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Jinan City
Jinan City
Jinan is a sub-provincial city and the capital of Shandong Province in the People's Republic of China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilization and has evolved into a major national administrative, economic, and transportation hub. The city is located in north-western Shandong about 400 kilometres (250 mi) south of the national capital of Beijing, 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.
Jinan carries the nickname City of Springs because of the many artesian wells that bubble up within the city limits. The water from these springs flows North towards the main landmark, Daming Lake, and onwards to the Yellow River.
While it doesn't always make the short list of tourists visiting China, there is certainly enough to be done in Jinan to warrant a couple days stay. It is also a perfect base for exploring the region, notably Qufu, the hometown of Confucius, and Mount Tai, the foremost of the sacred Five Great Mountains known in Taoism.
Jinan Attractions
Jinan City
Jinan is renown across China for its numerous springs, the lakes fed by the spring water, and the weeping willows that grow along the water edges. The late-Qing author Liu E describes Jinan's cityscape in his novel "The Travels of Lao Can" (written 1903-04, published in 1907) as "Every family has spring water, every household has a willow tree". Jinan was also the historical center of Buddhist culture for the whole province which is still manifest in the many historic sites that are left behind in its southern counties.
Springs and lakes
Jinan is known as the "City of Springs" because of the large number of natural artesian springs. The majority of the springs, many of which have been historically listed under the "72 Famous Springs" are concentrated in the downtown district and flow north to converge in Daming Lake. The Baotu Spring Park is the most popular of the springs in the City of Jinan proper. Besides the Baotu Spring, the park contains several other springs that are listed among the "72 Famous Springs". "Bao tu" 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 (1711-1799) of the Qing Dynasty who declared it "the first spring under the heaven". A tablet with the Emperor's handwriting "Baotu Spring" has since been erected beside the spring pool.
Jinan City
Not far away to the northeast of Baotu Spring Park is the Daming Lake, which, together with Baotu Spring and the Thousand-Buddha Mountain is often regarded as the "Three Greatest Attractions in Jinan". Other notable parks in the city include the Five Dragon Pool near the Baotu Spring Park, the Black Tiger Spring on the southern city moat, and the Baimai Springs of Zhangqiu City to the east of Jinan.
Buddhist sites
Historic Buddhist sites are particularly common in Licheng County to the south-east of the city center of Jinan. The Four Gates Pagoda , built in 661, is the oldest existing one-story stone tower in China. The pagoda houses four Buddhist statues dating from the 6th century, and the Cypress tree standing next to the pagoda is more than 1000 years old. Below the hill on which pagoda stands lie the remnants of the Shentong Temple, which was founded in the 4th century but was destroyed in the wars of later dynasties. The funerary stelae of monks from the temple which date from different historic periods display remarkable artistic features. The statues in the nearby Thousand-Buddha Cliff form one of the best collections of Tang Dynasty Buddhist statues in the region.
Jinan City
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 Jin Dynasty and reached its heyday during the Tang and Song Dynasties. 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 visited the temple before they went to Mount Tai (one of China's five sacred mountains, located south of Jinan) 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 (1873 -1929). Buddhist architectures within the temple such as pagodas and tomb stelae 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 its present form in 1982 and currently has 8 exhibition halls : "Treasures of Shandong Province"; "Stone Sculptures"; "Warship of the 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 has been ranked No. 7 in terms of collection size among the museums of China.
Jinan City
The Jinan Municipal Museum is located at the south-western foot of the Thousand-Buddha Mountain, in the north of the city center. Although much smaller than the provincial museum, the municipal museum still houses a collection of more than 20,000 items, most of which were recovered in the city area.
The Shandong Provincial Library in the eastern High-tech Park (address: 2912 Second Ring East Road) is the principal library of the province and is ranked 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 close to 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 Spring City Square and Spring City Road. Spring City 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 borders on the ancient 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.
Jinan City
Spring City Road was rebuilt at the same time that Spring City Square was created. The government's intention was to create a modern business district and yet preserve the traditional Chinese culture. Therefore newly-built shopping malls with traditional Chinese architectural styles and modern western skyscrapers can be found side-by-side along Spring City Road. Notable retail businesses are Quancheng Bookstore - the largest bookstore of the city - and Walmart (near the western end of Spring City Road). Major shopping malls along the road are the Guihe Shopping Center, the Sofitel Silver Plaza, and the Wanda Shopping Mall. In December 2007, construction started on the Jinan Hang Lung Plaza to the south of Spring City Road (opposite of Water Lily Street), which is projected to become Jinan's largest shopping mall with six levels of retail space and a total gross floor area of 150,000 square meters.
Geography and Climate
GeographyJinan is located in the north-western part of Shandong province at 36º40' northern latitude and 116º57' east of Greenwich. In the relief of the region, the city occupies a transition zone between the northern foothills of the Taishan Massif to the south of the city and the valley of the Yellow River to the north. Karst aquifers in limestone formations sloping down from the south to the north give rise to many artesian springs in the city center as well as in surrounding areas.
Jinan City
ClimateJinan lies between a humid subtropical and humid continental climate (Koppen Cwa/Dwa) with four well-defined seasons. The city is dry and nearly rainless in spring, hot and rainy in summer, crisp in autumn and dry and cold in winter. The average annual temperature is 14.6ºC (58.3ºF), and the annual precipitation is around slightly above 670 millimetres (26.4 in), with a strong summer maximum. January is the coldest and driest month, with a mean temperature of 0.4ºC (31.3ºF) and 5.7 millimetres (0.22 in) of equivalent rainfall; snow occasionally falls but rarely in heavy bouts. July is the warmest and wettest month, the corresponding numbers are 27.5ºC (81.5ºF), and 201.3 mm (7.93 in). Temperature Inversions are common occurrences (about 200 days per year).
History of Jinan
The Yellow River basin was China's cultural centre during the Neolithic period, and so it comes as no surprise that the area around present day Jinan has been inhabited for over 4,000 years. The oldest finds in the region are from the Longshan culture, a Late Neolithic culture noted for its advanced black 'egg-shell pottery', sometimes as thin as a millimetre.
Jinan City
Fast forward past the Shang and Zhou dynasty. After the fall of the Zhou dynasty many independent states arose during a time known as the Spring and Autumn period. Eventually only a handful remained, striving for power during the Warring States period. During this era Jinan lay on the border of the state of Qi and the state of Lu. The great wall of Qi, to the East of Jinan, is a remnant of this age. It is the oldest Great Wall in China, and portions are accessible as open air museum. Lu on the other hand was the home state of Confucius, and the character is still used as abbreviation for Shandong.
It was during the Han dynasty that Jinan became an important economic and cultural hub, and its role only became more prominent during the following dynasties. Some well known poets, painters and even a Han dynasty ruler all called Jinan their home.
Two events which both connected Jinan to the outside world in a new way spurred development and brought Jinan firmly into the modern age. The first was a natural evolution. In 1852 the Yellow River shifted it course, moving to the bedding of the Ji river from which Jinan derives its name. The Yellow River, being connected to the Grand Canal, now connected Jinan both to the Imperial capital in the North, and to agricultural areas in the South.
Jinan City
By the end of the 19th century the Germany Empire had established a concession in Qingdao on the Shandong coast, and a similar German area was built in what is now the area around the train station. The Germans built a railway connecting Jinan and Qingdao, this however was met with strong local resistance, which eventually led to the anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion. Despite all this the railway was opened for traffic in 1904, opening up Jinan to foreign trade.
How to get Jinan
By plane
You can fly to Jinan, but the airport is located 40km northeast of downtown. A taxi will take an hour and cost about CNY100 (foreigners might be asked to pay a higher fixed price or be taken a detour). There is a shuttle bus between the airport and downtown that runs hourly from 6 am to 5 pm. It takes just as long and costs CNY20. A subroute of bus 16 also goes to the airport.
Jinan City
By train
For the train, you will likely arrive at the main train station, north of town. Getting a taxi is chaotic and navigating the terminal is difficult so if you can get someone to meet you, it's advisable.
Jinan is on the major line from Shanghai to Beijing so you can take the bullet train. It's about 3.5 hours from Beijing and 5 from Shanghai. There's plenty of transport outside the station: bus 83 stops nearby to take you downtown to more options, K51 takes you to Quancheng Square and Thousand Buddha Mountain.
By bus
It is very easy to get to Jinan with lots of buses running all day and some at night. Be sure to ask which station the bus will arrive in as there are two main ones, the long distance bus station and the train station bus station.
