Shandong (Simplified Chinese: 山东, Traditional: 山東, Hanyu Pinyin: Shāndōng, WG: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. Located in the lower reaches of the Huang He (Yellow River), it borders on the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea.

山东省/山東省
Shāndōng Shěng

Province Abbreviation(s): 鲁 (Lǔ)
Capital	Jinan
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 19th 156,700 km² xx%
Population  - Total (end of 2001)  - Density	Ranked 2nd 90,410,000 591/km²
Administration Type	Province
Governor	Han Yuqun

History

Shandong became a province during the Ming dynasty.

Qingzhou used to be its capital.

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.

Jimo was founded in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and was the second largest settlement in Shandong at the time. The town lies north of Qingdao.

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).

Geography

Neighboring provinces: Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Hebei.

Shandong is located in the lower reaches of the Huang He (Yellow River). It borders on the Bohai Gulf and the Yellow Sea. Coastline: 3,000 km.

The Grand Canal of China flows through Shandong.

Major cities include:

• Dongying
• Jinan
• Qingdao
• Yantai
• Zibo

Other geographical features include:

• Laizhou Bay - the southernmost of the 3 bays of the Bohai Sea
• Shandong Peninsula - southern limit of the Bohai Sea

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.

Demographics

Administrative Divisions

Culture

Tourism

• Qingdao, beach resort city famous for its Tsingtao beer
  • Laoshan, a scenic area and Daoist centre to the east of Qingdao.
• World Heritage Sites:
  • Temple and Cemetery of Confucius, and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu
  • Tai Shan, sacred mountain, in Tai'an

Miscellaneous topics

Professional sports teams based in Shandong include:

• Chinese Football Association Super League
  • Shandong Luneng
  • Qingdao Beilaite
• Chinese Football Association Jia League
  • Qingdao Hailifeng
• Chinese Basketball Association
  • Shandong Jinsidun Lions

Colleges and universities

• Jinan University (Jinan)
• Ocean University of China (Qingdao)
• Shandong University (Jinan)

External links

Edit (http://www.irelandinformationguide.com/Template:Provinces_of_China?action=edit)	Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China
Provinces¹: Anhui | Fujian | Gansu | Guangdong | Guizhou | Hainan | Hebei | Heilongjiang | Henan | Hubei | Hunan | Jiangsu | Jiangxi | Jilin | Liaoning | Qinghai | Shaanxi | Shandong | Shanxi | Sichuan | Yunnan | Zhejiang Autonomous Regions: Guangxi | Inner Mongolia | Ningxia | Tibet | Xinjiang Municipalities: Beijing | Chongqing | Shanghai | Tianjin Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong | Macau ¹