Jinan History

Jinan is the capital of Shandong Province as the center of politics, economy, culture, science, education and finance. Having a long history about 9,000 years, Jinan is a national historical and cultural city and the birthplace for the Longshan Culture the world famous prehistoric culture.
 

Prehistoric Age

Existing about 4,100 to 5,000 years ago, Longshan Culture originated from Jinan, distributing in the middle and lower reached of the Yellow River. The Longshan Culture is the formation period of Chinese Bronze Culture, when there was a developed animal husbandry with more witchcraft activities. This was a patriarchal society civilization with private property gradually appearing. At the same time, the class in society had begun to appear. The most famous pottery product was the black pottery.
 

In Ancient China

In 164 BC in Han Dynasty (202BC-220), the central government set up the Jinan County and in 154BC, the Jinan County was changed into Jinan County. During 156-189, Cao Cao (a very famous person in the Period of Three Kingdoms) was an official in Jinan. In 583, Jinan County was changed into Qizhou again. At this time, the Buddhism was very flourishing in Jinan. Several Buddhism sites such as Mount Qianfo, Divine Rock Temple, Simen Pagoda the oldest stone pagoda in China are preserved.

In 1116, Qizhou, another name of Jinan was used. In Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), the literary was extremely prosperous. The commercial printing advertisement was the earliest Chinese advertisement, which is preserved in Shanghai Museum and appeared in Song Dynasty in Jinan. This advertisement is the earliest printed advertisement cultural relics, which is earlier than Western printing advertisement about more than 300 years. The culture in Jinan in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) was still prosperous with many famous literates appearing.

In the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Shandong was set up in province and Jinan was listed as the capital. In Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Jinan was still the capital of Shandong Province. In the period of Kangxi (1662-1723), the business in Jinan began to develop.
 

In Modern Time

In 1904, the commercial port was opened up in Jinan, which helped the industry and commerce had developed further. In 1911, the Jinpu Railway was completed and passed Jinan. In 1912, the Qing government was overthrown and the Republic of China was built. The Jinan was changed into Jinan City. At this period, the business was more and more prosperous with the commercial port expanding.

In 1928, the national revolutionary army occupied Jinan, while the Japan set troops in Jinan to revenge for the excuse that the Northern Expeditionary Army killed emigrants of Japan in Jinan. More than 6,000 Chinese people were killed, which was the famous May 3rd Massacre. After signing the Sino-Japanese economic agreement, the Japanese army exited from Jinan. In 1937, the Japanese invasion war broke out and the Jinan was invaded. In 1945, the Japanese army was defeated and Jinan was recovered. In 1948, during the civil war, the economy in Jinan collapsed and the commercial port gradually disappeared. In September in the same year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army occupied Jinan and established the people’s government of Jinan city.
 

In Contemporary Time

In 1978, after the reform and opening up, Jinan stepped into the recovery stage. The living standards were improved. The commerce, tourism, sports industry have developed greatly.