JiningCity,situatedinthesouthwestofShandongProvince,administers12districts,countiesandcities.Itcoversanareaof11,000sqkmwithapopulationof7.56million.MostoftheterrainsinJiningareplainexceptsomemountainsintheeast.Jiningenjoysconvenienttransportations.TheGrandCanalflowsthroughthecityfromnorthtosouth.TheBeijing-ShanghaiRailwayandtheBeijing-KowloonRailwaygothroughthecityfromnorthtosouth,Yanzhou-ShijiuRailwayandtheJining-XinxiangRailwaythroughthecityfromeasttowest.TheNo.104NationalHighwayiscrossedwithNo.327NationalHighwayhere.JiningAirporthasflightsavailabletoBeijing,Jinan,Qingdao,ShanghaiandGuangzhou.Jiningalsoboastswell-equippedpostandcommunicationswhichprovideIDDtothecitizens. 　　Withapleasantclimate,Jiningsharesfourdistinctseasonswithanannualaveragetemperatureof13.3-14.1Centigrade. 　　Jiningisabundantinwheat,corn,grain,cotton,peanuts,fruits,stockbreedingandfishingproducts.Thewidely-spredmineralresourceshavelargereservesandvarieties,includingcoal,iron,copper,marble,graniteandsoon.JiningisoneoftheeightlargestcoalbasesinChina,withaprovedreserveofover20billiontons.Jiningalsohasareserveofover13milliontonsofrareearth.ItisoneoftheareasrichinfreshwaterinShandongProvince.WeishanLake,oneofthetenlargestfreshwater-lakesinChina,hasareserveof3billioncubicmetersandcoversanareaof1,260sqkm,connectingtheYellowRiverinthenorthandtheYangtzeRiverinthesouth.Jiningisalsorichinundergroundwater.ThetotalfreshwaterinJiningaccountsforonesixthofthatofShandongProvince. 　　Jininghasahistoryofseventhousandyears’civilization.DuringtheSpringandAutumnPeriod,thefivegreatestsaints,namely,Confucius,Mencius,Yanzi,Zengzi,KongjiandtheearliestancestorsofChinese,Fuxi,Nvwa,HuangDi,ShaoHao,wereallborninJining.Inthecity’sterritorytherearesevenculturalrelicsunderthefirst-classstateprotection,50undertheprovincialprotection,andhundredsunderthemunicipalprotection.Amongthem,ConfuciusTemple,ConfuciusMansionandConfuciusCemeteryhavebeenlistedbyUNESCOastheWorldCulturalHeritage.ThesesplendidChinesetraditionalcultureshavedrawnnumerousChinesebothfromhomeandabroadtocomeherepayingrespectstotheancestors. 　　JiningCityhasbeenknownastheHometownofConfuciusandLittleSuzhouinnorthChina.Sincetheimplementationofthereformandopening-uppolicy,thetourismindustryhasbeendevelopingstepbystepandbecomesveryprosperouscurrently.Itreceivesmoreandmoretouristsandbringsaboutgreatincomes.Thesixelementsoftraveling,i.e.cuisine,lodging,shopping,entertainment,leisureandtour,havebeenimprovedgreatly.Now,thankstotheprogressmadeintourismindustry,thetourists’needscanbemetbasically. 　　Bytheendof1997,JiningCityhaspossessedseven“star”hotels,amongwhichthereareoneThree-Starhotel,sixTwo-Starhotels,and20foreign-tourists-orientedrestaurants,whichsupply4,000highstandardbedsaswellasenormousentertainmentfacilities. 　　Inrecentyears,over40tourismzonesandsiteshavebeenreconstructedandmorethan270tourismplaceshavebeenopenedtothepublic,suchastheSix-ArtCity,theStelesParkofConfucius’Analects,theWater-WatchingPark,Jining