About Jinan
What to see and do in Jinan
Weather in Jinan
Airport in Jinan
Visa
Jinan (Wade-Giles: Tsinan; in some texts the pinyin without tones is given as Ji'nan, to prevent a possible misreading as Jin'an) is a sub-provincial city and the capital of Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of the region from the earliest beginnings of civilization and has evolved into an important administrative, economic, and transportation hub. The city is located in north-western Shandong, it borders Liaocheng to the southwest, Dezhou to the northwest, Binzhou to the northeast, Zibo to the east, Laiwu to the southeast and Tai'an to the south.
Jinan, capital of Shandong Province on China's east coast, is the province's political, economic and cultural center.Jinan has jurisdiction over five districts (Lixia, Licheng, Huaiyin, Tianqiao and Shizhong), four counties (Changqing, Pingyin, Shanghe and Jiyang) and Zhangqiu City, with a total area of 8,227 sq. km and a population of 5.49 million, including 2.54 million urban people.
Located in the western part of the center of Shandong Province, Jinan is at the juncture of the Beijing-Shanghai and Qingdao-Jinan railways. Nearby to the south is Mount Tai, officially recognized by the United Nation 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." With a warm-temperate continental monsoon climate and clear-cut seasonal changes, Jinan has an average annual temperature of 14 C and an annual mean precipitation of 650-700 mm.
Thanks to its long history, Jinan has been designated by the State Council as a famous historical and cultural city. As Jinan boasts a number of natural springs amid picturesque scenery, it is known as the "City of Springs. " The city tree of Jinan is the willow, and the city flower is the lotus.
Daming Lake Park (Daminghu Gongyuan), Daming Lake Street (Daminghulu) (In the centre of city; buses 6, 11, 31, 33, 37, 36, 41). 6.30am - 6pm. Large park with pagodas, temples and an amusement park. The largest Taoist temple in Jinan is located here as well as a temple in memorial of some local official. Also large natural lake formed from a number of springs and with a large fountain. There are boats for rent. Nice landscaping with willow trees and lotus flowers. Festivals and exhibitions take place in the park. RMB 30; boat RMB 200.
Thousand-Buddha Hill (Qianfoshan), (2.5 km south east). 7am-6pm. A small hill (with many steps) you can climb to view the smog haze and overlook the city itself on clearer days. Allow about half and hour to reach the top. Features temples, caves, pavilions, terraces, towers, and er Buddhas. On the eastern side of mountain stands the Shandong Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery for Revolution of 1911, a key historical relic site under provincial protection. Other scenic spots on the Mountain include the Tang-Dynasty Pagoda Tree Pavilion, Shandong Nine Clouds, and Cloud Passing Zen Temple, etc. If you prefer a bus ride, then you can go by bus to the top of the mountain along a mountain road winding up the eastern side of the mountain. RMB 30.
Hongyegu (Red Leaves Valley), (Outside Jinan and to the north. An hour by bus (65, 29, 88) and up in the mountains). Beautiful area which is always in a splendour of color in the fall. Red Leaf valley is a private park which encompasses mountains and lakes of great beauty. However, getting there is next to impossible without being fluent in Mandarin or having a Chinese translator due to the obscure address of the bus service and the weird rule of having to buy your tickets one day in advance.
Longdong Cave. Apparently good in Autumn
Jinan Zoo, north.
Yellow River.
Yaoshan Hill.
The Great Wall of the Qi State (dating back to 408BC).
Horse Running Mountain, (40km southeast). Boasts the Jinan Wild Life World forest safari park and is first class even in Asia."
Five Peak Mountain, (20km southwest). Peaks, pavilions, terraces, bridges, including the fascinatingly named Fairy-Greeting Bridge. RMB 25.
Four Door Pagoda (Simen Ta), (It is on the Qinglong mountain, 33km southeast of Jinan. Take a bus from the Long Distance East bus station 0800 returning 1500). Constructed in 611AD (Sui Dynasty) with Buddha, and 1000 year old pine tree.
Lingyan Temple, (There is a bus going there from Jiefangqiao Bus Station). Founded about 1600 years ago and "one of the Four Scenic Spots of Temple in the World". Pavilions, bridges, halls, ponds, terraces, Buddhas, stone tablets, caves. The attractions include "One Line of Sky, Double Pine Bridge, and other grotesque spots like Spring on Mirror Pond.
English Corner, (Along the river). On Sunday. There's a specific location, but it doesn't really matter. If you wander along the river, grab an ice cream and sit down you'll soon be joined by people wanting to practice English... That is, if you like to be pestered by speakers of chinglish. Otherwise ignore Sunday mornings in this area like the plague.
Huge bookshop, just east of Maccas on the main drag Quancheng Road. Includes a mediocore foreign languages section mostly old classic novels and dictionaries. The management seem to tolerate the thousands of non-customers, using it as a reading room. It is well worth a visit - Borders could learn a thing or two.
Quancheng Square or Spring City Square the main square. At night you can watch kids compete in in-line skating, kung fu, or other competitions. Lots of people hang out there so prepeare to be stared at, as Jinan residents do not often see foreigners. If you are not comfortable to be the center of attention maybe it is best to avoid this spot.
Hero Mountain and the botanical gardens, in the SE. Good for a climb and a stroll. On weekends it's overcrowded so choose a weekday.
The campuses of Shandong University, Shandong Medical University, and Shandong Normal University. Leafy, serene, and pleasant to stroll. This is of course by Chinese standards as they are not really leafy and pleasant at all, but more grey, dirty, solemn and sparse of foliage. Of the three, the Medical University is the nicest with some mildly interesting architecture. Avoid the weekends.
Jinan is renown across China for its numerous springs, the lakes fed by the spring water, and the weeping willows that grow along the water edges. The late-Qing author Liu E describes Jinan's cityscape in his novel "The Travels of Lao Can" (pinyin: Lao Can Youji, written 1903-04, published in 1907) as "Every family has spring water, every household has a willow tree"; pinyin: Jia jia quan shui, hu hu chuiyang). Jinan was also the historical center of Buddhist culture for the whole province which is still manifest in the many historic sites that are left behind in its southern counties.
Jinan is known as the "City of Springs" because of the large number of natural artesian springs. The majority of the springs, many of which have been historically listed under the "72 Famous Springs" (pinyin: qi shi er ming quan) are concentrated in the downtown district and flow north to converge in Daming Lake. The Baotu Spring Park is the most popular of the springs in the City of Jinan proper. Besides the Baotu Spring, the park contains several other springs that are listed among the "72 Famous Springs". "Baotu" (pinyin: Bao tu) means "jumping and leaping" in Chinese. The water in the spring pool can be seen foaming and gushing, looking like a pot of boiling water. The spring was visited by the Emperor Qian Long (1711 A.D - 1799 A.D) of the Qing Dynasty who declared it "the first spring under the heaven" (pinyin: tian xia di yi quan). A tablet with the Emperor's handwriting "Baotu Spring" has since been erected beside the spring pool.
Not far away to the northeast of Baotu Spring Park is the Daming Lake, which, together with Baotu Spring and the Thousand-Buddha Mountain is often regarded as the "Three Greatest Attractions in Jinan". Other notable parks in the city include the Five Dragon Pool near the Baotu Spring Park, the Black Tiger Spring on the southern city moat, and the Baimai Springs of Zhangqiu City to the east of Jinan.
Baotu Springs, Buses 5, 41, 49, 66, K51, K52, K54, K59, 72, 80, 82, 85, 102, 106. Has several temples and pavilions.
Black Tiger Spring. Sounding like the roar of a tiger, maybe in anceint times when there was water, gurgles out through three carved tiger heads into the city moat.
Five Dragon Pool, located on the outside of Ximen of old city of Jinan and on the north of Leyuan Bridge. Buses 1,3,5,41,85,K50,K54,K55,K95,66,101,104.
Buddhist sites
Historic Buddhist sites are particularly common in Licheng County to the south-east of the city center of Jinan. The Four Gates Pagoda, built in 661 A.D., is the oldest existing one-story stone tower in China. The pagoda houses four Buddhist statues dating from the 6th century, and the Cypress tree standing next to the pagoda is more than 1000 years old. Below the hill on which pagoda stands lie the remnants of the Shentong Temple, which was founded in the 4th century but was destroyed in the wars of later dynasties. The funerary stelae of monks from the temple which date from different historic periods display remarkable artisticfeatures. The statues in the nearby Thousand-Buddha Cliff form one of the best collections of Tang Dynasty Buddhist statues in the region.
The Lingyan Temple in the southern county of Changqing was one of the four most famous temples (pinyin: si da ming cha) of the Tang Dynasty. The temple was founded during the Jin Dynasty and reached its heyday during the Tang and Song Dynasties. During the Tang Dynasty, the famous monk Xuan Zang stayed in the temple and translated Buddhist manuscripts he had brought to China from India. Many emperors in Chinese history visited the temple before they went to Mount Tai (one of China's five sacred mountains, located south of Jinan) for ceremonies. The clay sculptures of Buddhas made in the Song Dynasty are considered as "The Best of China" (pinyin: hai nei di yi ming su) by the great scholar and journalist Liang Qichao (1873 A.D - 1929 A.D). Buddhist architectures within the temple such as pagodas and tomb stelae are among the earliest and best protected in the region.
Museums and libraries
The Shandong Provincial Museum located at the foothill of Thousand-Buddha Mountain is the largest museum in the province. It has a large collection of natural as well as historical treasures from the whole province. The museum was established in its present form in 1982 and right now it has 8 exhibition halls - "Treasures of Shandong Province", "Stone Sculptures", "Warship of the Ming Dynasty", "Ancient Coins", "Art Treasures", "Fossil Collections", "Dinosaurs" and "Specimens". The museum has more than 210,000 relics and specimens, making up 1/3 of the collections in museums of whole province. The Shandong Provincial Museum has been ranked No. 7 in terms of collection size among the museums of China.
The Jinan Municipal Museum is to the west of Thousand-Buddha Mountain, in the north of the city. Even though dwarfed by the provincial museum, the Jinan Municipal Museum still has a collection of more than 20,000 items. Most relics on display in the municipal museum were recovered in the city.
The Shandong Provincial Library in the eastern High-tech Park (address: 2912 Second Ring East Road) is the principal library of the province and is ranked among the Top 10 Chinese libraries. As of 2004, the library had more than 5.18 million documents, many of which date back many centuries and are important sources for research on Chinese history. The library also has a large collection of western journals/books. Originally, the library was built close to Daming Lake in 1909 by the then governor of Shandong. In the late 1990s, a project was undertaken to move the library to the eastern part of the city, and it reopened in 2002 with 35 reading rooms and more than 2000 seats.
Scientific and Technical Museum. East of the Spring City Square. Or just browse the interminable shiny floored shopping malls, such as the Silver Plaza next to the Hotel Sofitel, near the Square, and marvel at the new wealth of this emerging powerful nation.
Shopping centers
Most shopping malls in Jinan are in the downtown area centered around Spring City Square (pinyin: Quan Cheng Guang Chang) and Spring City Road (pinyin: Quan Cheng Lu). Spring City Square was built by the municipal government beside the city moat in the early 21st century; at the center is the statue "Spring" which has become a symbol of Jinan. The square borders on the ancient city moat. It has a music fountain, a 46,000 square meter underground shopping center and a memorial hall with statues of famous people from Shandong.
Spring City Road was rebuilt at the same time that Spring City Square was created. The government's intention was to create a modern business district and yet preserve the traditional Chinese culture. Therefore newly-built shopping malls with traditional Chinese architectural styles and modern western skyscrapers can be found side-by-side along Spring City Road. Notable retail businesses are Quancheng Bookstore - the largest bookstore of the city - and Walmart (near the western end of Spring City Road). Major shopping malls along the road are the Guihe Shopping Center (pinyin: Guihe Shangsha), the Sofitel Silver Plaza, and the Wanda Shopping Mall (pinyin: Wanda Jituan). In December 2007, construction started on the Jinan Hang Lung Plaza (pinyin: Jinan Heng Long Guangchang) to the south of Spring City Road (opposite of Water Lily Street), which is projected to become Jinan's largest shopping mall with six levels of retail space and a total gross floor area of 150,000 square meters.
Many people consider that the autumn is the best season in which to visit Jinan. However, spring is really the preferred time to visit the Baotu Spring and it goes without saying that if you wish see the wonderful snowscape of Daming Lake then you need to go in winter.
The average temperature in July is about 27.6 C (81.7 F) and the highest temperature can exceed 35 C (95 F). Half the annual rainfall comes during this period and so avoid visiting Jinan in summer. With the arrival of autumn the temperature drops to a pleasant level. From August to October, the temperature reduces at a rate of 5C (41 F) to 6C (42.8 F) per month. Jinan's winter is cold but less so than its neighboring cities.
January 3 C to -6 C
February 5 C to -4 C
March 12 C to 2 C
April 21 C to 9 C
May 27 C to 16 C
June 32 C to 20 C
July 32 C to 23 C
August 30 C to 21 C
September 26 C to 16 C
October 21 C to 10 C
November 12 C to 3 C
December 5 C to -4 C
Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport (pinyin: Jinan Yao Qiang Guo J' ji Chang) or Jinan International Airport (pinyin: Jinan Guo Ji ji Chang) for short is the major airport of Jinan, Shandong, China (IATA: TNA, ICAO: ZSJN).
The airport is approximately 33 km (20.5 miles) from the center of Jinan and immediately to the north of the town ofYaoqiang (pinyin: Yao Qiang Zhen) from which the airport's name is derived. By road, the airport is connected to the Jiqing (Jinan ' Qingdao) and Jingfu (Jingfu ' Fuzhou) expressways.
Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport is about 33 kilometers (about 20.5 miles) outside of Jinan City. It connects to both the Jiqing (Jinan 'Qingdao) and Jingfu (Jingfu ' Fuzhou) highways, providing very convenient airport transportation.
Covering an area of 230,000 square meters (about 56.8 acres), Jinan International Airport is one of China's finest airports. Notably, it is also the largest passenger airport in Shandong Province.
Viewed from a distance, the airport appears to be a flying roc, which will surely arouse your imagination. It has one of the biggest waiting areas in all of China, which makes this airport play an important role in the Chinese air industry. Some 54 domestic and international airlines have been opened. Flights originating from this airport can reach more than 38 cities both in China as well as abroad.
Facilities Parking: There are eight parking areas located in the square in front of the new waiting hall. Some 1,200 cars can be parked at the same time.
Service Hotel: Jinan International Airport Hotel is a three-star hotel, located only 50 meters (about 54.7 yards) away from the waiting hall. Amenities including dining facilities, entertainment, meeting rooms, ATM, and pubs, are all available here.
In addition to the usual hotel services, there are also business VIP rooms, first-class cabin waiting rooms, nursing rooms, medical center, restaurants, and other facilities which are ready to serve the traveler.
Useful telephone numbers Domestic ticket selling: 0531-86010333 (24-hour service) International ticket selling: 0531-86010999
Airport Transportation: Shuttle Bus: 1. From the downtown Jinan to the airport: the bus runs every hour from 6:00 to 17:00. You can take the bus in front of the Eastern Airlines Building, Nanxin Zhuang.
2. From the airport to the downtown Jinan: from the exit of the airport to the long-distance bus terminal.
The bus fare is RMB 15 and the whole journey takes about an hour.
It cost over RMB 100 to take a taxi from the airport to the city center, Quancheng Square, or the Sofitel Silver Plaza in the downtown Jinan.
Apart from airport buses between downtown Jinan and the Airport, there are also direct buses running between Jinan airport to other cities in Shandong Province.
To Zibo City: RMB 60 for about one hour and a half
The departure time from airport to Zibo: 07:20, 11:00, 13:30, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00, 18:30, 20:30
The departure time from Zibo to airport: 05:20, 08:00, 09:00, 11:00, 12:30, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00
Pick-up Point in Zibo: Rose Hotel (No1, Zhongxin Road, Zhangdian District o pposite to Zibo Railway Station Square)
To Dongying City: RMB 100 for about two hours and a half
The departure time from airport to Dongying: 11:00, 13:30, 17:30, 19:30
The departure time from Dongying to airport: 04:00, 08:30, 11:00, 14:00
Pick-up Point in Dongying: Victory Square (Shengli Guangchang) (Liaocheng Road, Dongying District)
To Tai'an City: RMB 60 for about one hour and a half
The departure time from airport to Tai'an: 08:40, 10:30, 15:30, 16:40
The departure time from Tai'an to airport: 05:30, 08:00, 12:00, 14:00
Pick-up Point in Tai'an: Taishan Hotel (No.26, Hongmen Road, Taishan District)
To Jining City: RMB 110 for about three hours
The departure time from airport to Jining: 13:00, 19:00
The departure time from Jining to airport: 08:30, 13:00
Pick-up Point in Jining: Jining Shuntong Travel Service (No.4, north section of Jianshe Road, the North Bus Station)
Airlines and other destinations of Jinan
China Eastern Airlines (Beijing-Capital, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Harbin, Hong Kong, Kunming, Shanghai-Hongqiao, Shenyang)
China Southern Airlines (Changchun, Changsha, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou, Harbin, Sanya, Shenyang, Wuhan, Xi'an)
Hainan Airlines (Changsha, Harbin, Shenyang, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Xi'an)
Korean Air (Seoul-Incheon)
Shandong Airlines (Beijing-Capital, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Haikou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Hohhot, Lanzhou, Nanjing, Nanning, Qingdao, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Hongqiao, Shenzhen, Taiyuan, Weihai, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen, Xi'an, Yantai, Yinchuan, Zhengzhou)
Shanghai Airlines (Shanghai-Hongqiao)
Shenzhen Airlines (Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen)
Sichuan Airlines (Chengdu, Chongqing, Dalian, Harbin, Kunming, Xi'an)
Xiamen Airlines (Changsha, Fuzhou, Wuyishan, Xiamen)
To be able to travel to Jinan you need to have a valid China Visa, issue from your local government at the China Embassy, Chinese visa fall into four types: diplomatic visa, courtesy visa, service visa and ordinary visa. Ordinary visa is further divided into the following 8 categories each marked with a letter: (1) Tourist and family visit visa (L-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who comes to China for tourist purpose, family visit or other personal affairs.
(2) Business Visa (F-visa ) is issued to a foreign citizen who is invited to China for visit, research, lecture, business, exchanges in the fields of science, technology, education, culture and sports, or attending various kinds of trade fairs or exhibitions, or short-term study, intern practice for a period of no more than 6 months.
(3) Student Visa (X-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who comes to China for the purpose of study or advanced study for a period of six or more months.
(4) Work Visa (Z-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who comes to China to work and his or her accompanying family members, or to give commercial performances in China.
(5) Transit Visa (G-visa) is issued to a foreign citizen who is to transit through China on his or her way to a third country (or region).
(6) Crew Visa(C-visa)is issued to crew member performing his/her duties on board an international train, or on an international airliner, to a sailor on board an international ocean-liner or freighter, and also to their accompanying family members..
(7) Journalist Visa (J-visa)is issued to foreign journalists. J-visa has two categories: J-1 visa and J-2 visa. J-1 visa is issued to resident foreign journalists in China and their accompanying spouses and under-age children, J-2 visa to foreign journalists who visit China for temporary news coverage.
(8) Permanent Residence Visa(D-visa)is issued to a foreign citizen who has been approved by China's public security authority to reside in China permanently.
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