Tai'an is known for its "Three Beauties": "Chinese cabbage, tofu, and water." As one of the "Three Beauties," Tai'an Chinese cabbage has a long history of cultivation. Ancient pharmacological texts recorded: "The Qi and Lu regions produce it abundantly, but that from Daiyue Town is the largest, hence named Da Song (pronounced 'song,' a medicinal term for Chinese cabbage)." The authentic varieties of Tai'an cabbage are Yellow Sprout and Biao Cai.…
Atractylodes, also known as Bei Atractylodes, refers to the dried rhizome of the plant Atractylodes chinensis in the Asteraceae family. It is a perennial herb. The rhizome is swollen and nodular, with an upright stem that is either unbranched or slightly branched at the upper part. The middle and lower leaves are sessile, with blades that are obovate or oblanceolate, entire or shallowly 3–5-pinnately lobed, and have irregularly toothed margins. The bracts are leaf-like, pinnately deeply…
Polygonatum odoratum is the dried rhizome of the plant Polygonatum odoratum, which belongs to the Liliaceae family. It is a perennial herb. The rhizome is slightly flattened and cylindrical, yellowish-white in color with distinct nodes. The stem is either erect or leans to one side at the upper part. The leaves are alternate, ovate-elliptic in shape. One to three white or yellowish-green flowers grow in the leaf axils. The berries are spherical and turn black when ripe. It grows on shady, moist mountain slopes and under forests. It is distributed across various forested areas. Recognized as a famous medicinal herb of Mount Tai, it has a slightly cold nature and sweet taste. It functions to nourish yin, moisten dryness, relieve irritability, and quench thirst. It is used to treat yin deficiency caused by febrile diseases, cough with irritability and thirst, deficiency fatigue with fever, excessive hunger due to poor digestion, and frequent urination.
Platycladi Seed, also known as cypress seed, is the dried ripe seed of the evergreen tree *Platycladus orientalis* from the Cupressaceae family. The plant is an evergreen tree with small branches arranged in a flat plane. Its leaves are scale-like, opposite and decussate, and the tree is monoecious. The cone has four pairs of seed scales, which are fleshy before maturity and become woody upon ripening. The cone splits open when mature, with a reflexed tip near the apex on the back. The seeds are wingless and grow on sunny slopes. Commonly found in areas such as Baidong (Cypress Cave)...
Tilapia, also known as African carp, belongs to the order Perciformes, family Cichlidae, and genus Oreochromis. There are about 60 species in this genus, with Nile tilapia being the largest in size. Tilapia is native to Africa and can survive in water temperatures ranging from 12 to 42°C, with the optimal range being 22 to 32°C. Tilapia spawn multiple times, and in spring when the water temperature…
The American Bigmouth Buffalo has tender flesh, high nutritional value, low farming requirements, fast growth, and strong reproductive capabilities. It is an excellent species promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture as a key focus during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period. Particularly, as a substitute for carp, it has gained significant popularity among fish farmers. Tai’an City began introducing this species in 1996…
Golden Delicious, also known as Golden Crown or Yellow Banana, is a representative apple variety from Tai'an. The "Tai'an Golden Delicious" bears fruit early, yields high, has excellent flavor, high sugar content, light russeting, is easy to manage, and has a long peak production period. The fruit is oval-shaped, typically weighing 150–200 grams per piece. The skin is yellow-green when immature and turns golden yellow when ripe. It stores well, and the flesh...
Saposhnikovia root is the dried root of the umbelliferous plant Saposhnikovia divaricata. It is a perennial herb. The root is thick and sturdy, with the base of the stem densely covered in brown, fibrous leaf stalk remnants. The basal leaves are oblong-lanceolate, one to two times pinnately divided; the apical leaves are simplified and have expanded sheaths. The plant has a compound umbel inflorescence with white flowers. The fruit is oblong, flattened, and has winged lateral ridges. It grows...
Qianhu is the dried root of the plant Peucedanum praeruptorum, which belongs to the Apiaceae family. It is a perennial herb. The root is conical, brownish-yellow to brownish-brown in color. The stem is single and purple. The basal and lower leaves are papery, broadly triangular-ovate, one to two times pinnately decompound, with winged leaf axes. The upper stem leaves are reduced to sheaths. The inflorescence is a compound umbel with deep purple flowers. The fruit is a double samara, elliptical...
Fourleaf ginseng, also known as goat's milk or Mount Tai ginseng, is the dried root of the plant Codonopsis lanceolata from the Campanulaceae family. It is a perennial herbaceous vine that exudes white latex. The root is thick and fleshy, spindle-shaped or conical. The stem is slender, twining, and much branched, smooth and hairless, green on the upper side and powdery white underneath. Flowers are solitary at the tips of branches or in leaf axils, with corolla bell-shaped, white on the outside...
Located in the Dawenkou Basin in the southern part of Daiyue District, Tai’an City, it holds a rare large-scale gypsum deposit. According to measurements conducted separately by the First Comprehensive Geological Brigade of the National Geological Bureau in November 1965 and the First Geological Brigade of the Shandong Provincial Geological Bureau in March 1973, the deposit spans a total area of 100 square kilometers with reserves of 30.8 billion tons, ranking it the...
The Taishan Long-Haired Rabbit was developed by the Animal Husbandry Bureau of Daiyue District, Tai’an City, and was approved in 1999 by the Shandong Provincial Livestock and Poultry Variety Approval Committee, officially named the “New Lunan Taishan Long-Haired Rabbit Strain.” The central production area is located in Beijipo Town, Daiyue District, and the core breeding farm—Taishan Long-Haired Rabbit Farm—is a provincial first-class livestock and poultry breeding facility. Taishan…
The Tai Shan Firewood Chicken is small and delicate, lively and active, with a robust physique, strong disease resistance, early egg-laying ability, and high-quality meat. It is an excellent dual-purpose local breed. It is mainly distributed in over 10 towns and villages around Mount Tai, including Taiqian and Dajinkou in Tai Shan District, Zhou Dian, Huang Qian, and Xia Gang in Dai Yue District, as well as Wan De in Changqing County of Jinan City, Gao Er and Liu Bu in Licheng District...
Tai'an Large Black Goats are renowned for their tall stature and entirely black coats. They are hardy, easy to herd, adept at climbing mountains, and produce high-quality cashmere in abundance. Their meat is tender, and they possess strong disease resistance and adaptability. These traits have made them an outstanding multipurpose breed—valued for meat, cashmere, and hide—developed through long-term selective breeding. They are primarily distributed in the central Shandong region centered around Mount Tai…
The climate in Tai'an falls within the warm temperate continental semi-humid monsoon zone, which is suitable for mulberry cultivation and silkworm breeding. Since ancient times, there has been a tradition of growing mulberry trees and raising silkworms. When the patriotic Southern Song Dynasty poet Wen Tianxiang passed through Ningyang, he wrote the line “Mulberry and jujube homes nearby, while the traveler’s path winds long through weeds.” During the Ming Dynasty, Ningyang was also described with the phrase “In the spring moonlight I recall three things: farmers repairing their old plows, and the weaving maid tending to new silkworms...”
The Tai Shan Meat Rabbit is the result of a collaborative effort between Shandong Siwei Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. and breeding experts from Shandong Agricultural University. It is the first in China to apply modern genetic breeding theories such as synthetic lines and synthetic strains. By selecting six world-renowned high-quality meat rabbit breeds, and through crossbreeding innovation, generational selection, and combining ability testing, it was successfully bred over a period of six years...
Lithospermum erythrorhizon, also known as hard lithospermum, is the dried root of the plant Lithospermum erythrorhizon from the Boraginaceae family. It is a perennial herb. The roots grow straight, are cylindrical, slightly curved, often branched, and have a dark reddish-purple outer skin. The stem is upright, either single or branched at the top, and the entire plant is covered with coarse, stiff hairs. The leaves are alternate, sessile, oblong-lanceolate in shape, with pointed tips, wedge-shaped bases, and entire margins. …
Ganoderma lucidum, also known as the "herb of immortality," is recorded in *Compendium of Materia Medica* as: "Long-term consumption lightens the body, delays aging, and prolongs life to the point of immortality." The ruyi (scepter of good fortune) used in ancient imperial households was modeled after the shape of ganoderma, showing that it is regarded as an object of wealth and prosperity. Moreover, with its unique shapes and vibrant colors, it holds great ornamental value. Researchers have applied its natural growth patterns and combined them with the art of potted plants, carefully cultivating...
As one of the cradles of human civilization, the Dawenkou Culture has long attracted widespread attention for its rich history and splendid heritage. The pottery from Dawenkou has increasingly become a sought-after collectible. The pottery products produced by the Dawenkou Culture Research and Development Center in Tai’an City mainly include six major series—painted pottery, white pottery, red pottery, black pottery, brown pottery, and copper pottery—with thousands of specifications. In 1998 and 1999, their “Giant Dragon Vase” won first prize at the provincial level. In 2000, it was awarded the Recommended Colored Pottery Prize by the National Tourism Administration, and the products have repeatedly represented the city at tourism commodity seminars. Dawenkou pottery not only meets the needs of the Mount Tai tourism market but also sells well across the country, with some varieties entering the international market.
According to the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, “Mount Tai abounds in jade... Around its springs flows the Huan River, which runs eastward into the Yellow River, carrying with it much water jade.” Before the Qin and Han dynasties, Mount Tai Jade was already renowned throughout China. Mined in the western part of Mount Tai and identified and named by experts, it is categorized into “Mount Tai Jadeite,” “Mount Tai Black Jade,” and “Mount Tai Mottled Green Jade.” Mount Tai Jade is a...