Shandong

Shandong 山东
Province
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 / 36.4°N 118.4°E / 36.4; 118.4
Country	China
Capital	Jinan
Largest city	Linyi
Divisions	16 prefectures, 140 counties, 1941 townships
Government
• Type	Province
• Body	Shandong Provincial People's Congress
• Party Secretary	Lin Wu[1]
• Congress chairman	Lin Wu
• Governor	Zhou Naixiang
• CPPCC chairman	Ge Huijun
• National People's Congress Representation	174 deputies
Area [2]
• Total	157,100 km2 (60,700 sq mi)
• Rank	20th
Highest elevation (Mount Tai)	1,545 m (5,069 ft)
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 (2023)[4]
• Total	CN¥9.21 trillion (3rd) (US$1.31 trillion)
• Per capita	CN¥90,772 (11th) (US$12,881)
ISO 3166 code	CN-SD
HDI (2022)	0.789[5] (13th) – high
Website	sd.gov.cn

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^[update].^[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^[update], the Nature Index ranked Jinan ranked 32nd and Qingdao 43rd in the top 50 cities in the world by scientific research output.^[17]

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