Mount Tai [Photo by Xie Jiujiang/WeChat account: sdswltwx]

Since its launch in 2007, the renowned brand "Friendly Shandong" has forged a strong reputation nationwide to become an effective calling card for the region's tourism market.

With a long history and profound cultural legacies, Shandong is a cradle of Chinese civilization and the birthplace of Confucianism. Its beautiful mountains and seas offer a pleasant natural environment, boasting a mixture of harmony and flexibility.

The province is home to Mount Tai, Laoshan Mountain, and Nishan Mountain where the great ancient Chinese thinker Confucius was born. It is also home to the Yellow Sea, the Bohai Sea, the Yellow River, the Grand Canal, Daming Lake, and Dongping Lake. Among them, Mount Tai, the Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion, the Qi Great Wall, as well as the Grand Canal are listed as world cultural heritage sites. 

Shandong has 721 museums, which trace the region's historic charm and magnificence.

Rizhao green tea [Photo/WeChat account: sdswltwx]

As the hometown of ancient philosophers Confucius and Mencius, Shandong boasts Qilu culture that has shaped the overall image of local people as sincere, honest, emotional, as well as trustworthy.

The humanistic qualities of respecting guests and being hospitable, magnanimous, and sincere have been passed down to the modern day. "How happy we are to have friends from afar" is one of the classic idioms from The Analects of Confucius, a collection of idioms reflecting Confucius' political views, moral principles, and educational ideas. It is the best interpretation of the hospitality of Shandong people.

The province also attracts visitors with its famed cuisine and local specialties, such as Zhangqiu green onions, Zhoucun pancakes, Qingdao beer, large hairy crabs, Yantai's apples, Feicheng peaches, Rushan oyster, as well as Rizhao green tea.

Other culinary highlights include Dezhou braised chicken, which boasts a unique crispy and tender texture, Dong'e Ejiao, which has been passed down for more than 2,000 years, as well as Jimo wine.

Zhangqiu green onions [Photo/WeChat account: sdswltwx]