Zibo

Infobox Settlement
name =Zibo
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settlement_type =Prefecture-level city
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translit_lang1=Chinese
translit_lang1_type=Characters
translit_lang1_info=淄博
translit_lang1_type1=Pinyin
translit_lang1_info1=Zībó


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map_caption = Zibo is highlighted on this map


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = China
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = Shandong
seat_type = City seat
seat = Zhangdian District
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leader_title =Mayor
leader_name =Liu Huiyan (刘慧晏)
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area_total_km2 = 5938
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population_total =4149900
population_density_km2 =auto
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population_blank1_title =Major Nationalities
population_blank1 =Han
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timezone = China Standard
utc_offset = +8
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latd=36 |latm=47 |lats= |latNS=N
longd=118 |longm=3 |longs= |longEW=E
postal_code_type =Postal Code
postal_code =
area_code =533
blank_name =GDP total
blank_info =¥ 164.5 billion (2006)
blank1_name =GDP Per Capita
blank1_info =¥39,640 (2006)
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blank2_info =鲁C
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website = http://www.zibo.gov.cn/
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Zibo (zh-cp|c=淄博|p=Zībó) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the west, Laiwu and Tai'an to the southwest, Linyi to the south, Weifang to the east, Dongying to the northeast, and Binzhou the north.

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Zibo administers 8 county-level divisions, including 5 districts and 3 counties.

*Zhangdian District (张店区)
*Zichuan District (淄川区)
*Boshan District (博山区)
*Linzi District (临淄区)
*Zhoucun District (周村区)
*Huantai County (桓台县)
*Gaoqing County (高青县)
*Yiyuan County (沂源县)

History

Zibo was once the capital of the ancient State of Qi, the most prosperous state during the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States Periods over 2,000 years ago in China. Lord Huan of Qi, ruler of Qi, appointed Guan Zhong, the famous thinker and economist, as his prime minister, and adopted Guan's thoughts and policies to administer his country, reform the economic system and develop relations with other states, After scores of years, Qi became the strongest state for its economic and military strength, and was named as the "state with one thousand chariots" and the "head of the five strongest states". The culture and education undertakings were rather developed in Qi. Both poetry and music were of high level. Linzi District remained its capital for as long as 638 years, and was the biggest city in the orient.

As the birthplace of the Qi Culture, Zibo has quite a number of cultural scenic spots. In the national city of history and culture, Linzi District, the ruins of the ancient Qi city, the pit for burying the funerary horses and chariots and other famous cultural relics and historic sites, have been discovered and unearthed. All of them exemplify the past prosperity of the Qi State. The ancient city of Qi, one of the first batch of cultural relics protection units, is rich in cultural relics and historical sites, and, therefore, has won the title of the "Underground Museum".

Development, reform and opening are the dynamics of Qi Culture. That is to say, the tradition of Qi of developing economics, advocating opening policy and enriching the state and benefiting the people has become the cultural background and historical resource for Zibo's constant development in economy, culture and opening to the world today.

In 2004, FIFA President Sepp Blatter visited Zibo to celebrate FIFA's 100 year anniversary. FIFA has since then recognized the city as the birthplace of football.

Economy

The Silk Road, prosperous through the Han and Tang Dynasties, is the famous passageway in China's history for economic and cultural exchange between East and West. As a result of textual research, Shandong area, with Zibo as its center, was the major place of silk supply at that time, and was one of the origins of the "Silk Road", Today, Zibo, as producer of silk and light textile products, remains an important place in the whole country and enjoys tremendous reputation on the market both at home and abroad. Linzi district of Zibo ranks first in overall GDP in Shandong province.

Education

Shandong University of Science and Technology is Zibo's largest national university. It is located in Zhangdian. Zibo Vocational College is also located in Zhangdian.

Twinning

Zibo has three sister cities. They are:

*flagicon|United States Erie, Pennsylvania, United States
*flagicon|South Korea Gwangju, South Korea
*flagicon|Russia Velikiy Novgorod, Russian Federation

External links

* [http://www.zibo.gov.cn/ Official website of Zibo Government]