Jining, Shandong Province, China

🇨🇳 Jining (济宁) is a prefecture-level city in south-western Shandong province. It borders Heze to the south-west, Zaozhuang to the south-east, Tai'an to the north-east, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the north-west and south respectively. Jining, which is located directly to the north of Lake Nanyang (南阳湖; Nányáng Hú), is today the northernmost city reachable by navigation on the Grand Canal of China making it an important inland port.

The built-up area is made up of the Rencheng urban district, the Yanzhou district not being totally conurbated yet.

History The name Jining was first given to the region in the year 1271 during the Song dynasty, although the exact area and type of administrative district it refers to have varied over the centuries. Jining has several distinctive associations in Chinese history and culture, as in antiquity it was the birthplace and home of Confucius, along with many of his more famous disciples, including Mencius. Temples to a number of these philosophers still exist in various parts of the prefecture. Liangshan, a county of Jining, is also famous as the principal setting of the Chinese literary classic, Water Margin.

Administration The prefecture-level city of Jining administers 11 county-level divisions, including two districts, two county-level cities and seven counties. • Rencheng District (任城区) • Yanzhou District (兖州区) • Qufu City (曲阜市) • Zoucheng City (邹城市) • Weishan County (微山县) • Yutai County (鱼台县) - originally in Huxi prefecture • Jinxiang County (金乡县) - originally in Huxi • Jiaxiang County (嘉祥县) - originally in Huxi • Wenshang County (汶上县) • Sishui County (泗水县) • Liangshan County (梁山县).

Economy Jining is situated in a coal mining area in the south-west of Shandong. An industrial city, Jining has a coal-fired power station, the Jining Power Plant. The city is served by Jining Qufu Airport.