A peaceful side trip off the main Mount Tai trail, the Sutra Stone Valley is a smooth, slanting expanse of rock down which a clear stream slips. Cut into the rock, in characters large enough to read from across the gorge, are passages from the Diamond Sutra — the great Mahayana Buddhist text, transcribed here as an act of devotion fifteen centuries ago.
The path follows the stream past several smaller carvings and through a quiet wooded valley. Easy to miss in the rush up the mountain, it is one of the loveliest spots on Taishan and an essential stop for anyone interested in Chinese calligraphy or Buddhist art.