'''Jinan''' (?__; J?nan) is the capital of Shandong. It is on the Yellow River (Huang He; ____).
Understand
History
Jinan has been inhabited for 4,000 years. It has been home to both the Qi State and the Lu State. German influence was significant during the time of the German concession in Qingdao, and a smaller concession was also established just west of Jinan. The Boxer Rebillion against Westerners started in Jinan in 1899. Japanese influence was significant from end of WWI to end of WWII.
Climate
Jinan is infamously hot in summer.
Get in
Jinan is the hub of traffic for the region and province so you'll likely end up here if heading elsewhere in Shandong, notably Qingdao and Yantai. Most people will arrive by bus or train.
By plane
You can fly to Jinan, but the airport is located 40km northeast of downtown. A taxi will take an hour and cost about CNY100 (foreigners might be asked to pay a higher fixed price or be taken a detour). There is a shuttle bus between the airport and downtown that runs hourly from 6 am to 5 pm. It takes just as long and costs CNY20. A subroute of bus 16 also goes to the airport.
You can find flights from most major cities with Shandong Airlines [http://www.shandongair.com/] being the major carrier. (Shandong Airlines code-shares with Air China, so your ticket and check-in may well say Air China.)
By train
For the train, you will likely arrive at the main train station, north of town. Getting a taxi is chaotic and navigating the terminal is difficult so if you can get someone to meet you, it's advisable.
Jinan is on the major line from Shanghai to Beijing so you can take the bullet train. It's about 3.5 hours from Beijing and 5 from Shanghai. There's plenty of transport outside the station: bus 83 stops nearby to take you downtown to more options, K51 takes you to Quancheng Square and Thousand Buddha Mountain.
Several travel agencies around the city sell train tickets for an additional CNY5.
By bus
It is very easy to get to Jinan with lots of buses running all day and some at night. Be sure to ask which station the bus will arrive in as there are two main ones, the long distance bus station (?_r_D?__) and the train station bus station (_q?_D?__).
By car
Several expressways connect to Jinan.
Get around
First thing you have to consider is, do you really need to take the Bus? Taxis are the easiest options. Other options are various motorcycles, and other vehicles that are either unsigned or a bit flimsy-looking. These are hard to use as you have to negotiate not only the destination, but also the fare.
By bus
Buses are often overcrowded. Still, if you are interested in traveling as the locals do, hop on.
Buses are CNY1 yuan, or CNY2 for air-conditioned. Buses that begin with K are supposedly air-conditioned and even if the a/c is off or not working, you are likely to get a seat on these buses as they are much less crowded than the CNY1 (no a/c) buses. It should be noted though, that a line either is a K-line or not, same lines don't have K buses and non K buses operating on them, so mostly it is not possible to prefer either type without some walking being involved.
Most busses with two digits serve the central city (which is tiny). Three digit ones are either coming from or going to the suburbs (may be very far). Bus stops are easily identifiable and bus numbers are written in the Western numbers both on the busses and at the bus stops. The lists of stops for a given route are posted at every bus stop, but in Chinese only, although the beginning and end stations are written in pinyin.
By taxi
Taxis drivers do not speak English, and they will often not be able to read maps or your destination in pinyin. So to be certain to reach your destination, make sure you have it written out in Chinese. Price for shorter trips from CNY7.50. It can be difficult to get a taxi between 7am-8am and 6pm-7pm. It is not unusual that the taxi driver tries to arrange shared rides.
See
Springs
Jinan has 72 springs and is in fact famous for them from ancient times. However, up until a few years ago, most visitors were greeted by little more than a gurgle in the very few that have water left coming out or that have not been filled in or had apartments built on top of them. The local government has put some energy into reducing the amount of water factories use though this has made absolutely no difference what so ever.
Baotu Springs. any buses (5 41 49 66 K51 K52 K54 K59 72 80 82 85 102 106). Has several temples and pavilions.
Black Tiger Spring. Sounding like the roar of a tiger (maybe in anceint times when there was water) gurgles out through three carved tiger heads into the city moat.
Five Dragon Pool. ocated on the outside of Ximen of old city of Jinan and on the north of Leyuan Bridge. Many buses (1,3,5,41,85,K50,K54,K55,K95,66,101,104).
Museums
Shandong Provincial Museum. n the end of Lishan Lu. n south Jinan near the Thousand Buddha Hill. Sometimes has travelling exhibits of interest. Check out the calendar dating from 134BC, and bronzes from the Shang and Zhou eras (1766-770BC). That is old.
Scientific and Technical Museum. ast of the Spring City Square. Or just browse the interminable shiny floored shopping malls, such as the Silver Plaza next to the Hotel Sofitel, near the Square, and marvel at the new wealth of this emerging powerful nation.
Other
Daming Lake Park. aminghu G?ngyuan; ________?. aming Lake Street (Daminghulu; _______H). n the centre of city; buses 6, 11, 31, 33, 37, 36, 41. .30am - 6pm. NY30; boat CNY200. Large park with pagodas, temples and an amusement park. The largest Taoist temple in Jinan is located here as well as a temple in memorial of some local official. Also large natural lake formed from a number of springs and with a large fountain. There are boats for rent. Nice landscaping with willow trees and lotus flowers. Festivals and exhibitions take place in the park.
Thousand-Buddha Hill. ianfoshan. .5 km south east. am-6pm. NY30. A small hill (with many steps) you can climb to view the smog haze and overlook the city itself on clearer days. Allow about half and hour to reach the top. Features temples, caves, pavilions, terraces, towers, and er Buddhas. On the eastern side of mountain stands the Shandong Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery for Revolution of 1911, a key historical relic site under provincial protection. Other scenic spots on the Mountain include the Tang-Dynasty Pagoda Tree Pavilion, Shandong Nine Clouds, and Cloud Passing Zen Temple, etc. If you prefer a bus ride, then you can go by bus to the top of the mountain along a mountain road winding up the eastern side of the mountain. A ski lift system and a slide also operate on the mountain, so if the buddhas get boring, you can always slide down the mountain.
Further away
Hongyegu (Red Leaves Valley). utside Jinan and to the north. An hour by bus (65, 29, 88) and up in the mountains. Beautiful area which is always in a splendour of color in the fall. Red Leaf valley is a private park which encompasses mountains and lakes of great beauty. However, getting there is next to impossible without being fluent in Mandarin or having a Chinese translator due to the obscure address of the bus service and the weird rule of having to buy your tickets one day in advance.
Longdong Cave. nder "Longdong Mount" (wherever that is). Apparently good in Autumn
Jinan Zoo. o the north.
Yellow River.
Yaoshan Hill.
The Great Wall of the Qi State (dating back to 408BC).
Horse Running Mountain. 0km southeast. Boasts the Jinan Wild Life World forest safari park and is first class even in Asia."
Five Peak Mountain. 0km southwest. NY25. Peaks, pavilions, terraces, bridges, including the fascinatingly named Fairy-Greeting Bridge.
Four Door Pagoda. imen Ta. t is on the Qinglong mountain, 33km southeast of Jinan. Take a bus from the Long Distance East bus station 0800 returning 1500. Constructed in 611AD (Sui Dynasty) with Buddha, and 1000 year old pine tree.
Lingyan Temple. here is a bus going there from Jiefangqiao Bus Station. Founded about 1600 years ago and "one of the Four Scenic Spots of Temple in the World". Pavilions, bridges, halls, ponds, terraces, Buddhas, stone tablets, caves. The attractions include "One Line of Sky, Double Pine Bridge, and other grotesque spots like Spring on Mirror Pond.
Do
English Corner. long the river. n Sunday. There's a specific location, but it doesn't really matter. If you wander along the river, grab an ice cream and sit down you'll soon be joined by people wanting to practice English... That is, if you like to be pestered by speakers of chinglish. Otherwise ignore Sunday mornings in this area like the plague.
Huge bookshop. ust east of Maccas on the main drag (Quancheng Road). Includes a mediocore foreign languages section (mostly old classic novels and dictionaries). The management seem to tolerate the thousands of non-customers, using it as a reading room. It is well worth a visit - Borders could learn a thing or two!
Quancheng Square or Spring City Square (the main square). At night you can watch kids compete in in-line skating, kung fu, or other competitions. Lots of people hang out there so prepeare to be stared at, as Jinan residents do not often see foreigners. If you are not comfortable to be the center of attention maybe it is best to avoid this spot.
Daming Lake. Good for a stroll or you can ride the rides there. It's an oasis away from the traffic, right in the middle of the city and charges about 30 yuan to get in. Go early to avoid the crowds. Pleasure boats. Some good photography. Usually a wedding or two. And a nice dumpling restaurant outside opposite the main gate.
Hero Mountain and the botanical gardens. n the SE. Good for a climb and a stroll. On weekends it's overcrowded so choose a weekday.
The campuses of Shandong University, Shandong Medical University, and Shandong Normal University. Leafy, serene, and pleasant to stroll. This is of course by Chinese standards as they are not really leafy and pleasant at all, but more grey, dirty, solemn and sparse of foliage. Of the three, the Medical University is the nicest with some mildly interesting architecture. Avoid the weekends.
Buy
Jinan does not have much to offer in terms of shopping. Souvenirs found here include ejiao, black pottery, local embroidery and wood wares.
Daily suppies
For daily supplies, food, clothing, and stuff like that try one of the following. There is little in the way of western food (eg cheese) but you may be pleasantly surprised.
Wal-Mart Supercenter . ust east of the bookshop next to the Pizza Hut on Quancheng Rd.
Carrefour. orth of Jiefan Lu on Lishan Lu.
A number of RT Marts.
Unimart. Caters for the culturally deprived expat who wants his cornflakes.
Markets
Markets. ext to Jenny's Cafe. There are markets in several locations, but you're likely only to find plastic tubs, brooms, hair products, bed sheets, clothing, etc., that's pretty much the same as what you find in the shops or just on the street at about the same prices. However, if you are of European decent, be prepared to be charged ridiculous prices due to the belief that you are white and therefore rich. Which comparatively we may well be, of course.
Culture market. n the SE of the city. Mostly paintings with little culture.
Technology Market. ake bus #1 or any bus up Jiefang Lu, from the main square east and get off at the giant building that looks like it's pregnant, cnr Jiefang Lu and Shanda Rd. A couple of blocks and five stories of high tech stuff. MP3 players, computers, accessories, cameras, stuff you've never seen before, etc. Few people seem to speak English there, but it can be fun to look around. Haggle, Haggle, Haggle, and then haggle some more. Even if you pay half of what you might pay in your own country, you will still end up paying twice what a local will pay!
Eat
Shandong cuisine is known as Lu cai (named after the ancient Lu State) and is one of the eight culinary traditions of China and a major influence on the present day food in northeastern China. Jinan cuisine represents a branch of Shandong cuisine famous for its soups.
There are the usual mediocre international fast food chains, plenty of street food, scores of little restaurants, etc. The easiest is either street food or one of the many buffets where you can see the food and order that way. Or if you want expensive and exotic (eg Japanese, go to the 4-5 star hotels). There are some nice local restaurants, but if you can't read Chinese it is not worth the hassle and the free entertainment you provide to onlookers. Each restaurant seems to specialise in a style of cooking and a special dish or two. However, finding what you might like can be quite a challenge, as many restaurants don't have menus with pictures, and next to none have English menus. Some of the smaller places have a part of their menu printed into a large poster on the wall, with photos, and provides an easy way to get something you want.
Quanjude. own Heping Lu near Shan Da Lu. A good roast duck restaurant
Dingy-looking restaurant street [name]. ust off of Quancheng Lu. Snakes for about 2 blocks. Despite the narrow and pitted road, there are some nice restaurants here.
Bbq places and beer. ehind the big mosque at Yongchang Lu. The muslim quarter of town. The food is fresh, as earlier in the day sheep where standing where you are now eating (look for the red stain on the ground). You can't get fresher than that. However, the smell is off putting in the summer with no refridgeration and swarms of flies laying eggs in your about to be eaten lamb (cat meat according to local news sources has been used in these places to boost profits and keep the cat population down).
Pakistani restaurant. n the Muslim quarter. Great restaurant, which foreigners seem to frequent.
Night market. ing Er Lu. n the NW of the city. Sidestreets full of food.
Drink
Jinan does not have much to offer in terms in Western style drinking places. However, there are plenty of Chinese style outdoor drinking places with impossibly low tables and chairs, which dish up skewers of meats for a few cents along with a few other things like soybeans or such. Beer flows freely.
English Corner. ear the Sofitel Hotel. Offers expensive bottled beer and sullen staff in a basement. It advertises to locals that it is the place to practice English with foreigners (hence the name "English Corner")- so prepare to be annoyed and questioned repeatedly in chinglish, this is also one of many bars in Jinan that play music so loud that you'll have tinnitus for the rest of your life.
Jenny's Cafe. ight across the street from the Bank of China on LiShan Lu. Offers a variety of cuisines, including Mexican, and Italian. It's open all day and is a great place to relax, study, or run into other expats. To get here just tell the taxi driver Lishan Lu he Wenhua Xi Lu. ''(Source: JinanLive website).'' This place used to be a foreigner hangout until management changed and the staff became unfriendly, the dishes halved in size and the prices doubled. Expensive western food in addition to many expensive drinks. Prices are like European prices, but at least you can eat something else than galic beans and tofu. They also serve German imported beer (Paulaner, etc) if you want a quality beer for a change.
1+1. The latest club in town.
Wei Wei. A foreigner hangout on Wednesdays and is supposedly a big beer bust in a dingy atmosphere. To find Wei Weis, go down the side street past the BaoTuQuan Restaurant, on Jing Qi Lu, and make a right when you see the most smoke. It's about 2 buildings in. A popular activity here is to do the 100 stick and beer challenge, this is good if you want to spend another week recovering in hospital replacing body fluids (Bring plenty of imodium pills).
Sleep
There are plenty of places to choose from in the CNY200 range. There is a complex of fancy hotels in the swank SE of the city at the end of Lishan Lu, which are all surprisingly affordable for what they are, considering they got beautiful grounds, five star services and facilities, etc., for maybe $70-80. Also good hotels downtown. There are also hotels at the transport nexus at the train station, but that's a little removed from the sites.
Budget
Jinan Tianjia Bussiness Affairs Hotel. Fukang Street. 6531-81772177. isounted rates for doubles of CNY128; breakfast CNY8. Free internet. Meeting facilities, ticket office and laundry service available. Chinese restaurant and room service.
Joyinn&Suites-Shanda. 7 Shanda North Road . ext to Shandong University. 6531-88028588. iscounted rates for double rooms from CNY130 including breakfast. Free internet. Meeting facilities, ticket office, laundry service and chess/poker room available. Chinese restaurant and room service.
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Jinan Railway Hotel. 9 Rail Station Street (Chezhan Jie 19; ?____19__) . 6531-58980088. iscounted doubles from CNY170; Breakfast CNY15. Three star hotel from 1996. Internet available against payment. Meeting facilities, ticket office, laundry service and sauna available. Chinese restaurant, tea house and room service.
Middle and top end
Crowne Plaza. n the nicest street in town.
Zhong Hao Grand Hotel. n Lixia District . ttp://www.zhonghaograndhotel-jinan.com. Quite affordable. It particularly boasts beautiful business suites as well as conference facilities. Online booking available on the website.
Get out
Qingdao - home of China's favorite beer
Yantai
Weihai - China's Cancun for Koreans
Mount Tai- climb the mountain, see the temples
Qufu - UNESCO World Heritage Site
Beijing
Sudzhou
Shanghai