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Jinan, as the capital city of Shandong Province, is the province's political, economic and cultural center. It has a total area of 8,227 k㎡and a population of 5.49 million, including 2.54 million urban people. It is located in the mid-western part of Shandong Province. Nearby to the south is the famous Mount Tai, officially recognized by the United Nations 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."
Jinan was one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Cultural relics representing the Xihe Culture(7,300-8,400 years ago), especially pottery, have been discovered in the city. Chengzi Cliff in the eastern suburbs has yielded traces of the Longshan Culture of the late New Stone Age (4000-4600 years ago), marked by distinctive black pottery. About 200,000 sq m of the remains of a settlement indicate that Jinan has a history of over 4000 years. The legendary hero Shun was supposed to have been born and lived in the area.
With a warm-temperate continental monsoon climate and clear-cut seasonal changes, Jinan has an average annual temperature of 14℃. But the lowest temperature in winter can sometimes drop to around -10 ℃ and the highest temperature in summer can reach over 38 ℃.
As the center of transportation of Shandong Province, Jinan is at the juncture of the Beijing-Shanghai and Qingdao-Jinan railways. Trains coming from the major cities in China can directly reach Jinan. Jinan Airport, about an hour’s drive from the city, operates more than 30 regular flights to Hongkong, Beijing, Harbin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an, and Haikou, etc.
Jinan is known as "City of Springs". Underground streams from Mount Tai flow along the limestones strata to Jinan, where they are halted by igneous rocks and spurt out in the form of numerous springs. The most well-known places of interests in Jinan are Bao Tu Spring Park, Daming Lake, Qianfo Hill (Thousand Buddha hill), and Lingyan Temple.
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