Jinan

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For the South Korean county of the same name, see Jinan County.
济南市
Jǐnán Shì
Abbreviation: 济 (Pinyin: Jǐ)
Jinan is highlighted on this map
Administration Type Sub-provincial city
City Seat Licheng District
(36°40′N 116°59′E)
Area 8,177 km²
Population 5.90 million (2004)
GDP
- Total
- Per Capita		  
¥161.89 billion (2004)
¥25192(2003)
Major Nationalities Han - 98.31%
Hui - 1.62%
County-level divisions 10
Township-level divisions 146
CPC Committee Secretary
Mayor Bao Zhiqiang (鲍志强)
Area code 531
Postal Code 250000
(Urban center)
250200, 250400, 251400, 251600
(Other areas)
License Plate Prefix 鲁A
City Flower Lotus
Nelumbo Adans.
City Tree Chinese Willow
Salix matsudana Koidz.

Jinan (Simplified Chinese: 济南; Traditional Chinese: 濟南; pinyin: Jǐnán) is a sub-provincial city and the capital of Shandong province, People's Republic of China. 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.

Contents

[edit] Administration

The sub-provincial city of Jinan administers 10 county-level divisions, including 6 districts, 1 county-level city and 3 counties.

  • Licheng District (历城区)
  • Lixia District (历下区)
  • Shizhong District (市中区)
  • Huaiying District (槐荫区)
  • Tianqiao District (天桥区)
  • Changqing District (长清区)
  • Zhangqiu City (章丘市)
  • Pingyin County (平阴县)
  • Jiyang County (济阳县)
  • Shanghe County (商河县)

These are further divided into 146 township-level divisions, including 65 towns, 27 townships and 54 subdistricts.

[edit] Geography and climate

Location within China
Enlarge
Location within China

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 mm for the rainfall. July is the warmest and wettest month, the corresponding numbers are 23.5°C, 32.6°C, and 190.9 mm (Source: The Global Historical Climatology Network, version 2 beta, covering 874 months between 1916 and 1990).

[edit] History

Jinan has been recognized by the State Council of China as a worthy cultural-historic city. The ancient site on which Jinan was erected was probably settled as early as the Shang Dynasty, 3,000 years ago. From its location, south of the ancient Ji Waters, comes Jinan's name, literally meaning South of Ji. Jinan slowly developed during the Zhou Dynasty; by the Jin Dynasty, Buddhism began to flourish in the area, and various temples were erected making Jinan the religious center of Shandong at the time. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Jinan became a prefecture and was called "The nation of literature and the place of wealth." Jinan being one of the biggest tax-collecting zones in the kingdom.

Jinan was home to China's oldest trademark bronze plate. This shows the fast industrial and commercial development in Jinan at the time. The "Two An's of Jinan" created a lot of famous poetry and literature during this period, and became famous representatives of China's literary elite. The city continued to develop throughout the Ming and Qing Dynasties, becoming one of the most important trading centers in its region of China by the late Qing.

Industrial development thrived before the Japanese Invasion of China in 1933, during the times of the Republic. The city was damaged during World War II and was later rebuilt to a large extent. Since Deng Xiaoping's reforms, Jinan has strived to develop into a modern metropolis. Trade has opened up and Jinan's former industrial strengths have resurfaced.

[edit] Economy

The economic development of Jinan only came to speed since Deng Xiaoping's 1978 reforms, opening up to the outside world. The focus was on improving medium and large sized enterprises, thus improving the level of industrial competition. Technological developments were improved greatly. Jinan is known for various famous-brand products that come from the city. Jinan is moving towards specializing in industries such as social insurance, telecommunications, information, and tourism for economic development.

Agriculture and the rural economy also got a huge boost since 1978. The old way of operating agricultre was being replaced by a newer, more modern method. More and more enterprises are seeking to rural area to do more business. The forest and fishing industries also thrive in the region. It is one of the top producers in China of cotton, peanuts, and fruit.

Economic growth has been fast, at a pace of nearly 12% a year in the growth of GDP since 1990. The GDP per capita was ¥25192 (US$3042) in 2003, ranked no. 38 among 659 Chinese cities.

[edit] Demographics

Jinan's 2005 estimated population is 5.69 million in the whole city-jurisdiction area, with a total of 2.54 million living in urban areas. The population is predominantly Han (98.3%), with very small portions of Hui and Manchu Chinese.

[edit] Language and culture

Jinan is known for its Lu Cai (鲁菜),one stream out of the eight in China, sometimes hailed as China's No.1 Cuisine. Many people in Jinan like eating big, raw green onion, garlic, which minced are also common seasonings in the Lu Cai.

Local residents in the city proper, as well as the surrounding area, have traditionally spoken a dialect that is relatively similar (as compared to southern dialects) to standard Mandarin Chinese, although a non-native speaker who would likely find it not so easy to understand. The people of Jinan are gradually speaking more Mandarin, although many elder residents still have strong Shandong dialect elements in their speech.

[edit] Transport

Jinan is the hub of transport and communication network for Shandong province. The construction of the Jinan-Qingdao Expressway, the Jinan-Wangcun, Jinan-Weishan, Jinan-Handan and Jinan-Dezhou highway has formed a network connecting Jinan with the rest of the province and the country as a whole. Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport provides airline access to all of China, with more than 30 routes including to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Fuzhou and other major Chines cities. It continues as a major crossroad for the Chinese railway system, as it is in the middle of the Jing-hu Railway and at the end of the Jiao-Ji Railway. Water travel on the Yellow River makes Jinan an important shipping center.

[edit] Tourism

Jinan is known for its beautiful natural sites, and is one of the greatest tourist destinations in Shandong. Jinan boasts a series of old and childhood homes of politicians, philosophers, dynastic officials, and artists. Furthermore, Jinan's purported picturesque scenery by the lake and ruddy waters that flow in and around the city make it more attractive to domestic tourists -- a lot of this was reflected by famous Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu. Sadly, industrialisation, pollution, unfortunate "post revolution" architecture and frequent dust storms reduce the allure of its once-spectacular beauty. There are more than a few natural scenery sites in Jinan. Just over an hour to the south, closer to Tai'an, is the famous Tai Shan, one of the five "great Chinese mountains" (Wu Yue). To the north are scenic blue-colored mountains, beside the Yellow River. Jinan is also known for its natural springs, which have only recently become functional again after the depleted and polluted water table was artificially replenished after decades of sluggish inactivity. However, for a great percentage of the year the city is extremely dry.

Tourist attractions include:

[edit] Education

Jinan, the educational center of Shandong province, has a host of eminent high-level educational institutions within its area.

[edit] National

[edit] Public

  • Jinan University (济南大学)
  • Shandong Normal University (山东师范大学)
  • Shangdon Institute of Architecture and Engineering (山东建筑工程学院)
  • Shandong Jiaotong University (山东交通学院)
  • Shandong Economic University (山东经济学院)
  • Shandong Finance Institute (山东财政学院)
  • Shandong University of Chinese Traditional Medicine (山东中医药大学)
  • Shandong College of Arts (山东艺术学院)
  • Shandong College of Arts and Design (山东工艺美术学院)
  • Shandong Physical Education Institute (山东体育学院)

[edit] Sports

[edit] Twin towns

Jinan has eleven twin towns, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


Prefecture-level divisions of Shandong
Sub-provincial cities: Jinan | Qingdao
Prefecture-level cities: Binzhou | Dezhou | Dongying | Heze | Jining | Laiwu | Liaocheng
Linyi | Rizhao | Tai'an | Weifang | Weihai | Yantai | Zaozhuang | Zibo
List of Shandong County-level divisions


Major cities of Greater China
People's Republic of China Direct-controlled municipalities (4) Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin
Sub-provincial cities (15) Changchun, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou, Hangzhou,
Harbin, Jinan, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao,
Shenyang, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Xiamen, Xi'an
Special administrative regions (2) Hong Kong, Macau
Republic of China (Taiwan) Direct-controlled municipalities (2) Kaohsiung, Taipei
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