Jinan

City (pop., 2003 est.: 2,346,000), capital of Shandong province, eastern China. It dates to the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 BC) and earlier and has been an administrative centre since the 8th century BC. Nearby Mount Tai was one of China's greatest holy mountains; many Buddhist cave temples were built in the hills south of the city in the 4th–7th century AD. It was made the capital of Shandong under the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Opened to foreign commerce in 1904, it developed further after becoming a railroad junction in 1912. It is now a major administrative and industrial centre and Shandong's chief cultural centre, with agricultural, medical, and engineering colleges and a large university (1926).