Shandong Province (Lu for short) is situated in the lower reaches of the yellow River, covering an area of 150,000 square kilometers and with a population of 85.8 million.
Lying in the eastern part of the North China Plain, 65% of Shandongs total area are plains and low-lying land, while 35% hills and mountains. Its rivers are part of the Yellow River, or Hai River or Huai River. The Yellow River and the Grand Canal are its main waterways. It has a warm temperate semi-humid climate. Major mineral deposits includes coal, petroleum, iron, aluminium, and gold. The coastal area is abundant in fish and salt.
Shandongs industry covers oil extraction, and processing, machinery, electric power, chemicals, foodstuff, textile, arts & crafts, papermaking etc. In recent years, it has seen a rapid development in computer industry and consumer electronic industry, holding an important place in China in output value.
Shandong is a key production area for grain, cotton and oil crops. It usually ranks first or second in production output. Shandong is also well known for its tobacco, fruit, peanuts, tussah silks, meat, and marine products.
While railway is its mainstay of transport, Shandong is one of the Chinese provinces with the most dense highway network. It has seaports like Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai, Longkou, Shijiu and Lanshantou etc.
Shandong is rich in historical and cultural resources, and gifted with beautiful landscapes. Among its famous scenic spots and historical sides are Mount Tai, Laoshan Mountain, seaside of Jiaodong penisular, Confucius family Mansion, Confucius woods and Temple in Qufu etc. Renowned traditional specialties include clocks and watches of Yantai, porcelain of Zibo, Kites of Weifang, shell-carving and beer of Qingdao.
Recommended Scenic Spots
Mt.
Taishan came into existence 27 million years earlier than the Ape-Man. According to a legend, after the death of Bangu, the creator of the world, his body changed into all kinds of things on the earth, and his head turned into Mt. Taishan. With a height of 1,545 m, the Mt. Taishan is the third highest among the five sacred mountains in China. However Mt. Taishan is famous for its divinity instead of its height and it is the most renowned mountain in China.
According to the historic record, 72 emperors in history once went to Mt. Taishan to show their respect and bestow honorific titles to the mountain. It was side that Emperor Wu in Han dynasty has been to Mt. Taishan for seven times.
The sacrificial and climbing activities made by emperors and kings left behind enormous historic legacy, which cannot be achieved by the other mountains. In Dai Temple, the trees planted by Emperor Wu of Han dynasty still remain green and prosperous, and the House Returning Ridge, which is characterized by steep and dangerous slope, can still been seen. Lying on the Yunbu Bridge, the five ancient pines, which were bestowed honorific titles by the first emperor of Qin dynasty are still sturdy. On the path of 18 bends, visitors can see many poems and songs created by famous poets and scholars, such as Libai, Dufu.
Confucius Temple
The temple was originally built for memorial purpose and in the later years it gradually mushroomed into a complex, which was one-fifth in the size of Qufu. Its huge extensions in the Ming and Qing dynasties are mainly responsible for its present scale. It is laid on a north-south axis, and is over l km long. There are over 1000 steles in the temple grounds, with inscriptions from Han to Qing times in them - the largest such collections in China. The tablets at Qufu are noted for their fine calligraphy.
Laoshan Mountain
Laoshan
Mountain lies in the east of Qingdao City, along the Huanghai Sea. It covers over 400 square kilometers, and is 1,130 meters above sea level. Among all the famous Chinese mountains it is the only one that shoots up directly from the seaside. The coastline around Laoshan Mountain extends 87 kilometers. The coastline is dotted with 18 islands, forming a marvelous view. Walking along the stone board path up to the mountain, one will find blue sea at one side while pine and stones on the other side.
Laoshan Mountain is famous for its Taoist experience. Some emperors of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC) and the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) used to visit Laoshan Mountain to look for immortals, and Tang (618-907) Emperor Minghuang also sent people to get medicine for him. Many poets and writers from different dynasties also paid visits to Laoshan Mountain. Taoism started to be missionized in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD) and became very popular ever since. There used to be nine palaces, eight Taoist temples and 72 small temples at most and over 1,000 Taoists on the Mountain. However, most of these temples and palaces were destroyed, and the Taiqing Palace is the largest one as well as the one with longest history among those left today.