Zibo

Brief Introduction:

Zibo is located in the transition zone between central Shandong mountainous region and northern Shandong plain. It is 110 kilometers (about 68.35 miles) from Jinan, the capital city of Shandong, about a one-and-a-half-hour drive. Zibo City covers an area of 5965 square kilometers (596500 hectares). The maximum longitudinal distance of Zibo is 151 kilometers (about 93.83 miles), the maximum latitudinal distance 87 kilometers (about 54.06 miles). By the end of 2008, the registered population of Zibo reached 4.2062 million, with the permanent population of 5.0451 million. Post code of Zibo is 255000, codes for the administrative divisions 3703, district number 0533.

Zibo is a nation-level famous historical and cultural city and an outstanding tourist city of China. Besides, Zibo is an economic development city on Shandong Peninsula approved by the State Council and one of the three cities in Shandong Province that have local legislative power. Zibo has both rich cultural and historical heritage and beautiful natural sceneries. Due to these advantages, Zibo is one of the five tourism regions and the eight main tourism cities in Shandong Province.

The North of Zibo is a fertile and level plain. Here, there are the beautiful sceneries of lower reaches of Yellow River and Mata Lake (meaning lake formed because of steps of horses) which has the name of “South in the North”. People will have a feeling of being in the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River because of the elegant landscape, flying birds, leaping fish and dancing waves. In the south mountain area of Zibo, there is are ruins of Yiyuan Ape Man, ruins of the Great Wall Built by Qi State in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770 B.C. – 221 B.C.), Yuanshan Mountain National Forest Park and a group of karst caves that covers tens of li (1 li = 500 meters). Here, the sceneries are majestic and colorful.

History

Linzi Distric of Zibo City was the capital city of Qi State, which was the head of the five powerful states during Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C – 476 B.C.) and one of the Seven Warring States the Warring States Period (475 B.C. – 221 B.C.), for more than 800 years. Iit is also the birthplace of Qi culture. On this magical land, Jixia Academy first advocate the custom that let a hundred schools of thought strive academically. Also, many famous books all came into being here, like the first encyclopedia on management theories of economy Guanzi, the book acclaimed as “The First Book on the Art of War” by strategist all over the world Sun Zi Bing Fa (Master Sun's Art of War, or Military Science of Sun Zi), the first magnum opus on agricultural science Qi Min Yao Shu, and the first great book on handicraft industry Kao Gong Ji.

Besides, Zibo is the hometown of Pu Songling, who was a famous writer in Qing Dynasty (1616 A.D. – 1911 A.D.) and was also known as “World King of the Short Stories”. Zhoucun District of Zibo was an important commercial town in the history. It is the starting point of the continental Silk Road and was called “the First Cun (Village) in the world”.

Linzi District was the capital city of Qi State for over 800 years. It was the largest cit in the east of China at that time. By Han Dynasty, Linzi was still the capital city of Qi Prefecture. Furthermore, Cuju, which is the rudiment of the modern football, originated in Qi State. So, Linzi was identifies as the birthplace of modern football by FIFA (Fédération Internationale des Football Associations).