Beijing, July 08, 2006: China has launched a survey to find out the precise height of Mount Taishan which is dubbed as the "most pre-eminent" of the nation's five sacred mountains, following the re-measurement of the world's highest peak Mount Everest last year.
Thirty experts arrived on Tuesday in Tai'an, East China's Shandong province, to start the measurement. It is the first time for Mt Taishan to be measured with modern tools like global positioning systems, an official with the Shandong provincial department of land and resources, Lin Hai, said.
The current altitude of Taishan is known as from 1,533 metres to 1,545 meters. While the 1,545-metre height is most often seen in various documents, nobody knows how or when the figure came into being, Xinhua news agency reported.
Chinese surveyors measured the mountain as 1,533 metres and 1,536 meters high in the 1950s and the 1980s respectively with simple and crude methods, making the figures unreliable.
Modern technologies would help achieve a high precision, with the range of error below two centimetres, Lin said.
Meanwhile, the survey will also find out whether the Jade Emperor Peak or Sun view peak is the highest peak. The results of the measurement are expected to be released in October.
China re-measured the Mt Everest summit last year as 8,844.43 metres, 3.7 meters shorter than the last measured figure 30 years ago.
Dubbed as "the most pre-eminent of China's five sacred mountains," Taishan was listed by UNESCO in 1987 as a world natural and cultural heritage for its magnificent scenery and splendid culture. The other four mountains are Western Huashan, Southern Hengshan, Northern Eternity and Central Songshan.
Bureau Report
