Jinan Travel Guide

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Jinan Travel Guide

Jinan Travel Guide

Jinan (Hanyu Pinyin: Jǐnán; in some literatures the pinyin without tones is given as Ji'nan, to disambiguate from a possible misreading as Jin an) 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.

Located in the western part of the center of Shandong Province, Jinan is at the juncture of the Beijing-Shanghai and Qingdao-Jinan railways. Nearby to the south is Mount Tai, officially recognized by the United Nation as part of the world's natural and cultural heritage. To the north is the Yellow River, which is called the "cradle of the Chinese nation."
With a warm-temperate continental monsoon climate and clear-cut seasonal changes, Jinan has an average annual temperature of 14 C and an annual mean precipitation of 650-700 mm.
Thanks to its long history, Jinan has been designated by the State Council as a famous historical and cultural city. As Jinan boasts a number of natural springs amid picturesque scenery, it is known as the "City of Springs." The city tree of Jinan is the willow, and the city flower is the lotus.

Jinan is a historical city with a history of some 2000 years and is famed for its numerous relics. It is the cradle of the Longshan Relics Culture, the reputed prehistoric culture of China and is found in Longshan Town of Jinan, hence the name. In the area of Jinan, you will find far more than you would expect, the ancient Great Wall of the Qi State (a state of the Zhou Dynasty (770B.C. – 221B.C.)), the colored sculptures of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) in the Lingyan Temple and so on.

Jinan is the home of Lu Cai (Shandong cuisine), a popular cuisine of China.

The unique tourist souvenirs available in Jinan include Ejiao, Black Pottery, Lu Embroidery and Wooden-Fish wares.

Jinan is the right place to see some very typical festivals including The Lantern Festival in the Baotu Spring Park, the Lotus Festival in the Daming Lake Park and the Double-Nine Festival on the Thousand-Buddha Mountain.

Jinan is a hospitable city and receives tourists from all over the world. Marco Polo once visited Jinan and left words of praise to this city. The Baotu Spring, Daming Lake and the Thousand Buddha Mountain decorate Jinan as a Garden City.

Compared with those capital cities, or other large and medium-size cities in China, Jinan has few advantages and lacks a metropolitan atmosphere, the highlight being its numerous springs. Some people say Jinan's glamour is not merely its enticing natural beauty, but more the warmth of the Jinan people. The beauty of nature is thin and weak, but the beauty that comes from people will last forever.

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