Jinan

Located at 36°40′ Northern Latitude and 116° 57′ East of Greenwich, with Mount Tai to the south and the Yellow River to the north, Jinan is high in the south and low in the north. Two big rivers, the Yellow River and Xiaoqing River, are running through it. Falling within the warm temperate continental monsoon climate zone, it has four distinct seasons and abundant sunshine. Jinan has a total area of 8177 square kilometers, among which urban area covers 3257 square kilometers, and governs 6 districts (Lixia, Shizhong, Huaiyin, Tianqiao, Licheng, and Changqing) and 3 counties (Pingyin, Jiyang, and Shanghe), and one county-level city (Zhangqiu). At the end of 2008, Jinan had a registered population of 6.0399 million and 48 minority ethnic groups.

As one of the important cradles of Chinese civilization, Jinan could be dated back to as early as the 22nd century BC, during which the leader of the primitive tribe of China——Shun, was living in the area. The Longshan Culture was first discovered at the Chengziya site to the east of Jinan, which is characteristic of black pottery in Late Neolithic. Jinan has a history of more than 2600 years. During the times governed by the first emperor of China, the area Jinan covered belonged to the kingdom of Jibei. In the early Han dynasty, the kingdom of Jinan was set, hence Jinan derived the name. Jinan has been the capital of Shandong Province sine the Ming and the Qing dynasties. In July, 1929, Jinan City was established.

Famous as “the city of Springs”, Jinan is among the first batch of tourist cities in China. Springs are Jinan’s soul, which contains 733 springs. Except the four big spring groups the Baotu Spring, the Black Tiger Spring, the Pearl Spring and the Five Dragon Pool, nearly one hundred sweet springs are concentrated in the Old Town, whose area is only 2.6 square kilometers. These big and beautiful springs are really pleasing to the eye.