Systematic calculations of low-lying energy levels,
transitions, and g factors of even-even tellurium isotopes with mass numbers from 128 to 140 are performed via the nucleon-pair approximation (NPA) of the shell model with phenomenological multipole-multipole interactions. An optimal agreement is obtained between the calculated results and experimental data. The yrast band structures of nuclei below and above the
shell closure are compared and discussed. In particular, the evolutionary differences of
values and
factors, with respect to the symmetry of
, are attributed to the dominant contribution differences in neutron and proton excitations, respectively.