Jinan

Study  in Jinan  http://www.sicas.cn/Theme/study_in_Jinan/index.shtml

Geography

Jinan is the capital city of Shandong province in the mid-east China. The city is located in the north-western Shandong about 250 miles south away from Beijing. It is the birth place of “Longshan culture”, a noted prehistorical civilization. With the its distinctive historical heritage, Jinan has evolved into a modern city and become a regional political and economic center as well as a national transportation hub.

Economy

The establishment of national railroad hub has facilitated Jinan to trade nationwide. The city became a major market for northern agricultural goods. With the efforts of Jinan government’s, the city has developed a diversified economy: textile and clothing industry, flour mills, oil presses as well as some heavy industries like steel works and chemical factories etc. In the 1970s, factories making trucks and other vehicles were added.

Jinan has been trying to make a transformation of their economy in recent years. Having 18 universities and colleges in the city, Jinan is a pool of high quality labor resources. By taking advantage of its advanced technical researching power, Jinan has transformed from a city depend on heavy industry to a city with diverse industrial structure. IT, transportation tools, and bio-engineered production have been well progressed during the last few years. Jinan’s IT-related economic output was ranked to be in the fourth place nationwide in 2004.

Culture and History

Jinan is a city with long history and is reputed for its numerous bypast heritages. It is the origin of Longshan Culture as well as the center of Buddhist culture for the whole province. You will find numerous historical sites in the area of Jinan like the ancient Great Wall of the Qi State (770BC-221BC), the chromatic sculptures of Song Dynasty and so on.

The cityscape of Jinan is featured by its numerous springs, beautiful lakes, and weeping willows. Those springs has given Jinan the name of “City of Springs”.

There are many kinds of specialties you would like to buy in Jinan such like Ejiao, Black pottery, and Wooden Fish wares. If you were fond of eating delicious foods Jinan is a must to visit for it is the home of Lu Cai, one critical branch of Chinese Cuisine. Marco Polo once visited Jinan and left words of praise to this city. With a rich mixture of traditions and natural scenes, Jinan is really an attractive spot for traveling as well as an ideal place for living.

A famous Chinese author once wrote in his book,” the beauty of the realistic world may be thin and weak but the beauty that comes from people will last forever.” Living in the peaceful environment has given Jinan people a hospitable nature, as many people say Jinan’s glamour is not merely its enticing beauty, but more the warmth of its people.