Jinan, the capital of the Shandong region has been twinned with Coventry since 1983. Located in the mid-western part of the province between Mount Tai and the Yellow River (one of the largest rivers in China), the city has a population of some 5.9 million people. It is located 300 miles south of Beijing and 500 miles northwest of Shanghai.
The city is renowned culturally and dates back over 2,600 years. It is known as the City of Springs because of the 72 springs that can be found there. Today Jinan is an industrial centre, the four major industries in the city are machinery and automotive manufacturing, electronics and chemicals. The IT industry has also become a new focus for the city .
Shandong Province
Shandong is an important coastal province in the East of China, approximately 400km south of Beijing. Although the province is only the 19th largest in China, it is the second most highly populated, with a figure of 90 million people.
The province is important agriculturally and industrially and Shandong is ranked as the third most prosperous region in China. There are approximately 2,400 medium and large sized enterprises
located in the province. Shandong's GDP is growing at a rate of approximately 10% each year.
The province also has a great cultural importance in China, Confucius, was from this region, and the Shandong sites of Mount Tai and the Confucian Temple are on the UN's world heritage list. The coastal city of Qingdao will be the only Olympic venue outside of Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Politically the province is structured into four channels:
Party Committee (Shandong Standing Committee)
Shandong People's Congress
Government
Political Consultative Committee.
The Governor of the Province and Head of the Government is Mr Zhang Gaoli, who took office in late 2001. Deputy Governor is Mr Shao Guifang, who recently visited Coventry.
There is further information about Jinan at www.china-sd.com and also from China Travel System. Jinan Cable TV and Jinan Economic TV also has a web site.
Tips for those travelling to China from the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office, and advice for travelers to China from the same department.
[Following either of the above links should open another browser window. Return to the original window to continue looking at the Coventry - Jinan web site].