[3] During the reign of the legendary, morally perfect Three Sovereigns (c. 2852–2070 BC) Mount Taibai was called Mountain of Rich Goods (pinyin: Dun Wu Shān).

The Tang dynasty work Lu Yi Ji (Chinese: 錄異記) says: "The Essence of the Golden Star fell upon the west of Zhongnan's main peak, and thus it was titled Taibai Mountain."

The oldest tale is about a man from Li Yang by the name of Gu Chun, meaning ‘Spring Valley’, who lived deep inside the forests of Mount Taibai during the Han dynasty.

These lakes were revered for their water and cooling effect and were represented by the three Taibai gods, who were known as Ku Ji (Relieving the Suffering), Hui Min (Benefiting the People) and Ling Ying (Enlightening Answers).

And according to the old master Ren Farong, the three Taibai gods are Bo Yi, Shu Qi and Zhou Ben from the Shang dynasty.

Learning of their deaths, the wise minister of the Zhou dynasty, Jiang Ziya, made the three men local gods of Mount Taibai for their great virtue and sense of righteousness.

During the Qing dynasty of the 18th century, the province of Shaanxi requested approval from the emperor to incorporate the Taibai gods into official provincial celebrations.

[citation needed] Halfway Mount Taibai, at approximately 1500 m (6,000 ft), stands the Tiejia Taoist Ecology Temple.

In 1965 Mount Taibai became the center of a new Nature Preserve covering the surrounding 56,325 hectares, with the purpose of protecting its warm temperate zone ecosystem.

The flora and fauna of Taibai are quite diverse, with species from both northern and southern Chinese environments uniquely coexisting in the region.

The higher elevations of the mountain contain glacial remnants, cirque, peaks, aulacogen, and moraine, all of which have proven of great use toward geological research.

Within the Nature Preserve's borders more than 1,700 different types of seed-bearing plants are found, comprising approximately 60% of the flora in the Qinling Range.

Among the flora are found many second- and third-tier protected Chinese species, such as chuan-guo wine (Sinofranchetia), Eucommia, Kingdonia, Dipteronia sinensis, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Euptelea pleiosperma, Acer miaotaiense, Trochodendraceae, Sinowilsonia, Taibai rainbow (Larix chinensis), Qinling crow's head (Aconitum lioui), Chinese hemlock, Populus purdomii, Circaeasteraceae, and purple-speckled peony (Paeonia rockii), and others.