Boshan () is the southernmost
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of the city of
Zibo
Zibo (, ) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou to the nor ...
, in central
Shandong
Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
province, China.
Description
BoShan is a district in southern
Zibo
Zibo (, ) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital Jinan to the west, Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou to the nor ...
City with a population of around 400,000 people. It is 42 kilometers south of the urban center of Zibo City: Zhang Dian.
Downtown BoShan has a wide central avenue which is divided by a park-like river with walkways, stone bridges and gazebos. A modern expressway bypassed the downtown area, and that has attracted development to the outskirts of the city.
BoShan's major industries are
ceramics
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
, industrial
pumps
A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they u ...
, vacuum pumps,
chemicals
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...
and
pharmaceuticals
A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and rel ...
. They advertise themselves as being the Pump Capital of China.
History
In the early 20th century, BoShan was the
administrative
Administration may refer to:
Management of organizations
* Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal
** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of the area. But BoShan is in the mountains while Zhang Dian is in a flat valley. Zhang Dian is on a main rail corridor, while BoShan was just a spur. So Zhang Dian replaced BoShan as a commercial and administrative center.
ShanDong was a German protectorate in the early 20th century, and in BoShan you can see traces of German influence. Some of the major non-Chinese companies in town are German.
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
was one of the largest companies in town, but that German company sold their BoShan factory to
GardnerDenverNash in 2005. The train station looks like a Bavarian building. And the town still has a few small restaurants who brew their own beer, German style.
Around the beginning of the 21st century, new tall buildings were erected and old-styled-one-story houses pulled down.
As the reform of economic system was enforced further in Boshan, many traditional factories which once benefited much from the national policies' protection shut down with many workers losing their jobs. Recently, Boshan's government has been trying to promote the local tourist industry.
Administrative divisions
As 2012, this District is divided to 2 subdistricts and 11 towns.
;Subdistricts
* Chengdong Subdistrict (城东街道)
* Chengxi Subdistrict (城西街道)
;Towns
Climate
Tourism
;Attractions
Yuan Shan National Park
Yuan may refer to:
Currency
* Yuan (currency), the basic unit of currency in historic and contemporary mainland China and Taiwan
** Renminbi, the current currency used in mainland China, whose basic unit is yuan
** New Taiwan dollar, the current ...
is a mountain top park located in the center of BoShan.
The park features a reconstructed section of the
Great Wall of Qi
The Great Wall of Qi () is the oldest existing Great Wall in China. Construction of the wall started in 441 BC (during the Spring and Autumn period) by the state of Qi, to defend itself against attacks from the states of Jin and Yue. Constr ...
. Near the Great Wall is an ocean of stones, strangely shaped limestones which used to be part of the ocean floor. Because of these stones,
Taoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
s put a temple on the mountain, and the park still has an old Taoist temple. Recently, a huge statue of Jiang Ziya (an important character in the legend stories of ancient China) has been erected at the North Gate of Yuan Shan National Park.
BoShan food is slightly different from other parts of China. BoShan people do not eat hot peppery food. They tend to prefer sour or salty dishes. Some of the local dishes do have a lot of white pepper, a Chinese version of black pepper. The most common kind of restaurants in BoShan are hot pot restaurants, a Chinese stew fondue. Also, there are many seafood restaurants, as well as restaurants which specialize in BoShan food.
One favorite local dish is Pickled Vegetable Fish Soup. It is a stew made from fish and pickled Chinese cabbage, with a variety of other vegetables thrown in.
BoShan is surrounded by mountains, and when the weather is warm, these mountains have many small outdoor restaurants located alongside mountain streams. Tourists hike the mountains and, as they follow the streams, they have a selection of these small restaurants. Dishes include range chickens (not commercially raised), fish, and sometimes locusts or scorpions from the forests. Meals are served on small stone tables located under gazebos alongside the stream.
See also
*
List of administrative divisions of Shandong
Shandong, a province of the People's Republic of China, is made up of the following administrative divisions
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, consti ...
References
External links
*
BoShan government's web page
*
BoShan - Land of Color Glaze*
{{Authority control
County-level divisions of Shandong
Zibo