Jining (济宁 Jìníng) is a city in the southwest of Shandong Province, at the northern end of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Jining has rich history and cultural traditions. Nearby Qufu City is the hometown of Confucius and has important cultural heritages such as the Confucius Temple and the Confucius Mansion. Jining is also the hometown of Meng Jiao, a famous ancient scholar. Mengfu Ancient City is a well-preserved historical and cultural ancient city.

Boat on the Grand Canal in Jining

Jining has rich tourism resources, including Confucius Temple and Mansion in Qufu, Mengfu Ancient City in Jining, Dai Temple in Zoucheng, Jining Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Scenic Area, Mengzhou Sanxian Mountain Scenic Area, etc. These attractions showcase Jining's history, culture and natural beauty.

Jining area has unique cultural characteristics, including Confucian culture, folk art, traditional handicrafts, etc. Confucius culture, Mencius culture and Mengzhou wood carvings are all representatives of Jining culture.

Understand

Jining is a prefecture-level city with around 200,000 inhabitants and a prefecture of around 8 million. There are 2 municipal districts: Rencheng District and Yanzhou District. 1 development zone: Jining High-tech Industrial Development Zone. 7 counties: Weishan County, Yutai County, Jinxiang County, Jiaxiang County, Wenshang County, Sishui County and Liangshan County. 2 county-level cities: Qufu City and Zoucheng City.

The city is just to the north of Nanyang Lake (南阳湖 Nányáng Hú) and is today the northernmost city reachable by navigation on the Grand Canal. The birthplace of Confucius, Qufu, is in the prefecture.

Jining is known as the canal capital and the hometown of Confucius and Mencius. It is an important wellspring of Chinese civilization. It gave birth to the ancestor of humanities, Xuanyuan Huangdi, and the five great saints: Confucius, Mencius, Yanzi, Zengzi and Zisizi. Qufu and Zoucheng under its jurisdiction are national historical and cultural cities. They have two world cultural heritages: "Three Kongs" and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. There is Shuibo Liangshan, the birthplace of the Water Margin story, and Weishan Lake, the hometown of the railway guerrillas. Holy places, culture, and water towns complement each other.

Jining is an important economic center in Shandong Province, with agriculture, manufacturing and service industries as its leading industries. The city is famous for the production of soybeans, wheat, corn and other agricultural products.

Jining City, formerly known as Jeju Province, was founded in 1150, because of the high terrain, protected from flooding and named "Jining". Jining's name is closely related to the ancient Jishui, which was an important tributary of the lower Yellow River and was named "Jishui" for praying for the safety of Sajik. Historically, Jining has been an important hub for North-South water transportation, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs throughout the country, greatly promoting local economic development and cultural prosperity.

Climate

Jining City has a warm temperate monsoon climate, four distinct seasons. In summer, it is affected by tropical oceanic air mass or modified tropical oceanic air mass, and in winter, it is affected by polar continental air mass, and it is sunny and cold. With abundant light energy resources, it is the outstanding characteristic of Jining climate. The average annual temperature in Jining is 13.3℃-14.1℃, and the average frost-free period is 199 days. The average annual precipitation is about 597-820 mm.

Jining map

Get in

Jining City is located at the intersection of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the Beijing-Shanghai Railway, and the Beijing-Fuzhou Expressway. It has convenient transportation and is an important transportation hub connecting various cities in Shandong Province.

Jining Port, Liangshan Port, Weishan Port, Long Gong Port, Taiping Port, Jiaxiang Port, Yutai Port, Jinxiang Port, Wenshang Harbor and other inland ports are built through the Grand Canal.

By plane

• 1 Jining Da'an Airport (JNG  ^IATA 济宁大安机场) (on the border of Caohe Town and Da'an Town, about 30 km southwest of Jining City Center). Flights from Zhuhai, Ningbo, Beihai, Changchun, Chengdu, Guiyang, Guilin, Nanchang, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Quzhou. (updated Dec 2024)

By train

Jining_Railway_Station_2015.08.13_18-47-54

• 2 Jining Railway Station (济宁站), 75 Jiannan Road, Rencheng District. It has 41 train operating lines passing through, as of Dec 2024. There six trains each day from Jinan to Jining with a travel duration of 2½-3 hours and costs of ¥14-45. There are two trains each day from Qingdao with a travel duration of around 8 hours and costs of ¥41-120. Also trains from major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Harbin. Schedule: (updated Dec 2024)

There are 13 railway stations in Jining, Jining North, Yanzhou, Jining East, Jiaxiang North, Jiaxiang, Surabaya, Surabaya South, Liangshan and Qufu East and Qufu South and Qufu South and Zoucheng.

By bus

You can reach Jining by bus from any other place on the Chinese Mainland. Timetable:

See

• 1 Baoxiang Temple (宝相寺, 大宝相寺), Intersection of Baoxiangsi Road and Shangshu Road, Wenshang County Seat (汶上县城宝相寺路与尚书路交汇处) (take bus no. C619 from outside the Jining North Bus Station and get off near the temple's southern entrance), ☏ +86 537 7234103, 2840294014@qq.com. 08:00-17:30. The temple was founded during the Northern Wei Dynasty, and was largely rebuilt in the 20th century after being bombed by the Japanese during the Second World War. Fortunately, however, the Taizilingzong Pagoda, which dates from the late 11th and early 12th centuries has survived to the present day. The pagoda contains a tooth from Shakyamuni Buddha. ¥50. 
• 2 Jining Museum New Branch (济宁市博物馆新馆), 140 Yunhe Road, Taibai Lake New Area (太白湖新区运河路140号) (bus nos. 7, 16, 20, 2001, D808 and y902), ☏ +86 537 2205009. 08:30-18:00 (May-Sep), 08:30-17:30 (Oct-Apr), no entry in last 60 minutes, closed on Mondays. Free. (updated Sep 2021)
• 3 Jining Museum Old Branch (济宁市博物馆老馆), 78 Guhuai Road, Rencheng District (任城区古槐路78号) (bus nos. 31, 302, 2001 and D20), ☏ +86 537 2215811. 09:00-11:30, 14:00-17:30 (May-Sep); 09:00-11:30, 13:30-17:00 (Oct-Apr); no entry in last 30 minutes; closed on Mondays. The old branch of the Jining Museum is on the grounds of the Chongjue Temple (崇觉寺), a 1400-year old Buddhist temple that is also known as the Iron Pagoda Temple (铁塔寺). Free. (updated Sep 2021)
• 4 Taibai Tower (太白楼), No. 27, Taibailou Middle Road, Rencheng District (任城区太白楼中路27号) (train station, bus station: take bus number 2 to "Tai Bai Lou" station to get off. Jining Qufu Airport: Take the Airport Express to "Tai Bai Lou Square". Buses: No. 1, No. 2, No. 8, No. 16, No. 19). 09:00-11:30,14:00-16:30. Taibai Tower is a national AAA-level tourist attraction located on the north bank of the ancient canal in Rencheng District, Jining City, Shandong Province, and on the north side of the middle section of Taibai Tower Road. It was named because Li Bai often drank and wrote poems here. After generations of repairs, it has been famous for more than a thousand years and is one of the eight ancient scenic spots in Rencheng (now Jining). As one of the famous historical and cultural towers in China, Taibai Tower has a long history that has always witnessed the inheritance of the culture of the poet Li Bai in Jining. It is a cultural landmark in the minds of generations of Jining people. Taibai Tower was originally called "Taibai Restaurant", a restaurant run by the Helan family in the Tang Dynasty. Its original location was located in the east gate of ancient Ren City (near today's Xiaozhakou). The great poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty moved to Rencheng (Jining) from Anlu, Hubei with his wife Xu and their daughter Pingyang in the 24th year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign (736 AD). In the second year of Xiantong, Yizong of the Tang Dynasty (AD 861), Shen Guang, a native of Wuxing, visited Jining and wrote the seal "Taibai Restaurant" plaque for the building and wrote the article "The Story of Li Hanlin Restaurant". From then on, "Taibai Restaurant" became famous and was passed down to later generations.The building was rebuilt and repaired in the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties. When the Jizhou River was dug in the 19th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1282 AD), the city of Rencheng was moved north to its current location. In the early Ming Dynasty, the city wall was replaced by bricks. In the 24th year of the Ming Dynasty (1391 AD), Di Chong, the commander of the left guard of Jining, rebuilt Taibai Tower with the meaning of "exiled immortals" and moved it to the east wall of the South Gate Tower (the current location) according to the style of the original building. The word "wine" was removed and it was renamed "Taibai Tower". Later, dozens of major renovations were carried out during the Ming, Qing and Republic of China periods. In 1952, the government rebuilt Taibai Tower again. In 1987, Jining City established the Li Bai Memorial Hall in Taibai Tower. In November 2013, Taibai Tower was selected as the fourth batch of provincial cultural relics protection units in Shandong Province. In December 2013, at the 8th Annual Meeting of the Professional Committee of Famous Historical and Cultural Buildings of the Chinese Society of Cultural Relics and the 10th Forum on Famous Historical and Cultural Buildings in China, Jining Taibai Tower was selected as one of the Famous Historical and Cultural Buildings in China free. (updated Sep 2023).
• 5 Jining City Cultural Center (济宁市文化馆，济宁市群众艺术馆), No. 136 Canal Road, Taibai Lake New District (太白湖新区运河路136号). 8:30-17:30 (Closed every Monday). Jining City Cultural Center, formerly known as Jining City Mass Museum of Art, was established in 1968. (updated Sep 2023)
• 6 Jining Museum of Art (济宁美术馆), No.140 Canal Road, Rencheng District (济宁市任城区运河路140号). 9:00-17:00. Jining Art Museum is one of the four major venues of the Jining Cultural Center in Shandong Province. It was completed and opened in 2019. It was carefully built by the famous architect Riwei Nishizawa and was listed as one of the "Top Ten Museum Buildings in the World in 2019" by designboom. (updated Dec 2024)
• 7 Jining Grand Theater (济宁大剧院), Northeast corner of the intersection of Princess Road and Sage Road, Rencheng District (中国山东省济宁市任城区公主路与贤者路交叉口东北角). 08:30-17:30. Jining Grand Theater is located in the core of Taibai Lake New Area in Rencheng District. It has a total floor area of 85,000 square meters and 1125 seats. It can meet the requirements of dance, opera, symphonic concert, opera and variety show. (updated Dec 2024)
• 8 Jining Science and Technology Museum (济宁科技馆), No. 5566 Chongwen Avenue, Jining High-tech Zone (济宁高新区崇文大道5566号). 09:00-16:30. Jining Science and Technology Museum is located in the core area of Jining High-tech New Town, and forms a science and technology center complex with libraries, film and television halls and business halls. The theme of "Wisdom. Harmony" is "Human Perception of the World, Exploration and Discovery of the World, Use of Wisdom to Create a Better Life, Harmonious Development" as the main line. (updated Dec 2024)
• 9 The Grand Canal Administration Museum (大运河总督署博物馆), No.38 Gu Huai Road (济宁市古槐路38号). 9:30-18:30. The Grand Canal Administration Museum Project, located in Rencheng District, is the first-level project and the first project of the "two zones" construction command in Jining City this year. (updated Dec 2024)
• 10 Stone Carving City of China (中国石雕城), Jiaxiang County (山东省济宁市西部的嘉祥县). 09:00-16:00. (updated Dec 2024)
• 11 The Southwest Shandong Campaign Memorial Hall (鲁西南战役纪念馆), Military Tourism Zone of Yangshan Ancient Town (山东省济宁市金乡县羊山古镇军事旅游区). 09:00-16:30. The Memorial Hall was built to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs who died in the Battle of Southwest Shandong and Yangshan. Mausoleum Yishan built on the Yangshan battle site of the main peak of Yangtou, magnificent, covering an area of nearly 500 acres. The main buildings are the Southwest Battle Memorial Hall, Southwest Battle Panorama Gallery, Wang Jie Memorial Hall, Monument Gallery, Weapon Garden, Martyrs Cemetery, Martyrs Tomb Group, Liu Deng Sculpture Group and other buildings. (updated Dec 2024)
• 12 The Bian Guo Museum of Surabaya County (泗水县卞国博物馆), Bian Si Village, Quanlin Town, Surabaya County, Bian's ancestral home
  East side of the city (山东省济宁市卞氏祖源泗水县泉林镇卞四村古卞城遗址东侧). 09:00-16:30. The Museum is on the east side of the ancient Biancheng ruins of Bian Si Village in Quanlin Town. The main exhibition hall is a partial two-story frame building, including showroom, collection room, technical processing room, lecture room, reading room, conference room, research room, etc. The museum will focus on the production, life and cultural development of the ancestors of the ancient Bian Kingdom through cultural relics, pictures and written records. (updated Dec 2024)
• 13 Grand Canal Weishan Lake Museum (大运河微山湖博物馆), West Shuangqiao Park, Xiazhen City, Weishan County (山东省济宁市微山县夏镇城西双桥公园). 09:00-17:00. (updated Dec 2024)

Do

Jining, Shandong is a city with a long history and rich culture and has many tourist attractions and historical sites.

Festivals

The local festival customs in Jining mainly include celebrations of important festivals such as winter solstice and Spring Festival.

Winter solstice

The winter solstice has an important position in Jining, and there is a saying that the winter solstice is as big as a year.

On the day of the winter solstice, the indispensable food of the Jining people is dumplings, which symbolizes reunion and good wishes. In addition, 堌 of Jining's ancient villages, such as Jia, will hold various activities to showcase the local folk culture.

Spring Festival

During the Spring Festival, Jining's festival customs are colorful. Here are some of the main celebrations:

• Spring Festival Shandong Rural Culture and Tourism Festival Q: This event lasts from the eighth day of the month (January 18) to February 2 (March 11), and is divided into three stages. The first stage (Late 8 to 23) focuses on the characteristics of folk customs, and the second stage (Late 24 to New Year's Day) focuses on the promotion of New Year's goods and agricultural products to create a strong New Year's taste.
• The third stage (from 9th to 2nd of the first month) will showcase new features through cultural performances and mass activities.
• Yellow River Grand Collection: With the theme of "Running the Yellow River Grand Collection and Happy New Year", relying on rural traditional collections, scenic spots, squares and temple fairs, etc., folk art and traditional crafts exhibitions.
• Spring Festival "Village Evening": Through the villagers' "10-by" activities, literary and artistic volunteers and various cultural activities, the masses are encouraged to participate in dance, opera, calligraphy, photography and other creations.

During the Spring Festival, Jining people prepare various kinds of food, such as fried food (fried balls, fried lotus root boxes, etc.), pastries (honey three knives, croissants, etc.), stir-fried goods (melon seeds, peanuts, etc.).

Full moon wine: Jining people call the full moon "hundred years old", on this special day, relatives and friends will come to congratulate, and prepare some small gifts and food, the most important of which is full moon wine. Full moon wine is made from rice wine, brown sugar, peanuts and other raw materials, which symbolizes family reunion and happiness.

March 3: Every year, the third day of the third lunar month is the traditional festival of Jining - March 3, also known as the "flower meeting". On this day, people will wear wreaths, traditional costumes, play in the mountains and rivers, sacrifice and sing and dance, showing a strong folk culture atmosphere.

Flip Candy: Flip Candy is one of Jining's special snacks. The production of flower candy needs to use brown sugar, maltose and other materials, after re-frying to form a golden fluffy shape, sweet taste, loved by locals and tourists.

Red and white celebrations: In Jining, red represents joy and good luck, and white represents mourning and mourning. Therefore, on occasions such as marriage and childbirth, people will wear red clothes and red shoes, while at funerals they will wear white clothes and white shoes to show their condolences and respect for the deceased.

Buy

Jining Ceramics: Jining Ceramics has a long history and is famous for its unique craftsmanship and exquisite decoration. You can buy a variety of ceramic products, such as bowls, plates, vases, teapots, etc., which are often decorated with traditional patterns of landscapes, flowers, and birds.

Meng Mansion Wood Carving: Meng Mansion is a famous ancient building in Jining, famous for its exquisite wood carving craftsmanship. You can buy Mengfu-style wood carving crafts, such as screens, carved boards, tables, etc.

Jining Embroidery: Jining embroidery is famous for its exquisite craftsmanship and brilliant colors. You can buy a variety of embroidery products, such as embroidered fans, embroidered scarves, embroidered paintings, etc.

Straw products: The jining area is rich in plant resources, so straw products are also very popular. You can buy various handicrafts made of straw, such as straw mats, straw baskets, straw jewelry, etc.

Paper-cutting art: Paper-cutting is one of the traditional Chinese handicrafts, and Jining also has its paper-cutting tradition. You can buy a variety of exquisite paper-cut works, such as window grilles, stickers, paper-cut paintings, etc.

Bamboo woven products: Bamboo is very abundant in Jining, so you can buy various bamboo woven crafts, such as bamboo baskets, bamboo chairs, bamboo chopsticks, etc.

Mengzhou rattan products: Mengzhou is famous for its rattan products. You can buy various rattan products, such as rattan furniture, rattan baskets, rattan flower utensils, etc.

Eat

There are the usual western fast food restaurants.

Mengfu stew: This is one of Jining’s traditional dishes, famous for its unique stew technique. It usually uses local ingredients, such as pork, chicken, wild mushrooms, etc., and slowly stews it with various seasonings. The soup is delicious.

Jining Steamed Fish: Jining is located in the inland of Shandong and has rich aquatic resources. Steamed fish is a traditional dish loved by local people. It is usually steamed using fresh fish, adding seasonings such as steamed fish soy sauce.

Mengzhou Tofu Pudding: Mengzhou is a county-level city in Jining and is famous for its special tofu bun. This is a snack full of strong bean flavor. It is usually added with peanut butter, chili sauce, coriander and other seasonings. It is very delicious.

Jining Chicken Soup: Jining’s chicken soup is famous for its fragrance and deliciousness. Generally, local chicken is used, added with various herbs and seasonings, and stewed into a pot of nourishing chicken soup.

Mengzhou Beef Noodles: Mengzhou is also famous for its specialty beef noodles. This is a noodle soup with tender slices of beef and a variety of seasonings that are delicious.

Jining Fried Fish Cake: This is a local snack made of fish meat and starch. It has a crispy outer skin and a fresh and tender filling. It is usually eaten with a special sauce.

Jining Oatmeal Steamed Bun: Oatmeal steamed bun is one of Jining's traditional pastas. It is made from oatmeal noodles and is usually eaten with various dishes. It is one of the staple foods of the locals.

Grape and Chicken Slices:Grape chicken is one of the specialties of Shandong Jining.It is a dish made from dried chicken, canned grape, green pepper, egg white and white powder.This dish not only occupies an important position on the table in Jining, but also carries countless memories of Jining people's childhood and the delicious food of urban change.

Sleep

• 1 Xiangjiang Great Wall Business Hotel, Changqing Road, ☏ +86 537-2964666. The main building complex of the hotel is themed with the ancient Great Wall of China and has distinctive architectural features. The hotel has various luxury suites, superior business rooms, and standard rooms with simple and warm decoration. It is equipped with central air conditioning, satellite TV, and various business office appliances, and provides 24-hour broadband Internet service to create a comfortable accommodation environment. Conference center, banquet rooms, sauna, beauty salon, foot massage services, chess/cards rooms, restaurant and fitness facilities available. Disounted rates for doubles of ¥170 including breakfast. 
• 2 Mingyajingwei Hotel (Mingyajingwei Dafandian), 1 North Huancheng Road (3 km from the train station in the south and near the long-distance bus station in the east), ☏ +86 537-3160888. Three-star tourist hotel with standard rooms, single rooms, triple rooms, and suites. A dining center with 15 private dining rooms is available. The room is equipped with a minibar, free broadband Internet access, satellite TV, a small bar, and a comfortable and spacious writing desk. The hotel mainly serves Shandong, Sichuan, and Cantonese cuisine. Disounted rates for doubles of ¥188 including breakfast. 
• 3 Jining Inzone Garland Hotel (Jining Yinzuo Jiayue Jiudian), 26 Guhuai Road (Guhuai Lu) (at the intersection of Hongxing Road and Guhuai Road in Jining's Shizhong District), ☏ +86 537-5169999. Various deluxe and superior rooms, 15 banquet halls, and 1 buffet restaurant. Free internet. A grand conference hall and conference rooms of different sizes are available. Disounted rates for doubles of ¥290 including breakfast. 
• 4 Hong Kong Hotel, 19 Huoju Road (Huoju Lu), Nanxin District (at the intersection of Wutaizha Lu and Huoju Lu, in the Jining High-tech Industry Development Zone), ☏ +86 537-2969888. Four star hotel with various types of rooms including standard rooms, triple rooms, executive suites and deluxe suites. Free internet. Western style restaurant, a banquet hall, conference rooms, a dance hall, snooker, gym, sauna and beauty salon are available. Disounted rates for doubles of ¥386 including breakfast. 
• 5 Keyuan Business Clubhouse (intersection of Huoju Road and Jinyu Road, adjacent to Jiashike, Xinguihe), ☏ +86 537 5160 114. The hotel is a high-end foreign business residential area. Swimming, fitness, table tennis, and billiards services, and indoor badminton and tennis services. Good sized new clean suites with kitchen facilities. Plasma tvs in the lounge and bedroom. Big swimming pool and gym. Good breakfast selection. Starting from ¥200. 

Go next

• Qufu - the birthplace of Confucius with temples and museums honoring him. Buses from 06:40 to 18:00 at 20-minute intervals at the Jining North Coach Bus Station. The bus station can be reached by the city-bus No.4, 26, 30, 31, 36 and 102.
• Zoucheng - the birthplace of Mencius, who was the most important interpreter of Confucius' thoughts. The Temple of Mencius and the Mencius Family Mansion are both here.
• Yishan Mountain - a mountain resort 10 kilometers south of the Zoucheng with spectacular natural sceneries and historical relics, especially featuring the granite pebbly landscape.