangwu of Han, Sima Qian, the Six Eccentrics of Zhuxi, the Tang Dynasty hermit Wang Xiyi, the Jin Dynasty scholar Dang Huaiying, the Yuan Dynasty scholars Xu Heng and Lusen, the Ming Dynasty’s Luo Guanzhong, and the Qing Dynasty’s Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion Zhao Guolin have all visited Mount Culai. Li Bai even lived in seclusion here for eight years. Legend has it that the Goddess of Mount Tai, Bixia Yuanjun, leapt up to Mount Tai from here, making Mount Culai her birthplace. This shows its significant influence at the time.

Mount Culai is home to numerous historical sites, and its natural scenery is no less impressive than that of Mount Tai. Moreover, it possesses a beauty, delicacy, elegance, and refinement rarely seen in Mount Tai. With its lofty peaks, peculiar rocks, secluded forests, unique summits, murmuring streams, and picturesque landscapes, Mount Culai features a forest coverage rate of 80.2%. In 1992, it was approved as a national forest park by the Ministry of Forestry.

(2) Dawen River. The Dawen River is one of China’s famous historical rivers and the largest reverse-flow river in Shandong Province. Our town is surrounded by the river on three sides, with tree-lined banks, teeming fish and shrimp, lush aquatic plants, birds hovering over the water, gentle and mild currents, and abundant fine, white, and delicate river sand, forming natural sandy riverbanks that serve as a recreational paradise for people. The “Tianze Lake” water park on the Dawen River, built by Tai’an City in 2010, is located within our town, 1.5 kilometers from Mount Culai, and the riverside sightseeing avenues on both sides are under construction. Once completed, the park will attract a large number of tourists and bring new opportunities for the development of tourism in our town.

(3) Areas Around Mount Culai

1. Red Tourism Resources. The former site of the provincial Party committee in Moshanyu Village still has remnants such as the command post site, martyrs’ tombs, and a gully named “Shaodi Gully” after the anti-Japanese cadre Shao Di. The “Culai Mountain Anti-Japanese Armed Uprising Monument,” inscribed with a title by Marshal Xu Xiangqian and an inscription by the famous calligrapher and uprising participant Wu Zhongqi, is a patriotic education base in Shandong Province and is now a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit.

2. Landscape Resources. The Mount Culai area within Fangcun Town features beautiful scenery, towering peaks, and bizarre rocks. Major attractions include the Heavenly Lake Wonderland, Honggou Scenic Area, the “Jade Belt of the Dawen River” — one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Mount Tai — pastoral landscapes, waterfalls, and pools. Notable rock formations include the Camel Stone, Lovers’ Turtle, Lake Guardian Beast, Baboon Stone, Yangyuan Stone, Giant Stone Turtle, and Guanyin Preaching Stone, among countless others. The area is rich in water resources, with seven reservoirs. With mountains and water, it has a spiritual charm, making it an excellent location for tourism development.

3. Other Historical Sites. There are three ancient temples dating back a thousand years: Qingyun Temple, Sichan Temple, and Fayun Zen Temple. There is also Daoshi Zhuangzi, where Confucius taught and where literati and scholars throughout history have come to cultivate their minds. Other sites include the spot where Li Bai once lay drunk, Hapo Fort and Lijia Fort, the “Mantis Spring” bestowed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, the legendary Fairy Spring, and numerous ancient and famous trees.

4. Pollution-Free Advantages. Backed by the Culai Mountain National Forest Park, the area enjoys fresh air and crystal-clear, sweet, unpolluted water, producing a large quantity of pollution-free agricultural, fishery, and poultry products.

(4) Ten-Thousand-Mu Greenhouse Vegetable Sightseeing and Picking Garden. This is a provincial-level agricultural tourism demonstration site. It has 20,000 vegetable greenhouses covering 35,000 mu of land and enjoys the reputation of being the “Tomato Capital of Qilu.” The production base has been recognized as a “National Agricultural Standardized Production Demonstration Zone.” A tomato wholesale market covering more than 200 mu has been established and recognized as a “designated market” by the Ministry of Agriculture. It is an excellent place for sightseeing, picking, and learning about agricultural science.

(5) Cheng Family Filial Piety Temple. Cheng Zhu, the seventh-generation ancestor of the Cheng family, was conferred the title of “Filial Son” by the emperor in the third year of the Daoguang reign. The site includes the “Filial Piety Archway,” “Chengfang Pavilion,” and “Loyalty and Filial Piety Hall,” serving as an important local base for traditional cultural education.

(6) Other Historical Relics

1. Xixizhu Site. A Neolithic to Shang and Zhou Dynasty site, part of the Dawenkou culture.

2. Longxiang City Site. Established in the second year of the Cheng Gong reign during the Spring and Autumn Period (589 BC).

3. Liangfu City Site. In the second year of the Kaihuang reign of the Sui Dynasty (621 AD), Liangfu County was established here, and Liang King of Sui built his capital here.

4. Yangguan City Site. According to Zuo Zhuan: In the 17th year of Duke Xiang (556 BC), troops departed from Yangguan. It is said that Liu Xiu’s journey to Nanyang refers to this city. Artifacts such as battle robes, armor, bronze sword tips, and bronze hammers have been unearthed here.

5. Qisheng Hall. Located in the old village committee courtyard of Zhujiazhuang.

Address: Fangcun Town, Daiyue District, Tai’an City

Business Hours: 24 hours

Visiting Time: Approximately 3 hours

Featured Attractions: Scenery of Mount Culai, Tianze Lake, Ten-Thousand-Mu Greenhouse Sightseeing and Picking Garden

Supporting Facilities:

There are farmhouse inns in the village that provide dining and accommodation services for visitors.

Self-driving Guide:

Drive approximately 20 kilometers south along Taoliang Road from Tai’an Nanguan, turn east at the Southwestwang intersection, continue about 1 kilometer east along the Culai Mountain Sightseeing Road to Mount Culai (car self-driving tour campsite).

Parking information:

There is a parking lot in the village.