Zibo

Not to be confused with Xibo.
Zibo
淄博市
Prefecture-level city

Views of Liuquan Square in downtown Zichuan District

Location of Zibo in Shandong

Location of Zibo in China
Coordinates: 36°47′N 118°3′E / 36.783°N 118.050°E / 36.783; 118.050Coordinates: 36°47′N 118°3′E / 36.783°N 118.050°E / 36.783; 118.050
Country People's Republic of China
Province Shandong
County-level divisions 8
Township divisions 106
Municipal seat Zhangdian District
Government
 • Mayor Zhou Qingli (周清利)
Area
 • Prefecture-level city 5,938 km2 (2,293 sq mi)
 • Urban 2,972 km2 (1,147 sq mi)
 • Metro 3,471 km2 (1,340 sq mi)
Highest elevation 1,108.3 m (3,636.2 ft)
Lowest elevation 7 m (23 ft)
Population (2010)
 • Prefecture-level city 4,530,597
 • Density 760/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
 • Urban 3,129,228
 • Urban density 1,100/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
 • Metro 3,633,239
 • Metro density 1,000/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal Code 255100
Area code(s) 0533
GDP total ¥ 231.7 billion (2008)
GDP Per Capita ¥51,426 (2008)
License Plate Prefix 鲁C
Website www.zibo.gov.cn
Zibo
Chinese 淄博
Postal Tzupo

Zibo (pronounced [tsɨ́pu̯ǒ]; Chinese: 淄博) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the west, Laiwu and Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou the north.

Located in the centre of Shandong, Zibo is an important transportation hub. Zibo governs 5 districts (Zhangdian, Zichuan, Boshan, Zhoucun and Linzi) and each of these districts has a distinct downtown area of its own. The T-shaped city has a total area of 5,938 km2 (2,293 sq mi), including the counties of Huantai, Gaoqing, and Yiyuan. Zibo's total population was 4.53 million at the 2010 census, of which 3,633,239 inhabitants lived in the built-up area made of 5 urban districts (metro area) plus Huantai county largely being built. The built-up area is being conurbated with Zouping County in Binzhou municipality. Zibo was the centre of the ancient State of Qi, whose capital Linzi was the most populous city in the east about 3000 years ago. Zibo is the birthplace of ancient football Cuju, which according to FIFA, was the earliest form of the sport. Pu Songling, a well-known writer of the Qing Dynasty, is one of the most famous people from Zibo. As the birthplace of Qi Culture and because of the abundant natural resources, it is a notable tourist city in China.

Manufacturing holds an important place of the city's economy and Zibo is particularly strong in ceramics manufacturing. Other industries include the petrochemical industry, pharmaceuticals, metallurgy, building materials, machinery and textile. High and new-technology industries, such as new materials, fine chemicals, electronics and information, and biological medicines, are developing rapidly.

According to 2007/2008 Global City Competitiveness Report released by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Zibo was among the top 20 cities in the world who enjoy the fastest economic growth between 2001 and 2005.[1] According to Oriental Outlook MagazineIssue No.1, 2009, Zibo ranks No.1 on the list of cities with reasonable real estate prices in China, also No.2 on the list of cities with good public security.[2] In 2009, the city was awarded as among "Best 10 Harmonious Cities that enjoy Sustainable Development in China".[3]

Administrative divisions

The prefecture-level city of Zibo administers 8 county-level divisions, including 5 districts and 3 counties.

Map Subdivision Chinese Pinyin
Zichuan District 淄川区 Zīchuān Qū
Zhangdian District 张店区 Zhāngdiàn Qū
Boshan District 博山区 Bóshān Qū
Linzi District 临淄区 Línzī Qū
Zhoucun District 周村区 Zhōucūn Qū
Huantai County 桓台县 Huántái Xiàn
Gaoqing County 高青县 Gāoqīng Xiàn
Yiyuan County 沂源县 Yíyuán Xiàn

Geography and climate

Zibo is in the center of Shandong Province, neighboring Mt. Tai in the south and backing the Yellow River in the north. It is also bordered by hot coastal tourist cities, Qingdao, Yantai, and Weihai in the east, and the capital city of the province, Jinan in the west. Zibo is located in the transition zone between mountainous area in central Shandong and the North China Plain. Its southern area is covered with mid-sized mountains, while the center is hilly. The city's northern territory descends into plains. The ratio among mountains, hill and plain is 42%, 29.9% and 28.1%.[4] With the Yihe River originating itself in the southern mountain area, and Yellow River flowing across the northern area, the city has comparatively abundant water resources. The workable reserve of ground water is 1.24 tons/day.

Climate

Zibo is located in a warm, temperate zone, and bears a semi-humid and semi-dry continental climate.[5] Like other major cities in North China, Zibo has four distinct seasons. January and July are respectively the coldest and hottest month during a year. Zibo enjoy 180 to 220 frost-free days and average annual Hours of Sunshine is 2542.6 to 2832.6 hours. Annual average precipitation of Zibo is 25.2 inches (640.5 mm).[6]

Demographics

As of 2006, there were 4,181,260 people living in Zibo, of which 2,102,819 were male and 2,078,441 were female. The sex ratio is 101.17. Death rate of 2006 is 5.92%, while the birth rate was a little higher, at 8.81‰. The natural growth rate of population that year iwas 2.90%. The area had a population density of 704.15 per square kilometer.

The fourth nationwide census showed that over 99 percent of the total population are Han Chinese. In addition, there are 44 minority nationalities, including Hui, Manchus, Mongols and Koreans. Mongols and Manchus are the only two minority groups that have more than 1,000 people. Jinling Hui Town, which is located at the junction of Zhangdian and Linzi, in one of only four towns named by an ethnic minority in Shandong Province.

In 2008, the per capital disposable income of urban residents was 17,629 yuan, up 11.2%; the per capital disposable income of rural residents was 7,364 yuan, up 13.9%. The Engel's coefficients that reflect the consumption structure and level of China's urban and rural residents are 32.1% and 35.6% respectively.[7]

History

Sacrificial horses in the tomb of Duke Jing of Qi, discovered in Linzi

Zibo is considered one of the birthplaces of the Han Chinese. The remains of three major Neolithic cultures in ancient China, Beixin culture, Dawenkou culture, and Longshan culture have been found in Zibo. Zibo was once the capital of the ancient State of Qi, the most prosperous state during the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods over 2,000 years ago in China. Duke Huan of Qi, ruler of Qi, appointed Guan Zhong, the famous thinker and economist, as his prime minister, and adopted Guan's thoughts and policies to administer his country, reform the economic system and develop relations with other states, After many years, Qi became the strongest state due to its economic and military strength, and was named as the "state with one thousand chariots" and the "head of the five strongest states". The culture and education undertakings were rather developed in Qi. Both poetry and music were at a high level. Linzi remained its capital for as long as 638 years, and was the biggest city in East Asia.

As the birthplace of the Qi Culture, Zibo has many cultural scenic spots. In the national city of history and culture, Linzi District, the ruins of the ancient Qi city, the pit for burying the funerary horses and chariots and other famous cultural relics and historic sites, have been discovered and unearthed. All of them exemplify the past prosperity of the Qi State. The ancient city of Qi, one of the first batch of cultural relics protection units, is rich in cultural relics and historical sites, and, therefore, has won the title of the "Underground Museum".

Zibo made significant contributions to the formation and prosperity of the Silk Road. Zibo was one of the biggest suppliers of silk products. Zhoucun, one of the townships in Zibo, was considered one of the four 'dry ports' during that period, alongside Foshan, Jingdezhen and Zhuxian. The major trade streets such as 'Dajie', 'Sishijie', 'Yinzijie' are well preserved to the date.

In 2004, FIFA President Sepp Blatter visited Zibo to celebrate FIFA's 100 year anniversary. FIFA has since then recognized the city as the birthplace of football.[8]

Culture

Dialect

Zibo dialect has classic features of Northern Chinese but also has specific characteristics of its own. In Zibo dialect, points of articulation of low vowel is particularly deep in the mouth, and most areas do not have retroflex consonant except part of Linzi District. Zibo dialect does not have many features that distinguish it with mandarin when it comes to the sentence patterns, while differences may occur in the pattern people ask questions and their expression to probability of actions. As minor differences do exist, Zibo dialect may be divided into three major sections according to the administration districts: Huantai-Zhangdian-Zhoucun being areas on the transport corridor between Jinan and Weifeng had a mild mandarin accent which is somewhere between Beijing, Jinan, Qingdao and Zichuan accents. Boshan has its own accent which is derived as it is the traditional center of the Zibo prefecture. Zichuan district again has its own distinct accent with many colloquialisms.

Cuisine

Traditional Zibo cuisine is part of Shandong Cuisine although Zibo cuisine is, in fact, not a real branch of the Lu Cuisine (Shandong cuisine), whilst Boshan Cuisine is. Boshan cuisine restaurants can only be found in Zibo, and nearby places. Featured local snacks, including Zhou Cun Pancake, Shi Ha Ma Dumpling, Vegetable Pancake, Sauced Mutton, and Bean-curd Case (fried bean-curd stuffed with vegetables and meat), enjoy a good reputation among residents and tourists. Zibo is also home to diverse restaurants of other Chinese cuisine branches just like many other cities in the PRC. Western restaurants are also emerging here and there in all districts of this city to cater for a growing diversity of needs from the people.

Traditional drama

The "Five-Voiced Drama" is a unique kind of local drama that originated in central Shandong and was once populous among the folks here. This form of art got its name because the show is often performed by 4-5 people, and the performance is featured by gorgeous singing tunes and vivid lyrics. The straight performance and the local style also help it to be distinguished from other Chinese dramas. The plays that are acknowledged to many people include Wang Xiao Gan Jiao (Salesboy), Wang Erjie Si Fu (Lonely lady) and so on. Zibo Five-voiced Drama Troupe is the only theatrical troupe all around the country that professionally perform this drama. By far, Five-Voiced Drama has been listed as a "National Intangible Cultural Heritage".

Artware

Boshan colored glaze is the wonderful work in Shan Dong Province. The history of production of colored glaze in Bo Shan is very long and better known. In the years of Hong Wu of Ming Dynasty, the emperor’s servants set up "Out Factory" to produce colored glaze for imperial family’s use such as "blue and green curtain". By the end of Ming Dynasty, the folk colored glaze was produced and developed day by day, too. In the year of Jingtai there were four big stoves in Xi Yejie Street to produce enamel material. Before and after the period of Jiajing, the colored glaze products such as pearl light, pearl rejecting, bed-curtain and mosquito net hook and so on were made by the master of Bo Shan and gradually form the colored glaze trade. In 1617(the 46th year of Wan Li), some people led by Sun Yanshou initiated to organize the guild of colored glaze which is the first organization in Yanshan Town. The colored glaze products returned the transportation and sale to Beijing and the southern parts of China besides selling in locality.[9]

Honors earned

Tourist Attractions

Zibo enjoys abundant historical and cultural sites of interest. The Linzi Museum of Ancient Chariots, the Museum of the History of the State of Qi, the Zibo City Museum and the Zibo Museum of Ceramics are the most recommendable places for tourists who want to learn about Zibo's long history and about the Qi Culture. Yuanshan National Forest Park, situated southwest of Baoshan District in Zibo, is a spot worth visiting. It consists of the Great Wall of the Qi State, the grass skiing field, Dinosaur Valley and a folk garden. The Great Wall of Qi was built by the Qi State during the Spring-and-Autumn and Warring States Periods over 2,500 years ago.[10]

Economy

The Silk Road, prosperous throughout the Han and Tang Dynasties, is the famous passageway in China's history for economic and cultural exchange between East and West. The Shandong area, with Zibo as its center, was the major center of silk supply at that time, and was one of the origins of the "Silk Road", Today, Zibo, as a producer of silk and light textile products, remains an important place in the whole country and enjoys a great reputation on the market both at home and abroad..
Zibo abounds in natural resources. More than 50 kinds of mineral reserves have been found and coal, iron, bauxite, coal clay, chemical limestone, pottery clay, etc. are the main place of origin in Shandong Province because of their big reserves, high grade, and broad distribution. Zibo’s north part is abundant in petroleum and natural gas. The city was initially established as a mining city, but now it is undergoing technological upgrading and industrial transformation for further development. Before 2002, on account of high proportion of heavy industry and carelessness about industrial pollution, the city paid a high price in both its environment and economy. Afterwards, people of this city made up their minds to improve the environment. Small coal mines and chemical factories were closed, while all big plants were asked to install sewage disposal to get control of gas and dust. Nowadays Zibo is proud to have the first three municipal sewage treatment plants that with the treated water reaches the Grade-A1 standard of "Integrated wastewater discharge standard"GB8978—1996.[11] Air here is also widely acknowledged to be much better now.

In 2008, the total industrial output value of Zibo reached 532 billion RMB. After one hundred years of development, Zibo has a solid industrial foundation. Since 1992, Zibo has always been one of the top 50 cities in China with the greatest comprehensive strength. In 2008, its GDP was 231.7 billion yuan RMB, ranking just below Qingdao, Yantai, Jinan and Weifang within the province. The ratio of the agriculture, industry and service sectors was 3.5%, 64.8%, 31.7%, which indicate the city still has a lot to do in readjusting its industrial structure.

Transportation

As an important traffic hub of Shandong province, Zibo enjoys convenient transportation. The Jiaoji Railway, Zhangbo Railway, Zidong Railway and Xintai Railway form a cross in Zibo while the Jiqing Expressway and Binlai Expressway form another cross. The center of Zibo is only 70 km (43 mi) away from the Jinan International Airport, 210 km (130 mi) away from the Qingdao International Airport and 260 km (160 mi) away from the Qingdao Seaport. Every district and county has expressway connections. At the National Trade Building located in Liuquan Road of Zhangdian, airport shuttle bus service is offered and even you can get your boarding pass exchanged with a ticket.

Railway

37 railway stations in large and small sizes are in service nowadays. Zibo Railway Station, lying on the Jiaozhou–Jinan and Zibo–Dongying Railways, is among the busiest railway stations in Shandong province. As of 1 July 2009, Zibo Railway Station has 103 trains stopping daily.[12] If you catch a multiple unit train at Zibo Railway Station, it will only take you 1 hour to Jinan, 2 hours to Qingdao and 4 hours to Beijing.

Freeways and Highways

Mass transit

Mass transit in the region is provided by bus services. More than 2,500 large and medium-sized diesel buses, CNG buses are serving over than 250 routes.[13] With a "Qikatong" card traveling by bus in the downtown area, passengers could get a discount of 10% to 40%. Now Zibo is undergoing restructuring of its public transit system, aiming at intensive management of higher efficiency and more professional service. Full-electric busese and taxis are now incorporated into daily operations.

Education

Zibo is a national "advanced city invigorating itself through science and technology", "cultural model city" and "technology-intensive area". Within the city's boundaries, 443,000 (data of 2008) students from Grade 1 to Grade 9 are taught in 379 primary schools and 169 middle schools respectively under the compulsory education system, which belongs to a bigger education system of the nation. School districts are divided according to both neighborhoods and administrative districts. The number of high schools is 42.[14]

There are 14 institutions of higher education, among them only the Shandong University of Technology and Wanjie Medical College are able to confer the bachelor's degree. There is also postgraduate education in Shandong University of Technology. The education system of Zibo offers more than 30 key majors, including mechanics, electronics and informatics, biological pharmacological science, textile and clothes and logistics, and can provide local enterprises with 30,000 specialized technical personnel every year.

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zibo.
 
Rank Name Province Pop. Rank Name Province Pop.

Shanghai

Beijing		 1 Shanghai Shanghai 20,217,700 11 Foshan Guangdong 6,771,900
Chongqing

Guangzhou
2 Beijing Beijing 16,858,700 12 Nanjing Jiangsu 6,238,200
3 Chongqing Chongqing 12,389,500 13 Shenyang Liaoning 5,890,700
4 Guangzhou Guangdong 10,641,400 14 Hangzhou Zhejiang 5,578,300
5 Shenzhen Guangdong 10,358,400 15 Xi'an Shaanxi 5,399,300
6 Tianjin Tianjin 10,007,700 16 Harbin Heilongjiang 5,178,000
7 Wuhan Hubei 7,541,500 17 Dalian Liaoning 4,222,400
8 Dongguan Guangdong 7,271,300 18 Suzhou Jiangsu 4,083,900
9 Chengdu Sichuan 7,112,000 19 Qingdao Shandong 3,990,900
10 Hong Kong Hong Kong 7,055,071 20 Zhengzhou Henan 3,677,000
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