"Shantung" redirects here. For the fabric, see Shantung (fabric).

For other uses, see Shan Tung

(disambiguation).

Shandong
山东

Province

Province of Shandong

Name transcription(s)

• Chinese 山东省 Shāndōng shěng

• Abbreviation SD / 鲁 Lǔ

Penglai Pavilion

Yellow River delta

Weishan Lake
 Temple of Confucius

Mount Tai

St. Michael's Cathedral in Qingdao

Guangyue Tower
 Daming Lake

Location of Shandong within China

Coordinates: 36°24′N 118°24′E

Country China

 山 shān – Taihang
Named for
Mountains
 东 dōng – 'east'
 "East of the Taihang
Mountains"

Capital Jinan
Largest city Linyi
Divisions 16 prefectures, 140 counties,
1941 townships

Government
 • Type Province
• Body Shandong Provincial People's
Congress
• CCP Secretary Lin Wu[1]
• Congress chairman Lin Wu
• Governor Zhou Naixiang
• CPPCC chairman Ge Huijun
• National People's 174 deputies
CongressRepresentation

Area
[2]

• Total 157,100 km2(60,700 sq mi)

• Rank 20th

Highest elevation 1,545 m (5,069 ft)

(Mount Tai)

Population
(2020)[3]
• Total 101,527,453
• Rank 2nd
• Density 650/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
• Rank 5th

Demonym Shandongese

Demographics
• Ethnic composition  Han – 99.3%
 Hui – 0.6%
• Languages and dialects Jiaoliao Mandarin, Jilu
Mandarin, Zhongyuan
Mandarin

GDP[4]
• Total CN¥9.20 trillion (US$1.3
trillion)
• Per capita CN¥81,846 (US$12,689)

ISO 3166 code CN-SD

HDI (2019) 0.759[5]

high · 14th

Website www.sd.gov.cn
 Shandong

"Shandong" in simplified (top) and traditional (bottom) Chinese

characters

Simplified Chinese 山东

Traditional Chinese 山東

Literal meaning East of the Taihang Mountains

Transcriptions

Shandong[a] is a coastal province in East China.[8] Shandong has played a major role in Chinese
history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has
served as a pivotal cultural and religious center for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism.
Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and a site with one of the longest
histories of continuous religious worship in the world.[9] The Buddhist temples in the mountains south
of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China.[10] The city
of Qufu was the birthplace of Confucius, and later became the center of Confucianism.[11]
Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient and modern north–south and east–west trading
routes has helped establish it as an economic center. After a period of political instability and
economic hardship beginning in the late 19th century, Shandong has experienced rapid growth in
recent decades. Home to over 100 million inhabitants, Shandong is the world's sixth-
most populous subnational entity, and China's second-most populous province.[12] The economy of
Shandong is China's third-largest provincial economy with a GDP of CN¥8.3 trillion (US$1.3 trillion)
in 2021, equivalent to the GDP of Mexico.[13][14] If considered among sovereign states, Shandong
would rank as the 15th-largest economy and the 15th-most populous as of 2021.[15] Its GDP per
capita is around the national average.
Shandong is one of China's leading provinces in education and research. It has 153 higher
education institutions, ranking second in East China after Jiangsu and fourth among all Chinese first-
level divisions after Jiangsu, Guangdong and Henan.[16] As of 2023, the Nature Index ranked Jinan
ranked 32nd and Qingdao 43rd in the top 50 cities in the world by scientific research output.[17]

Etymology
Shandong's name literally means 'east of the mountains', from 'mountain' (山) and 'east' (东). The
name refers to the province's location to the east of the Taihang Mountains.[18][19] A common nickname
for Shandong is Qilu (齐鲁; 齊魯), from the states of Qi and Lu that existed in the area during
the Spring and Autumn period. Whereas Qi was a major political power, Lu played only a minor
political role but became renowned as the home of Confucius, and its cultural influence came to
eclipse that of Qi. The cultural legacy of Lu is reflected in the province's official abbreviation
of Lǔ(鲁; 魯).[20]

History
Ancient history

Remains of Ancient Linzi city sewer passing

underneath the former city wall A Song-era monument to a

legendary native of Shandong, the Yellow Emperor, at his supposed birthplace
With its location on the eastern edge of the North China Plain, Shandong was home to a succession
of Neolithic cultures for millennia, including the Houli (c. 6500–5500 BC), Beixin (c. 5300–
4100 BC), Dawenkou (c. 4100–2600 BC), Longshan (c. 3000–2000 BC), and Yueshi cultures (c.
1900–1500 BC).
The Shang and Zhou dynasties exerted varying degrees of control over western Shandong, while
eastern Shandong was inhabited by Dongyi peoples, who were considered barbarians by the
inhabitants of the Central Plain. Following the annexation of Lai [zh] by the state of Qi in 567 BC, the
Dongyi gradually became sinicized.
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, power was accumulated by regional
states; Shandong was home to the state of Qi based in Linzi, and the state of Lu based in Qufu. Lu
is famous for being the home of Confucius; however, it was comparatively small, eventually being
annexed by the neighboring state of Chu to its south. Meanwhile, Qi was a significant power
throughout the entire period, and ruled cities including Linzi, Jimo (near modern Qingdao) and Ju.