Jining () is a former capital of Shandong. Is a

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

in southwestern

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

province. It borders

Heze Heze (), formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, bordering Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively.The total area is 12238.62 square kilo ...

to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

and

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

to the northwest and south respectively. Jining, which is located directly to the north of Lake Nanyang (), is today the northernmost city reachable by navigation on the

Grand Canal of China The Grand Canal () is a system of interconnected canals linking various major rivers and lakes in North and East China, serving as an important waterborne transport infrastructure between the north and the south during Medieval and premodern ...

making it an important

inland port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...

. Its population was 8,081,905 at the 2010 census, of whom 1,518,000 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') area made up of Rencheng urban district on , Yanzhou district not being totally conurbated yet.

History

The name Jining was first given to the region in the year 1271 during the Song dynasty, although the exact area and type of administrative district it refers to have varied over the centuries. Jining has several distinctive associations in Chinese history and culture, as in antiquity it was the birthplace and home of

Confucius Confucius (; pinyin: ; ; ), born Kong Qiu (), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Much of the shared cultural heritage of the Sinosphere originates in the phil ...

, along with many of his more famous disciples, including

Mencius Mencius (孟子, ''Mèngzǐ'', ; ) was a Chinese Confucian philosopher, often described as the Second Sage () to reflect his traditional esteem relative to Confucius himself. He was part of Confucius's fourth generation of disciples, inheriting ...

. Temples to a number of these philosophers still exist in various parts of the prefecture. Liangshan, a county of Jining, is also famous as the principal setting of the Chinese literary classic, '' Water Margin''. In 2020, the

government reported that a prison guard at Rencheng jail in Jining had shown COVID-19 symptoms in early February and that subsequently more than 2,000 inmates and staff were tested, with 200 prisoners and seven officers coming back positive. The provincial government said Xie Weijun, party secretary for Shandong's department of justice, and seven prison officials had been fired for mismanagement of the outbreak.

Administration

The

of Jining administers 11 county-level divisions, including two

districts 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 ...

, two

county-level cities , map = , category = Third level administrative division of a unitary state , territory = People's Republic of China , upper_unit = Prefectures, Provinces , start_date = , current_number = 411 (408 controlled, 3 claimed) , number_da ...

and seven

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. * Rencheng District () * Yanzhou District () *

Qufu Qufu ( ; zh, c=曲阜) is a county-level city in southwestern Shandong province, East China. It is located about south of the provincial capital Jinan and northeast of the prefectural seat at Jining. Qufu has an area of 815 square kilometers, ...

City () *

Zoucheng Zoucheng () is a county-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. Before it was incorporated as a city in October 1992, it was known as Zou County (邹县) or Zouxian. Zoucheng is located about 20 km south of the city of Qufu, an ...

City () * Weishan County () * Yutai County () - originally in Huxi

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Jinxiang County Jinxiang County () is a county of southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in f ...

() - originally in Huxi *

Jiaxiang County Jiaxiang County () is a county in the southwest of Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower rea ...

() - originally in Huxi * Wenshang County () *

Sishui County Sishui County () is a county of southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It is the easternmost county-level division of Jining Jining () is a former capital of Shandong. Is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong ...

() *

Liangshan County Liangshan County () is a county situated in the southwest of Shandong province, China. It is administered by the prefecture-level city of Jining. Geography Liangshan County is situated north west of Jining in the south west of Shandong provinc ...

()

Climate

Jining City is located in the East Asian monsoon climate zone, a warm temperate monsoon climate with four distinct seasons. In summer, there are many southerly winds, influenced by tropical oceanic air masses or degenerate tropical oceanic air masses, with high temperatures and heavy rains; in winter, there are many northerly winds, influenced by polar continental air masses, with sunny and cold weather; spring and autumn are the periods of adjustment of atmospheric circulation, with drought and wind in the spring, and quick warming; autumn is cool, but with occasional rains and cloudy conditions.Having abundant light energy resources is a prominent feature of Jining's climate. The average annual temperature in Jining is , and the average frost-free period is 199 days. The average annual precipitation is around .

Economy

Jining is situated in a

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

area in the southwest of

. An industrial city, Jining has a coal-fired power station, the Jining Power Plant. The city is served by Jining Da'an Airport. In 2022, Jining's Gross Regional Product (GRP) finished at 531.69 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 4.4%.

Notable people

(551 – 479 BC), central Chinese thinker, founder of

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

(main

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

and tomb in

) * Zengzi (505 BC - 436 BC), Chinese philosopher and author, principal lineage protector and promoter of Confucianism *

(372 – 289 BC), Chinese thinker, a principal interpreter of Confucianism (main temple in

) *

Yan Hui Yan Hui (–481 BC) was a Chinese philosopher. He was the favorite disciple of Confucius and one of the most revered figures of Confucianism. He is venerated in Confucian temples as one of the Four Sages. Names Yan Hui is also known by his c ...

(521 BC - 490 BC), one of the famous disciples of Confucius (

in Qufu) * Lu Ban (507–440 BC), Chinese engineer, philosopher, inventor, military thinker *

Zuo Qiuming Zuo Qiuming, Zuoqiu Ming or Qiu Ming (556 – 451 BCEZhou, Jixu (May 2011"Confucius and Lao Zi" Their Differing Social Foundations and Cultures ''Sino-Platonic Papers'' 211. p. 2 or 502 – 422 BCE) was a Chinese historian who was a c ...

(5th century BC), Chinese court writer of the State of Lu, and contemporary of Confucius during the Spring and Autumn period. * Kong Shangren (1648–1718), a Chinese Qing Dynasty dramatist and poet best known for his ''chuanqi'' play The Peach-Blossom Fan * Pan Xiaoting (1982–), the first professional pool player from China to play full-time on the WPBA Tour. * Xiong Jingnan (1988–), the first ever Chinese World Champion in mixed martial arts history. * Wei Zheming (1990-), Chinese actor and singer.

Sister cities

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, Japan ''(1984)'' *

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, United States ''(1995)'' *

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, France ''(1996)'' *

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, Japan ''(2008)'' *

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, Russia ''(2009)'' *

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, Brazil ''(2010)'' *

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, Açores, Portugal (2015) *

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References

External links

Government website of Jining
(available in Chinese and English) * {{Authority control Cities in Shandong Prefecture-level divisions of Shandong Port cities and towns in China National Civilized City