Xīntài

Xintai lies southeast of Mount Tai, near the wooded ridges of Xinfu Mountain, also known as Lotus Mountain. Local tradition held that Emperor Wu of Han built a palace on its southern slope. The county gazetteer tells another story of two ancient scholar trees in the county office: when Xintai was absorbed into Laiwu under the Yuan, the trees withered, only to revive when the county was restored. The inhabitants came to regard them as trees of unusual spirit.