Tai Shan Off The Beaten Path

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My friend and I went up by the "back way" and came down the central route to Zhong Tian Men (Midway Gate to Heaven). The "back way" doesn't seem to be advertised in the Lonely Planet or other guidebooks very much. This route starts from near Tianzhu peak (Heavenly Candle Peak) and it's not too hard to climb. Normal timing for climbing up should be around 3+ hours, I dilly-dallied too much and only finished it in about 5+ hours. The scenery along the way was quite good, green and lush when we went. Best of all, we met only 2 people along the route (they were walking downwards) and those were all, we felt like we had the entire mountain to ourselves! There're a few small places along the way which sell food and water, but we didn't need any because we brought plenty of our own. There were concrete steps for the entire route and those were well-made and quite new. I would highly recommend this route (in either direction) to anyone who enjoys the tranquility and greenery.