Liaocheng (), is a

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

in western Shandong

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, China. It borders the provincial capital of

Jinan Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...

to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the provinces of

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

and

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

to the west. The Grand Canal flows through the city center. Its population was 5,789,863 at the 2010 census whom 1,229,768 lived in the built-up area made up of Donchangfu district, even though large parts remain rural. During the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

, the area of present-day Liaocheng included the prefectures of Bo and Ji. In 2007, the city is named China's top ten livable cities by Chinese Cities Brand Value Report, which was released at 2007 Beijing Summit of China Cities Forum.

Administration

The

of Liaocheng administers eight county-level divisions, including two districts, one county-level city, and five counties. * Dongchangfu District () *

Chiping District Chiping District () is a district of northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It is administered by Liaocheng, and is west of Jinan, the provincial capital. The population was in 1999. Administrative divisions As 2012, t ...

() *

Linqing Linqing () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Liaocheng in western Shandong Province, China. Geography and climate It is located north-northwest of Liaocheng. The city is situated at the confluence ...

City () * Yanggu County () * Dong'e County () * Gaotang County () * Guan County () * Shen County () These are further divided into 134 township-level divisions.

Climate

Education

* Liaocheng University () * Liaocheng NO.1 high school ()

History

People's Republic of China

In August 1949, Liaocheng was detached from Shandong and attached to Pingyuan. In November 1952, Pingyuan was dissolved and Liaocheng returned to Shandong.

Notable people

* Fu Sinian (; 1896–1950) * Ji Xianlin (; 1911–2009) * Kong Fansen (; 1944–1994) * Wei Fenghe (; b.1954) *

Chen Xu Emperor Xuan of Chen (陳宣帝) (530–582), personal name Chen Xu (陳頊), also called Chen Tanxu(陳曇頊),《新唐書·宰相世系表》 courtesy name Shaoshi (紹世), childhood name Shili (師利), was an emperor of the Chen dynasty o ...

(; b. 1962)

Attractions

* Shanxi-Shaanxi Assembly Hall (short Shanshan Hall, ) * Guangyue Tower () * Iron Tower * Lion Building (site where - according to legend - Song Wu fought and killed Ximen Qing) * Linqing Mosque

Transportation

The town is served by

Liaocheng railway station Liaocheng railway station () is a railway station in Dongchangfu District, Liaocheng, Shandong, China. It is an intermediate stop on the Beijing–Kowloon railway. History The station opened in 1996. At opening, there was around seven trains in ...

. A station on the high-speed network,

Liaocheng West railway station Liaocheng West railway station () is a railway station located in Liaocheng, Shandong, China. Planned lines The station will be the eastern terminus of the planned Liaocheng–Handan–Changzhi high-speed railway The Liaocheng–Handan–Chan ...

, is under construction.

Sister cities

Liaocheng is a

sister city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...

of the following cities: * Uiryeong County, South Gyeongsang, South Korea (since June 7, 2001) * Blacktown,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia (October 14, 2003) * Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi, South Korea (May 3, 2005) * Naberezhnye Chelny, Tatarstan, Russia (since 2009) Furthermore, there is a partnership with the district Offenbach in Germany.

References

External links

Government website of Liaocheng
(available in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean) {{authority control Cities in Shandong Prefecture-level divisions of Shandong