Jinan overview

The capital of the Shandong Province, Jinan is a thoroughly modern Chinese city with few attractions to keep tourists in town, with most preferring to head for more popular destinations nearby. Jinan however, is an excellent transport hub to use as a base and features extensive air and rail connections. The area around the train station is home to the German cultural heritage found in Qingdao, and historically the city has founded traditional Chinese medicine, public libraries and a host of writers. While European architecture is best seen by strolling through the pleasant southern streets, the greater city appears to be racing its urban counterparts to create a park-filled landscape in which modern construction hides. Serious shoppers should head to Quancheng Lu for a fusion of east and west, old and new, with tea-shops and grassed areas in abundance.