Beautiful Culai Mountain Hot Spring Resort. [Photo/ Tai'an Tourism Bureau]

It has some sensational skiing, natural hot spring soaking, contact with prehistoric civilization, or spectacular stage performances, with some increasingly cold weather – it being Mount Taishan near the city of Tai’an, Shandong province, where some unique tourism programs are attracting more people from China and abroad.

Culai Mountain Ski Resort, at the southern foot of Mount Taishan, saw some 1,000 skiers the first day it opened, on Dec 6, where one skier named Liu, from Jinan, Shandong, told China Daily, “The ski slope, facilities and services are all superb.”

In addition to skiing, the resort has special places for youngsters and a romantically lighted night ski run, as well as cafes, canteens and hotels, where visitors can fully relax. The ski resort is part of the Daiyue district Tai'an's plans to use its natural resources to compete in the tourism business, but which badly needs some improvement. Daiyue has recently been developing the service sector, especially culture and tourism.

It has integrated itself with the "Greater Mount Taishan Tourism Circle" as a recreation site for tourists who come to admire the landscape, with 15 scenic spots, four of them AAAA holiday resorts that will play a key role in the brand building and give it a sharper competitive edge. The district has a number of holiday resorts for the ski slopes, hot springs, amusement parks, and convention centers, with their own cafes and restaurants, and hotels.

Daiyue is the home of the Dawenkou culture (4040 B.C. - 2240 B.C.) and is planning on building a national archeological park on the site, which has been under national protection since the 12th Five-year Plan (2011-15). It also has plans for a large culture industrial park. In the countryside, tourism is also booming and a survey has shown the possibility of the district's outskirts attracting 30 percent more tourists in 2014 than for the previous year, and revenues jumping more than 25 percent over 2013.