Representatives from China's 56 nationalities, together with some 10,000 mountaineering enthusiasts, gathered at the snow-covered peak of Mount Taishan in the wee hours on January 1 to cheer the new year.

This is the first time so many nationalities have met at Mount Taishan, which rises 1,545 meters above sea level and is the highest peak in eastern China.

Mount Taishan formed about 30 million years ago and serves as a witness of the long history of China and a symbol of the grandeur and soul of the Chinese nation.

Ancient Chinese paid their highest respects to the majestic mountain and regarded it as the world's closest altar to heaven, and the first spot to meet each dawn.

They used to go to the mountainside temples to worship and pray for good fortune.

Gao Jianshe,a member of the Gaoshan nationality who comes from southeastern Fujian Province, was one of today's climbers to wish greater prosperity for China and the earlier reunification of the motherland in the new century. Gao also extended his good wishes to relatives living in Taiwan, which is home to the majority of the Gaoshan ethnic group.

The year 2000 is significant for all Chinese people, because in the Chinese zodiac it is the year of dragon, an auspicious symbol of good luck.

To herald the dawn of the year 2000, some 5,000 college and university students clad in golden robes scaled the mountain and scattered to form the shape of a dragon stretching from the foot of the mountain to the peak.

A torch lit at the site of the Neolithic Dawenkou Culture, which is at the foot of the mountain and dates back some 5,000 years, was carried to the peak of the mountain.

"The Chinese nation has undergone many hardships and frustrations in the past 5,000 years, so I wish our country a promising future in the coming century," said one mountaineer.

Mount Taishan is situated near the country's eastern seaboard, in Tai'an city of Shandong province. The mountain was added to the World Heritage List of culture and nature sites by UNESCO in 1987.