Jinan, capital of Shandong Province on China's east coast, is the province's political, economic and cultural center.
Location in the western part of the center of Shandong Province, Jinan is at the juncture of the Beijing-Shanghai and Qingdao-Jinan railways. Nearby to the south is Mount Tai, officially recognized by the United Nations as part of the world's natural and cultural heritage. To the north is the Yellow River, which is called the "cradle of the Chinese nation".
With a warm-temperate continental monsoon climate and clear-cut seasonal changes, Jinan has an average annual temperature of 14C and an annual mean precipitation of 650-700mm.
Thanks to its long history, Jinan has been designated by the State Council as a famous historical and cultural city. As Jinan boasts a number of natural springs amid picturesque scenery, it is known as the "City of Spring". The city tree of Jinan is the willow, and the city flower is the lotus.
