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Shandong (Simplified Chinese:
山东; Traditional Chinese:
山東; pinyin: Shāndōng; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. Its abbreviation is Lu, after the state of Lu that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period.
Shandong's name literally means "mountains' east", which refers to the province's location east of the Taihang Mountains. The province
is located in the lower reaches of the Huang He (Yellow River) and extends out to
sea in the form of the Shandong Peninsula. Shanxi borders the
Bohai Bay to the north, Hebei to the
northwest, Henan to the west, Jiangsu to the
south, and the Yellow Sea to the southeast; it also shares a very short border
with Anhui, between Henan and Jiangsu.
A common nickname for Shandong is Qílǔ (齐鲁), after the state of Lu and state of Qi that existed here during the
Spring and Autumn Period.
History
Shandong is located on the eastern edge of the North China
Plain, and has felt the influence of Chinese civilization since its very beginnings. The earliest dynasties (the Shang dynasty and Zhou
dynasty) exerted varying degrees of control over western and central Shandong. The Shandong Peninsula to the east was, however, inhabited by the Laiyi peoples who were outside the influence of Chinese
civilization, and considered to be barbarians. (The Laiyi were quickly sinicized and there is no more mention of them for most of Chinese history.)
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the
Warring States Period, regional states became
increasingly powerful. Shandong was at this time home to two powerful states: the state of Qi at Linzi and the
state of Lu at Qufu. Lu is noted for
being the home of Confucius. The state was, however, comparatively small, and
eventually succumbed to the powerful state of Chu from the south. The
state of Qi was, on the other hand, a major power throughout this entire
period. Cities it ruled included Linzi, Jimo (north of modern Qingdao)
and Ju.
A unified Qin Dynasty was founded in 221 BC, creating the first centralized Chinese state. The Han
Dynasty that followed created two zhou ("provinces") in what is now modern Shandong: Qingzhou Province in the north
and Yanzhou Province in
the south. (The Shandong Peninsula was still relatively
underdeveloped at the time.) During the division of the Three Kingdoms
Shandong belonged to the Kingdom of Wei, which ruled over northern
China.
A brief period of unity after the Three Kingdoms period quickly gave way to invasions by nomadic peoples from the north.
Shandong, and the rest of northern China, was quickly overrun. Over the next century or so Shandong changed hands quickly,
falling to the Later Zhao, then Former Yan, then Former Qin, then Later Yan, then Southern Yan, then the Liu Song Dynasty, and finally the Northern Wei Dynasty, the first of the Northern Dynasties during the Northern and Southern Dynasties Period.
Shandong stayed with the Northern Dynasties for the rest of this period.
In 412, the Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian landed at Laoshan, on the southern edge of
the Shandong peninsula, and proceeded to Qingzhou to edit and translate the
scriptures he had brought back from India.
The Sui Dynasty reestablished unity, and the Tang Dynasty presided over the next golden age of China. For the earlier part of this period Shandong
was ruled as part of Henan
Circuit, one of the circuits (a
political division). Later on China splintered into warlord factions, resulting in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
Shandong was part of the Five Dynasties, all based in the north.
The Song Dynasty reunified China. In 1996, the discovery of over 200 buried Buddhist statues at Qingzhou was hailed as a major archaeological find. The statues included early examples of painted figures, and are thought to have been
buried due to Emperor Huizong's Song Dynasty repression of Buddhism (he favoured Taoism).
The Song Dynasty was forced to cede of northern China to the Jurchen Jin Dynasty in 1142. Shandong was
administered by the Jin Dynasty as Shandong East Circuit and Shandong West Circuit — the first use of its current name.
The modern province of Shandong was created by the Ming Dynasty. It also
included much of modern-day Liaoning (in south Manchuria) at the time. However, the Manchus increasingly asserted
independence, and eventually managed to conquer all of China as well. Under the Qing Dynasty, which they founded, Shandong acquired (more or less) its current borders.
During the 19th century, China became increasingly exposed to Western
influence, and Shandong was especially affected, being along the coast. Qingdao was
ceded to Germany in 1897 and Weihai to Britain in 1898. The rest of Shandong was generally considered to be part of the German sphere of influence. In addition, the Qing Dynasty opened the lands of Manchuria to Han Chinese immigration during the 19th century; Shandong was the main source of the
ensuing tide of migrants.
The Republic of China was founded in 1911. Qingdao reverted to Chinese control in 1922, Weihai in 1930. In
1937 Japan began its invasion of China proper in
the Second Sino-Japanese War, which will eventually
become part of the Pacific theatre of the Second World War.
Shandong was occupied in its entirety by Japan, with pockets of resistance. This lasted until the surrender of Japan in 1945.
By 1945, communist forces already held some parts of Shandong. Over the next 4 years of the Chinese Civil War, they expanded their holdings, eventually driving the
Kuomintang (government of the Republic of China) entirely out of Shandong by June 1949. The People's
Republic of China was founded in October of the same year.
Under the new government, parts of western Shandong was initially given to the short-lived Pingyuan Province, but this did
not last. Shandong also acquired the Xuzhou and Lianyungang areas from Jiangsu province, but this did not last
either. For the most part Shandong has kept the same borders that it has today.
In recent years Shandong, especially eastern Shandong, has raced ahead in economic development, becoming one of the richest
provinces of China.
Geography
Shandong is mostly flat in terrain. The northwestern, western, and southwestern parts of the province are all part of the vast
North China Plain. The center of the province is more
mountainous, with the Taishan Mountains, Lushan Mountains, and Mengshan Mountains being the most prominent. The east of the province is the hilly Shandong Peninsula extending into the sea; it separates Bohai Sea in the northwest from the Yellow
Sea to the east and south. The highest peak of Shandong is the highest peak in the Taishan area: Jade Emperor Peak, with a height
of 1545 m.
The Yellow River passes through Shandong's western areas, entering the
sea along Shandong's northern coast; in its traversal of Shandong it flows on a levee,
higher than the surrounding land, and dividing western Shandong into the Hai He
watershed in the north and the Huai He watershed in the south. The Grand Canal of China enters Shandong from the northwest and leaves
on the southwest. Lake Weishan is
the largest lake of the province. Shandong's coastline is 3000 km long. Shandong Peninsula has a rocky coastline with cliffs, bays, and islands; the large Laizhou Bay, the southernmost of the three
bays of Bohai Sea, is found to the north, between Dongying and Penglai; Jiaozhou Bay, which is much smaller, is found to the south, next to Qingdao. The Miaodao Islands extend northwards from the northern coast of the peninsula.
Shandong has a temperate climate, with moist summers and dry,
cold winters. Average temperatures are -5 - 1 °C in January and 24 - 28 °C in July.
Annual precipitation is 550 - 950 mm.
Major cities include:
Economy
Shandong ranks first among the provinces in the production of a variety of products, including cotton and wheat as well as precious metals such as gold and diamonds. Other importants crop include sorghum and maize. Shandong has extensive petroleum deposits as well, especially in the Dongying area in the Yellow River delta, where the Shengli Oilfield (lit. Victory
Oilfield) is one of the major oilfields of China. Shandong also produces salt
from sea water.
Shandong is one of the richer provinces of China, and its economic development focuses on large enterprises with well-known
brand names. Shandong has also benefited from South Korean and Japanese investment, due to its geographical proximity to those countries. The richest part of
the province is the Shandong Peninsula, where the city of
Qingdao is home to two of the most well-known brand names of China: Tsingtao Beer and Haier. In addition,
Dongying's oil fields and petroleum industries form an important component of
Shandong's economy. On the other hand, the extreme inland west of Shandong is much poorer than the rest of the province.
Demographics
Shandong is the second most populous province of China, after Henan. Over 99% of
Shandong's population is Han Chinese. Minority groups include the Hui and the Manchus.
Administrative Divisions
Shandong is divided into 17 prefecture-level divisions, all of them prefecture-level cities:
- Jinan (Simplified
Chinese: 济南市; Hanyu pinyin: Jǐnán Shì)
- Liaocheng (聊城市
Liáochéng Shì)
- Dezhou (德州市 Dézhōu Shì)
- Dongying (东营市 Dōngyíng Shì)
- Zibo (淄博市 Zībó Shì)
- Weifang (潍坊市 Wéifāng Shì)
- Yantai (烟台市 Yāntái Shì)
- Weihai (威海市 Wēihǎi Shì)
- Qingdao (青岛市 Qīngdǎo Shì)
- Rizhao (日照市 Rìzhào
Shì)
- Linyi (临沂市 Línyí
Shì)
- Zaozhuang (枣庄市 Zǎozhuāng Shì)
- Jining
(济宁市 Jìníng Shì)
- Tai'an (泰安市
Tài'ān Shì)
- Laiwu (莱芜市 Láiwú
Shì)
- Binzhou (滨州市
Bīnzhōu Shì)
- Heze (菏泽市 Hézé Shì)
The 17 prefecture-level
divisions of Shandong are subdivided into 140 county-level divisions (49 districts, 31 county-level cities,
and 60 counties). Those are in turn divided into 1928 township-level divisions (1237
towns, 294 townships, 2 ethnic townships, and 395 subdistricts).
See List of administrative divisions of Shandong for a complete list of
county-level divisions.
Culture
Mandarin
dialects are spoken in Shandong. Linguists classify these dialects into three broad categories: Ji Lu Mandarin spoken in the northwest
(as well as in neighbouring Hebei), such as the Jinan dialect; Zhongyuan Mandarin spoken in
the southwest (as well as in neighbouring Henan); and Jiao Liao Mandarin spoken in
the Shandong Peninsula (as well as the Liaodong Peninsula across the sea), such as the Qingdao dialect. When people speak
of the "Shandong dialect" (山东话), it is generally the first or the second that is meant; the Jiao Liao
dialects of Shandong are commonly called the "Jiaodong dialect" (胶东话).
Shandong cuisine is one
of the eight great traditions of Chinese cuisine. It can be more
finely divided into inland Shandong cuisine (e.g. Jinan cuisine); the seafood-centered Jiaodong cuisine in the peninsula;
and Confucius's Mansion cuisine, an elaborate tradition originally intended for imperial and other
important feasts.
Shandong Bangzi and
Lüju are popular types of Chinese opera in Shandong; both originated from southwestern Shandong.
Transportation
The Jingjiu Railway
(Beijing - Kowloon) and Jinghu Railway (Beijing - Shanghai) are both major arterial
railways that pass through the western part of Shandong. The Jingjiu passes through Liaocheng and Heze; the Jinghu passes through Dezhou, Jinan, Tai'an, Qufu. and Tengzhou. The Jiaoji Railway is an important railway
of Shandong, linking its two largest cities of Jinan and Qingdao.
Shandong has one of the densest and highest quality expressway networks among all Chinese provinces. At over 3000 km, the total length of Shandong's expressways is the highest among the provinces. The Jiqing Expressway (Jinan - Qingdao) and Jingfu Expressway (Beijing - Fuzhou, passing through Shandong) are all
important arterial expressways.
The Shandong Peninsula, with its bays and harbours, has many
important ports, including Qingdao, Yantai,
Weihai, Rizhao, and Longkou. Many of
these ports have historical significance as well, as the sites of former foreign naval bases or historical battles. Ferries link
the cities on the north coast of the peninsula with the Liaodong
Peninsula, further north across the sea.
Important airports include Jinan Yaoqiang Airport and Qingdao Liuting Airport.
Tourism
Miscellaneous topics
Professional sports teams based in Shandong include:
Colleges and universities
External links
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