Jinan (济南 Jǐnán) is the provincial capital of Shandong in North China. Jinan's nicknames include Quancheng, Qizhou, and Luoyi. It is located in the north-west of the province. In the south the city is flanked by the hills of the Tai'an massif, while the Yellow River passes north of the city. Jinan carries the nickname City of Springs (泉城 quánchéng) because of the many artesian wells that bubble up within the city limits.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Jinan has four well-defined seasons: spring is dry, summer is hot and wet, autumn is crisp and winter is dry and cold with little snow. The Yellow River basin was China's cultural centre during the Neolithic period, and so it comes as no surprise that the area around present day Jinan has been inhabited for over 4,000 years. The oldest finds in the region are from the Longshan culture (roughly 3,000-2,000 BCE), a Late Neolithic culture noted for its advanced black 'egg-shell pottery', sometimes as thin as a millimetre.
Jinan is a very large city and travelling by public transport is very difficult for non-Chinese speakers, with the exception of the Jinan Metro. Buses are ¥1, or ¥2 for air-conditioned. Buses that begin with K or B are supposedly air-conditioned and even if the a/c is off or not working. ¥1 (no a/c) buses are quite rare and only serve specific lines. You may be charged a discounted price if you use the transit cards, you can get these cards at a bus service center or on Apple Pay. Most buses with two digits serve the central city. Three digit ones are either coming from or going to the suburbs (may be very far).
Travellers on a short trip to Jinan are likely to gain most by focusing on the city center, particularly the north-south stretch from Daming Lake through Quancheng Square to Qianfo Mountain, and by adding a trip to the City Government District if time permits. While many museums are free to visit it is always recommended to carry identification such as a passport or risk being refused entry. Nationally-famous Daming Lake is an icon of Jinan, a AAAAA attraction, and must-see for visitors. 1 Confucius Culture Museum, 214 Daminghu Rd, Lixia District.
1 Jinan International Convention & Exhibition Center (济南国际会展中心 or 济南国际会展), Huizha Rd, Lixia District, ☏ +86 531 8888 5666. Large conference center on the eastern outskirts of the city proper. Mostly holds industry and business fairs but there are occasional cultural exhibitions too. (updated Aug 2017) 2 Minghu Ju (明湖居), 29 Daminghu Rd, Lixia District, ☏ +86 531 8277 3666. Qing Dynasty theater showing traditional operas with a restaurant and tea house. (updated Aug 2017) 3 Shandong Acrobatics Troupe Theatre (山东省杂技团金奖演艺厅), 71 Wenhua Road, Lixia District. Home theatre of world class Chinese acrobatic troupe.
Opportunities to eat in Jinan are plentiful; from luxury restaurants to farmers cooking at the road side, you will find an enormous variety of prices and standards. The majority of traditional restaurants may be difficult for non-Chinese speakers who will at the best need to choose by pointing at pictures in a menu; more convenient options for these visitors include canteens, food halls, and restaurants within shopping centers and hotels. The cuisine of Shandong province (known in Mandarin as LuCai) is one of China's eight great culinary traditions and many restaurants will have dishes to sample, unfortunately a non-Chinese speaker may again face difficulties identifying these.
Jinan has few pubs and nightclubs in the Western sense; alcohol is mostly drunk either with dinner in restaurants or around miniature chairs and tables outside at either night time street barbecues or small beer shops which serve light snacks. Lighter drinks can be found at tea houses, bubble tea shops and the growing number of coffee shops. Western travelers will find branches of Starbucks and Costa Coffee at shopping mall locations throughout the city as well as multiple outlets of the established Chinese UBC Coffee chain. 1 Maan Coffee (CCPARK) (满咖啡 (CCPARK)), CCPARK, 1 Foshan Rd, Lixia District.
Jinan is a very safe city, the people of Shandong are famously known as friendly throughout China. The city centre and other commercial areas are safe to walk around until late at night; there will be large numbers of people going about their business until around 22:00 from which time the streets quite quickly empty. While special precautions need not be taken, as with any other city travellers should be sensible, avoid dark streets and walking around alone after the streets become quiet. Theft and pickpocketing are the most likely crimes a traveller might encounter so one must always keep their bags and purses in a position where they can be monitored while on public transport or in other …
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Jul, Jinan typically sees ~34°C daytime highs and 10 rainy days.
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