Shandong now China's No 2 most prosperous province

Last year Shandong became only the second province to achieve a GDP of more than 3 trillion yuan. With a growth of some 12.1 percent - particularly impressive against the backdrop of financial uncertainty that bedeviled many of the world's economies - the eastern coastal province posted a 2008 GDP of 3.11 trillion yuan, an achievement previously only matched by Guangdong, traditionally China's most prosperous province.