Jinan is a sub-provincial city and the capital of Shandong , People's Republic of China, it is also called "The Springs City". Located in western Shandong, it borders Liaocheng to the southwest, Dezhou to the northwest, Binzhou to the northeast, Zibo to the east, Laiwu to the southeast and Tai'an to the south.
Administration
The sub-provincial city of Jinan administers 10 , including 6 , 1 county-level city and 3 .
*Licheng District
*Lixia District
*Shizhong District
*Huaiying District
*Tianqiao District
*Changqing District
*Zhangqiu City
*Pingyin County
*Jiyang County
*Shanghe County
These are further divided into 146 , including 65 , 27 and 54 subdistricts.
Geography and climate
Jinan is located in the north-western part of Shandong province at 36 40 northern latitude and 116° 57′ east of Greenwich. Because its location falls within the warm temperate continental monsoon climate zone, Jinan has four distinct seasons. The city is dry and rainless in spring, hot and rainy in summer, crisp in autumn and dry and cold in winter. The average annual temperature is 14.2°C, and the annual rainfall is around 675 mm. January is the coldest and driest month, the monthly averages are -5.4°C for the daily minimum temperature, 3.6°C for the daily maximum temperature, and 6.6 for the rainfall. July is the warmest and wettest month, the corresponding numbers are 23.5°C, 32.6°C, and 190.9 mm .
History
The area of present-day Jinan has been inhabited for more than 4000 years. The Neolithic Longshan Culture was first discovered
at the Chengziya site in the eastern Zhangqiu City in 1928. One of the unique features of the Longshan Culture is the skill of pottery making, demonstrated in recovered black pottery relics - some of which are as thin as egg shells.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period , the area of Jinan was split between two states - the state of Lu in the west and the state of Qi in the east. In 685 B.C., the state of Qi started to build the Great Wall of Qi across Changqing county, and the wall still remains today and is open to tourists. Bian Que from the present-day Changqing County became the earliest Chinese doctor to appear in historical documents and the most famous one of his time. Zou Yan developed the concepts of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements .
In the Han Dynasty , Jinan was the capital of Kingdom of Jibei and started to become the cultural and economic hub of the region. In 1995 and 1996, archaeologists from Shandong University excavated the tomb of Han Dynasty in Shuangru Mountain where the last king of Jibei Liu Kuan was buried. More than 2000 relics such as jade swords, jade masks, jade pillows have been recovered within the 1,500 square meter excavation site, showing off the wealth of the city during the period. Cao cao was an official in Jinan before he became the de facto ruler of the Han Dynasty. His son overthrew the last emperor of the and founded the Wei Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms Period.
Since the 5th century, Buddhism has flourished in Jinan. The Langgong Temple in the southern county of Licheng was one of the most important temples in northern China at that time. The same period witnessed extensive building of Buddhist architectures in the southern counties of Licheng and Changqing such as Lingyan Temple and Thousand-buddha Cliff .
Jinan remained the cultural center of the region during the Song Dynasty , and the two most important poets of Southern Song were both born in Jinan: Xin Qiji , the famous patriotic poet who led the peasant rebellion against the Jurchen invasion in 1161 A.D. and Li Qingzhao , the most famous female poet in Chinese history. Both of the poets lived in the same period when the Song Dynasty suffered major military setbacks against Jurchen invasion and lost almost half of the territories. Although well-known for their patriotism, the poets failed to persuade the government of Song Dynasty to stand up to the northern Jurchen Kingdom and recover the lost territories including Jinan. After retreating to southern China and realizing the incapabilities of their government, the poets started to write extensively and passionately about their hope of a stronger nation and recovery of lost lands. Many of their poems appeared in Chinese textbooks of later dynasties as well as the textbooks used today.
During the Jurchen and occupation, culture in Jinan continued to thrive. The most famous artist of Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu was appointed as the governor of Jinan in 1293 A.D and spent three years in the city. Among the extraodinary art works he finished during his stay in Jinan, the best painting is "Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains" . Geographer Yu Qin was also an official of Jinan and finished the famous geography book Qi Cheng in Jinan.
Economy
Jinan has a pool of high-quality labor resources. There are 18 universities and colleges in the city where more than 200,000 students are studying. Among the 200+ research institutes in the city, 10 are national laboratories.
The focus on technology intensive industries has transformed Jinan from a city supported by heavy industry and textiles to a city of more complex industrial structures. IT, transportation tools, home appliances, bio-engineered products, etc. have become the new pillars of industry. Jinan's IT-related economic output ranks No.4 in China in 2004.
Industrial zones include:
*Jinan High-tech Industrial Zone
*Liaocheng Economic Development Zone
Transportation
Railways
The two major railways going through Jinan are the North-South Jinghu Railway from Beijing to Shanghai and the West-East Jiaoji Railway from Jinan to Qingdao. By the Jinghu Railway, cities that can be reached within the province include Dezhou, Tai'an, Jining and Zaozhuang; by the Jiaoji Railway, cities that can be reached within the province include Zibo, Qingdao and Weifang
Expressways
Major expressways include China National Highway 104, China National Highway 220 and China National Highway 309. The has the largest passenger flow in China.
Airport
Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport is located about 33 kilometers from the city center to which it is connected by expressways. It has domestic flights to many of the major cities in China as well as to international destinations, in particular Seoul and Singapore.
Attractions
Jinan is famous across China for its springs and lakes. Jinan was also the historical center of Buddhist culture for the whole province and invaluable historic sites are left behind in its southern counties.
Spring and lake parks
Jinan is known as the "Spring City" because of the large number of springs in the city. The majority of springs, known historically as the "72 Famous Springs" are concentrated in the downtown district and flow north to converge in Daming Lake. High on the must-see list is the , where the Baotu Spring and many other smaller springs nearby have been a major attraction for tourists for many years.
"Baotu" means "jumping and leaping" in Chinese. The water in the spring pool can be seen foaming and gushing, looking like a pot of boiling water. The spring was visited by the Emperor Qian Long of the Qing Dynasty and the Emperor complimented the spring as "No.1 under the Heaven". A tablet with the Emperor's handwriting "Baotu Spring" has since been erected beside the spring pool and the fame of Baotu Spring has spread across the country.
Not far away to the northeast of Baotu Spring Park is the Daming Lake, which, together with Baotu Spring and the used to be considered the "Three Greatest Attractions in Jinan" until other historic sites outside of the city started to be developed for tourism. However, since these sites and parks started to be developed in counties outside the city, the traditional attractions within the city have been losing their allure for tourists. The springs are particularly overrated. Having mostly dried up long ago, a pond with some bubbles in the middle fails to make an impression as a major tourist attraction.
Other notable parks include the Five Dragon Pool near the Baotu Spring Park, the Black Tiger Springs beside the city moat, and the Baimai Springs of eastern Zhangqiu City.
Buddhist sites
Licheng County to the south east of the city of Jinan boasts a great richness in historic Buddhist sites envied by the rest of Shandong Province. The , built in 661 A.D., is the oldest existing one-story stone tower in China. Inside the tower sit four Buddhist statues of the 6th century, and the Cypress beside the tower dates back more than 1000 years ago. Below the hill on which tower is built are the remnants of the Shentong Temple founded in the 4th century but destroyed in the wars of later dynasties. The tomb towers of monks in the temple which date from different historic periods display extraodinary artistic features. The statues in the nearby form one of the best collections of Tang Dynasty Buddhist statues in the region.
The Lingyan Temple in the southern county of Changqing was one of the four most famous temples of the Tang Dynasty. The temple was founded during the and it reached its heyday in the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty, the famous monk Xuan Zang stayed in the temple and translated Buddhist manuscripts he had brought to China from India. Many emperors in Chinese history had visited the temple before they went to Mount Tai for ceremonies.
The clay sculptures of Buddhas made in the Song Dynasty are considered as "The Best of China" by the great scholar and journalist Liang Qichao . Buddhist architectures within the temple such as towers and tomb towers are among the earliest and best protected in the region.
Museums and libraries
The Shandong Provincial Museum located at the foothill of Thousand-Buddha Mountain is the largest museum in the province. It has a large collection of natural as well as historical treasures from the whole province. The museum was established in 1982 and right now it has 8 exhibition halls - "Treasures of Shandong Province", "Stone Sculptures", "Warship of Ming Dynasty", "Ancient Coins", "Art Treasures", "Fossil Collections", "Dinosaurs" and "Specimens". The museum has more than 210,000 relics and specimens, making up 1/3 of the collections in museums of whole province. The Shandong Provincial Museum ranks No.7 for number of relics in museums across China.
The is to the west of Thousand-Buddha Mountain, in the north of the city. Even though dwarfed by the provincial museum, the still has a collection of more than 20,000 relics. Most relics on display in the municipal museum were recovered in the city.
The in the eastern High-tech Park is the finest in the province and among the Top 10 Chinese Libraries. As of 2004, the library had more than 5.18 million documents, many of which date back many centuries and are important sources for research on Chinese history. The library also has a large collection of western journals/books. Originally, the library was built beside the famous Daming Lake in 1909 by the then governor of Shandong. In the late 1990s, a project was undertaken to move the library to the eastern part of the city, and it reopened in 2002 with 35 reading rooms and more than 2000 seats.
Shopping centers
Most shopping malls in Jinan are in the downtown area centered around Quancheng Square and Quancheng Road. Quancheng Square was built by the municipal government beside the city moat in the early 21st century; at the center is the statue "Spring" which has become a symbol of Jinan. The square is beside the city moat. It has a music fountain, a 46,000 square meter underground shopping center and a memorial hall with statues of famous people from Shandong. Quancheng Square is almost always chosen as the open-air stage for large-scale public entertainment in Jinan.
Quancheng Road was rebuilt at the same time that the Quancheng Square was created. The government's intention was to create a modern business district and yet preserve the traditional Chinese culture. Therefore one may find both newly-built shopping malls with traditional Chinese styles and modern western skyscrapers. Quancheng Bookstore--the largest bookstore of the city--is located here. Walmart also can be found, near the western entrance to Quancheng Road.
Education
Universities and colleges
*Shandong University
*Shandong Normal University
*Shandong JianZhu University
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*Shandong Economic University
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*Shandong College of Arts
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*University of Jinan
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Provincial key high schools
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Sports
In Jinan, the Shandong Luneng Football Club is very well known. They currently play at the highest tier of Chinese football in the Chinese Super League. Shandong Luneng Football Club is one of the 4 clubs which have been playing in Chinese top football league for all the 15 seasons since the league turned professional in 1994. They got 7 titles in the 15 seasons: Top League Champions , FA Cups and CSL Cup .
There is also a basketball team called Shandong Jinsidun. The same as football team Shandong Jinsidun has been playing in Chinese top basketball league for all the 13 seasons since the league turned professional in 1995. Their best season is 1997-1998 in which they got the 3rd place.
Sister cities
Wakayama, Japan; since January 14, 1983.
Coventry, United Kingdom; since October 3, 1983.
, Japan; since September 20, 1985.
Rennes, France; since 1985.
Kfar Saba, Israel; since 2007.
, United States; since May 29, 1985.
, Canada; since August 10, 1987.
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; since September 28, 1988.
Suwon, South Korea; since October 27, 1993.
Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; since September 25, 1994.
Vantaa, Finland; since August 27, 2001.
Joondalup, Australia; since September 4, 2004.
Augsburg, Germany; since October 10, 2004.
