Jining 济宁Jìníng

About Jining

Jining is the heartland of Confucian China: in Qufu, birthplace of Confucius, the Temple of Confucius, Kong Family Mansion and Cemetery form a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Zoucheng honours Mencius at the Mencius Temple and Mansion. The Grand Canal reaches its summit at the Nanwang Hub, where Ming engineers fed it with water from the Wen River. Weishan Lake, one of northern China's largest freshwater lakes, fills the south, while Mount Liang in the north-west was the outlaws' stronghold in the novel Water Margin.

What to eat in Jining

• Kong Mansion cuisine (孔府菜)
• Stewed pork belly with rice (甏肉干饭)
• Weishan Lake fish banquet (微山全鱼宴)

Featured places in Jining

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  Qufu, Hometown of Confucius 曲阜三孔

  The temple, mansion and forest cemetery of Confucius and his descendants

  Best time: Apr–May, Sep–Oct · Time needed: 1 day · 5A scenic area · National heritage site · UNESCO World Heritage

Listed sites in Jining

43 listed sites are in Jining. These are the 21 rated 5A or 4A; see all 43 in the Shandong list.

• Weishan Lake 微山湖 5A scenic area
  The 5A scenic area covers about 77 sq km of Weishan Lake and its shore in Weishan County; the lake is described as the largest freshwater lake in northern China.
• Baoxiang Temple, Wenshang 宝相寺 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
  A Buddhist temple in the north-west of Wenshang town, renamed Baoxiang by a Song emperor.
• Confucius Six Arts City 孔子六艺城 4A scenic area · on the map
  A modern cultural leisure complex just south of Qufu's old town, built around Confucius's Six Arts: rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics.
• Jiagudui Peasant Village 贾堌堆农家寨 4A scenic area · on the map
  A rural tourism village opened in 2016 in Jiagudui village, Dalukou town, built around farming culture and village folk customs.
• Kangwang Valley Flower World, Zoucheng 康王谷花世界 4A scenic area · on the map
  A flower-themed leisure and agri-tourism park in eastern Zoucheng, built in the late 2010s around flower fields and a lake.
• Lianhua Lake Wetland Park, Wenshang 莲花湖湿地 4A scenic area · on the map
  A provincial-level wetland park of about 290 hectares on the northern edge of Wenshang town, opened in 2011 and laid out around lakes and islands.
• Mencius Temple and Mansion, Zoucheng 孟庙孟府 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  The Temple of Mencius, also called the Yasheng Temple, honours the philosopher Mencius, the 'Second Sage' after Confucius, in his hometown of Zoucheng; its present buildings are largely Qing-dynasty work of the Kangxi years, grouped around a main hall with a green glazed-tile roof.
• Mount Liang (Shuipo Liangshan Scenic Area) 水泊梁山 4A scenic area
  Mount Liang is a low hill, about 198 m high, in Liangshan County that the classic Chinese novel Water Margin made the stronghold of 108 outlaw heroes.
• Mount Yi, Zoucheng 峄山 4A scenic area · on the map
  A granite hill south of Zoucheng, known in ancient times as Dongshan, the "eastern mountain" that the Mencius says Confucius climbed.
• Nanchi Garden, Jining 南池 4A scenic area · on the map
  A garden park in the south of Jining, themed on the city's Grand Canal heritage, the poets Li Bai and Du Fu, and the Queen Mother of the West.
• Nanyang Ancient Town 南阳古镇 4A scenic area · on the map
  Nanyang is a small town on a long, narrow island in Nanyang Lake, one of the Four Lakes of southern Shandong, with the old Grand Canal running along it.
• Nishan Confucian Temple and Academy 尼山孔庙及书院 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  A temple on Mount Ni, the hill traditionally held to be the birthplace of Confucius, with an academy beside it, set in the hills east of Qufu.
• Qingshan Temple and Scenic Area, Jiaxiang 青山寺 4A scenic area · National heritage site
  A hillside temple group on the western slope of Qingshan, south of Jiaxiang, which began as a shrine to the ruler of the Western Zhou state of Jiao and later became a joint Buddhist and Daoist temple.
• Shangjiushan Stone Village 上九山村 4A scenic area · on the map
  Shangjiushan is a hill village of stone houses in Shiqiang town, Zoucheng.
• Shimen Mountain, Qufu 石门山 4A scenic area · on the map
  A wooded hill once called Longmen Mountain and renamed for two facing peaks that look like a stone gate; the main peak, Shenghan, is 406 m high.
• Sishui Bin Riverside Park 泗水滨 4A scenic area · on the map
  A landscaped riverside park of about 62 hectares on the Si River, laid out in a modern style as the core public space of the new eco-city district of Sishui County town.
• Taibai Lake Scenic Area 太白湖 4A scenic area · on the map
  Taibai Lake is a lake and wetland scenic area of about 22 sq km on the southern side of Jining, laid out between the old canal on the east and the Grand Canal on the west as an eco-tourism area that combines sightseeing with wetland protection and water purification.
• Tomb of Prince Huang of Lu, Zoucheng 明鲁王陵 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
  The tomb of Zhu Tan (1370–1390), tenth son of the Ming founder, the Hongwu Emperor, and the first Prince of Lu, at the southern foot of Jiulong Mountain.
• Wanzi Qianhong Eco-Wellness Resort 万紫千红生态养生旅游度假区 4A scenic area · on the map
  Wanzi Qianhong is a modern leisure resort built around a lake in the hills of Sizhang town, Sishui County, marketed for countryside relaxation and 'eco-wellness'.
• Xianhe Flower Sea Eco-Park 仙河花海生态乐园 4A scenic area · on the map
  Xianhe Flower Sea is a leisure park of flower fields beside a large lake in the northern part of Qufu, in the area promoted as the Qufu International Slow City.
• Yangshan Battle Memorial, Jinxiang 羊山战斗纪念地 4A scenic area · National heritage site · on the map
  A hill and village site where, in July 1947, forces of the People's Liberation Army under Liu Bocheng and Deng Xiaoping fought the Nationalist 66th Division in the Southwest Shandong Campaign.

All 43 listed sites in Jining

On the map

Open Jining on the illustrated map to see its outline, its places and listed sites together, and to add them to a trip.

Learn more

• Wikipedia
• Official website
• Wikipedia (Chinese)