About Jinan
Jinan has a population of 6 million. It takes 4 hours by car to Qingdao, the surfing venue of 2008 Beijing Olympics, and 90 minutes to Qufu, Confucius' family town, included in the World Heritage List. Jinan is known for Jet Spring Park, Da Ming Lake, Thousand Buddha Mountain, and etc.

Natural Environment
Situated at 36°40'N and 117°00'E, Jinan is near Mount Tai to the south and neighbors the Yellow River on the north. The terrain of Jinan slopes down from south to north and its landforms vary with hills, plains in front of the mountains and the alluvial plains of the Yellow River. There are two major water systems in Jinan – the Yellow River and the Xiaoqing River. Daming Lake and Baiyun Lake are the major lakes.

Jinan belongs to the warm temperate zone with a continental monsoon climate. It has four distinct seasons and sufficient sunlight. Its annual average temperature is 13.6°C. January is the coldest month with an average temperature of -1.9°C, and July the hottest with an average temperature of 27°C. The annual rainfall is 614 mm.

Located on the eastern coast of China, Jinan is the capital city of Shandong Province and regional central city. It is also a city at the vice – provincial level and a foreign-oriented city approved by the central government. Jinan covers an area of 8,177 square kilometers with 3,257 square kilometers of urban areas.

Jinan has a long history. It is also a culturally famous city publicized by the State Council. Jinan is glorified as the “Spring City” for its numerous springs. The city tree is willow and the city flower is lotus.

History and Culture
Jinan is an essential birthplace of the civilization in China. Shun, a chieftain of the pristine tribe was born and lived around Jinan. Chengzi Cliff in eastern Jinan is the place where Longshan Civilization (4600—4000 years ago) of the late Neolithic Age was found with the basalt as its symbol. At this site, about 200,000 square meters of China's oldest city relics was discovered. Jinan has a history of more than 2600 years old. When the Shire and County System was established by the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Jinan belonged to Jibei Shire. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Jinan Shire was founded. Consequently, Jinan got its name. Since the Ming and the Qing Dynasties, Jinan has been the capital of Shandong Province. The city of Jinan was set up in July 1929.

There are many historic sites in Jinan such as Shungeng Mountain which is the ruin of the Shun Civilization (22nd century B.C.); the Qi Great Wall (built in the 3rd century B.C) which is even older than the Qin Great Wall; China's oldest ground structure – the stone ancestral temple of Xiaotangshan Guoshi of the Han Dynasty (built in the 1st century B.C); China's oldest stone pagoda—Liubu Four-Door Pagoda of the Sui Dynasty (built in the 7th century); the colorful sculptures at Lingyan Temple of the Song Dynasty ( built in the 11th century) which are praised as the “Best Sculptures in China”.

Jinan is also the home to many celebrities such as Bianque, founder of the Chinese traditional medicine science; Fang Xuanling and Qin Qiong, men of great merit in founding the Tang Dynasty (618-907); well—known litterateurs such as Li Qingzhao and Xin Qiji. In addition, outstanding scholars such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi, Zeng Gong also lived in or visited Jinan in the past. As a result, it comes to an agreement that “there are many celebrities in Jinan”.

Jinan Weather

Weather source is from Travel China Guide: http://www.travelchinaguide.com

For more information, please visit:
Travel Jinan: http://www.jnta.gov.cn/jnta_en/index.asp
Jinan Information Network: http://www.jinan.gov.cn/20050808/column/1811.htm

About Shandong Province
Jinan is the capital city of Shandong Province.
Shandong in Pictures
Mount Tai
Mount Tai (there are 6,293 steps from the foot of the mountain to the top of it), also called Dongyue (Eastern Mountain), is located in Shandong Province. In Chinese culture, east is regarded as a sacred direction since it is where the sun and the moon rise. Therefore, though the mountain peak Yuhuangding, or the Jade Emperor Peak (in Chinese mythology, Jade Emperor is the most powerful god in the heaven) is merely 1,524 meters above sea level. Mount Tai is respected as the head of China’s five sacred mountains.