Shandong

Qufu

Qufu, the Oriental Holy City, is a famous city best known as the hometown of Confucius (551-479BC), a famous philosopher, educator, and the creator of Confucianism in ancient China. The city is also the birthplace of another great thinker and educator Mencius (372-289BC). Therefore, Qufu is listed as one of China's first group of historical cultural cities.

Situated in the southwest of Shandong Province and near Taishan Mountain in the north, Qufu has fertile land and rich products. The city was the settlement center for ancient Eastern Yi tribe, and a major site of Dawenkou and Longshan cultures. Confucius was born in Nishan, which is 30 kilometers southeast of Qufu City, and spent many years in Qufu giving lectures on his ideology, accompanied by his disciples and followers. A year after Confucius' death, many believers flocked to Qufu to listen to Confucius' disciples explain the doctrine, and the Duke Ai of Lu ordered the philosopher's home to be turned into a temple.

Qufu is world renowned for its long history, advanced culture, rich cultural relics and grand ancient architecture. There are more than 300 cultural protection units, and 112 key cultural relics preservation units. Among them, the Confucius Temple, Confucian Grove and Confucian Mansion are the most famous, listed as World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1994.

Jinan

Jinan, the capital city of Shandong Province on China's east coast, is the province's political, economic and cultural center with Taishan Mountain to the south and the Yellow River to the north. Jinan has jurisdiction over five districts (Lixia, Licheng, Huaiyin, Tianqiao and Shizhong), four counties (Changqing, Pingyin, Shanghe and Jiyang) and Zhangqiu City, and has a total area of 8,227 square kilometers and a population of 5.49 million, including 2.54 million urban people.

Due to its long history, Jinan has been proclaimed by the State Council as a famous historical and cultural city. As Jinan boasts a number of natural springs amid picturesque scenery, it is well known as the "City of Springs" both at home and abroad. The Top Four Springs are the Baotu Spring, the Black Tiger Spring, the Five Dragon Spring and the Pearl Spring. The Daming Lake converged by the so many springs, together with the surrounded One-Thousand-Buddha Mountain, the Lingyan Temple and the Five Peak Mountain form unique scenery of Jinan.

Jinan has clearly demarcated seasons: dry spring, hot summer, cool autumn and cold winter. Therefore, the best time to go to Jinan is from May to November. However, the Baotu Spring with abundant water in spring and the Daming Lake with snow in winter are both beautiful scenes.

There are many traditional festivals in Jinan throughout the year. The major ones are the Baotu Spring Lantern Gathering, the Rose Festival in Pingyin, the Lotus Festival of Daming Lake, and the Double Ninth Mountain Gathering of the One-Thousand-Buddha Mountain. The Shandong Cuisine, one of the four most famous cuisines of China, is originated in Jinan. It wins its fame for its delicate fragrance, fresh and tender.

The special souvenirs of Jinan are the E-gelatin, the Black Pottery of Heishan, the sweet pancake in Licheng, and the embroidery, etc.

Liaocheng

Located on the West Shandong Plain and the bank of the ancient canal, Liaocheng is a city of military importance with a long history. The location and geography of the ancient Liaocheng city moat is shaped like a phoenix, so the city is also called as the Phoenix City. It was the seat of the Dongchang governmental office in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, and is now the seat of the city committee, and a political, economic and cultural center in west Shandong. Liaocheng is just like a bright pearl studded on the West Shandong Plain.

The time-honored Liaocheng has numerous scenic sites. Extant ancient architectures like the Guangyue Building and Shanxi-Shaanxi Assembly Hall were listed the key cultural relics sites under the provincial protection in 1956.

Liaocheng is a city that combines lake, river and city. The world-famous Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is just like a dragon that flies over the city. The largest man-made lake north of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River – the Dongchang Lake – looks like a silk ribbon surrounding the ancient city. The Guangyue Building, a key cultural relics site under the national protection in the city, is the reputed as "the tourist destination worth a visit even after sightseeing in the Yueyang Building and the Huanghe Building". The magnificent Iron Tower built in the Song (960-1279) and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties is the symbol of remoteness of Liaocheng. The world-famous Haiyuan Pavilion boasts a large collection of books and was one of the four major privately owned book collection buildings in the Qing Dynasty. First built at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), the Lion Building is characterized by carved girders and painted ridgepoles and famous far and wide for the legend that Wu Song had fought with and killed Ximen Qing here. The unique Linqing Mosque, magnificent dagoba, Cao Zhi's tomb situated at the west piedmont of Ayu Mountain, and world-famous Jingyang Hillock where Wu Song fought with tigers, etc., all agglomerate the wisdom of the ancient people and glitter with the effulgence of cultural art of the Chinese nation.

Liaocheng was proclaimed as a national level historical and cultural city by the State Council in 1994.

Qingdao

Qingdao City is located at the southwestern tip of the Shandong Peninsular, and borders the Yellow Sea on the east and south. Under its jurisdiction there are seven districts and five county-level cities. Qingdao is a beautiful coastal city and is reputed as the Bright Pearl in the Huanghai River, and the Oriental Switzerland.

Qingdao City is the birthplace of Chinese Taoism.

With charming and gentle natural scenery, rich and elegant human culture and historic sites, Qingdao is a famous summer resort for travelers and holidaymakers. The time-honored city was inhabited by the Dongyi tribe as early as in the Neolithic Age five to six thousand years ago. The primitive inhabitants left many cultural relics, and the known ones include 12 sites of Dawenkou Culture and Laoshan Culture.

Qingdao has not only a long history but also numerous scenic spots and historic sites. Among them, famous ones include the Sanlihe Site, the Dongyue Site, the Langya Terrance, the Tombs of Five Hundred Martyrs in Tianheng, Laoshan Mountain, the Palace for the Queen of the Heaven, the stone statues of the Northern Dynasty (386-581), and so on.

Qingdao was proclaimed as a national level historical and cultural city by the State Council in 1994.

The city has a temperate maritime climate with a frost-free period of 251 days. The average temperature in summer is about 20°C to 28°C. Its golden tourism season lasts from the end of March to the early November. Especially in the last ten days of August, the seawater is quite warm, making the city a golden period for seaside tour. In winter, it is quite cold in Qingdao. If you have a strong body and enough courage, you may try to have a winter swim in the water below zero Celsius degree.

Zibo

Zibo is a particular industrialized city in the area around the Bohai Sea, the birthplace of the Qi culture, and an open coastal city in the Shandong Peninsula approved by the State Council. It is a famous "Capital of Ceramics" and "Town of Silk", and the hometown of Pu Songling, a great master of short stories.

Lying in the middle of the Shandong Peninsula, Zibo borders Taishan Mountain to the south and the Yellow River to the north. It has under its jurisdiction five districts and three counties.

In the old city of the Qi state and its surrounding areas, there are numerous cultural relics and historic sites, being reputed as the Underground Museum. The south of Zibo is characterized by natural landscapes of mountains, waters, forests, springs and caves, the north is famous for its snacks around the Mata Lake area, and the west has the Mengshan Mountain Scenic Area with poppling crystal-clear water and fresh air.

The colored glaze in Zibo is an indispensable souvenir if you travel here. The super interior painting technique makes the world inside the small bottles full of wonder. Zibo is an important distributing center and commercial center in Shandong Province.

Zoucheng

Zoucheng City, originally called as Zouxian, is located in the south of Shandong Province. With a long history and splendid culture, it is the birthplace of Confucius and Mencius, great thinkers and educationists in ancient China. In 1995, it was proclaimed as one of the national historical and cultural cities by the State Council.

The city boasts enchanting scenery and abundant historic sites. There are altogether over 300 scenic areas and historic sites, including more than 10 key cultural relics sites under the provincial level protection or above. Among them, the Four Mencius', namely the Mencius' Temple, the Mencius' Mansion, the Mencius' Forest, and the Mencius' Mother's Forest, and the Four Mountains, i.e. Cliffside stone carvings in the Iron Mountain, Gangshan Mountain, Geshan Mountain and Jianshan Mountain, are famous home and abroad.

The Mencius' Temple, where people fete Mencius, has five courtyards and 64 halls and rooms, and covers an area of more than four hectares. The Mencius' Mansion, where Mencius' descendants lived, is adjacent to the Mencius' Temple, and has altogether 116 halls and rooms. Reputed as the Wonder South of Taishan Mountain, Yishan Mountain is a famous historical and cultural mountain in Shandong Province. With an elevation of 555 meters and a circumference of over 10 km, Yishan Mountain is characterized by oddly shaped peaks and rocks, steep cliffs, quiet grottos, numerous pines and limpid springs.

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