Qingzhou (Chinese: 青州; pinyin: Qīngzhōu) Wade–Giles: Tsing-chou, sometimes written as Ching-chow-fu, formerly Yidu County (Yitu) (益都县), is a county-level city, which is located in the west of the prefecture-level city of Weifang, in the central part of Shandong Province, China. Qingzhou is a dynamic industry city, and also grows a great number of farm products. The local government holds an open policy of introduction of foreign capital, and has established strong business relationships with more than fifty countries and regions.

Qingzhou
青州市
Tsingchow
Qingzhou in Weifang
Qingzhou in Weifang
Qingzhou is located in Shandong
Qingzhou
Qingzhou
Location of the city center in Shandong
Coordinates: 36°41′07″N 118°28′47″E / 36.6853°N 118.4796°E / 36.6853; 118.4796
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceShandong
Prefecture-level cityWeifang
Area
 • Total
1,569 km2 (606 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)
 • Total
963,600
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code
262500

History

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Qingzhou is named after one of the nine provinces that appear in the Yu Gong geography chapter of the classic Book of Documents composed during the Warring States period of Chinese history (403 BC - 221 BC). The history of this centuries old city dates back to ancient times twenty two centuries ago when it was part of the Dongyi area.

Administrative divisions

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As 2012, this city is divided to 3 subdistricts and 9 towns.[1]

Subdistricts
  • Wangfu Subdistrict (王府街道)
  • Yidu Subdistrict (益都街道)
  • Yunmenshan Subdistrict (云门山街道)
Towns
  • Mihe (弥河镇)
  • Wangfen (王坟镇)
  • Miaozi (庙子镇)
  • Shaozhuang (邵庄镇)
  • Gaoliu (高柳镇)
  • Heguan (何官镇)
  • Dongxia (东夏镇)
  • Tanfang (谭坊镇)
  • Huanglou (黄楼镇)

Climate

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Climate data for Qingzhou (2010–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.0
(68.0)
26.1
(79.0)
32.4
(90.3)
35.9
(96.6)
38.4
(101.1)
41.9
(107.4)
39.6
(103.3)
37.9
(100.2)
39.0
(102.2)
35.4
(95.7)
27.4
(81.3)
23.1
(73.6)
41.9
(107.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 3.8
(38.8)
7.2
(45.0)
15.0
(59.0)
21.3
(70.3)
27.6
(81.7)
30.8
(87.4)
32.2
(90.0)
30.7
(87.3)
27.0
(80.6)
20.9
(69.6)
13.1
(55.6)
5.7
(42.3)
19.6
(67.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.9
(28.6)
1.2
(34.2)
8.3
(46.9)
14.8
(58.6)
21.3
(70.3)
25.0
(77.0)
27.0
(80.6)
25.7
(78.3)
21.1
(70.0)
14.2
(57.6)
7.1
(44.8)
0.0
(32.0)
13.7
(56.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −6.1
(21.0)
−3.5
(25.7)
2.3
(36.1)
8.4
(47.1)
14.8
(58.6)
19.4
(66.9)
22.6
(72.7)
21.8
(71.2)
16.3
(61.3)
8.9
(48.0)
2.3
(36.1)
−4.2
(24.4)
8.6
(47.4)
Record low °C (°F) −15.3
(4.5)
−13.2
(8.2)
−7.6
(18.3)
−2.3
(27.9)
3.0
(37.4)
9.5
(49.1)
13.8
(56.8)
14.0
(57.2)
6.5
(43.7)
−1.1
(30.0)
−11.7
(10.9)
−17.3
(0.9)
−17.3
(0.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 8.8
(0.35)
15.0
(0.59)
14.4
(0.57)
31.2
(1.23)
55.9
(2.20)
76.2
(3.00)
137.6
(5.42)
198.2
(7.80)
57.8
(2.28)
32.3
(1.27)
32.6
(1.28)
12.0
(0.47)
672
(26.46)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 3.0 3.5 4.0 5.6 7.0 8.3 12.1 11.7 6.9 5.6 4.9 4.1 76.7
Average snowy days 4.6 3.8 1.7 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.1 2.9 14.3
Average relative humidity (%) 57 54 48 49 55 60 74 78 71 65 63 58 61
Mean monthly sunshine hours 170.2 171.6 220.0 240.2 266.6 240.0 208.5 199.8 203.5 200.6 171.1 170.6 2,462.7
Percent possible sunshine 55 56 59 61 61 55 47 48 55 58 56 57 56
Source: China Meteorological Administration[2][3]

Tourism

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Attractions

 
Qingzhou Museum in 2007
  • Fan Gongting an ancient pavilion built in Song Dynasty. It was a private garden of Fan Zhongyan who was the most notable poet and prosaist in an age of lively literature prosperous.
  • A Muslim district, including at least two large and historic mosques. The oldest one is the Zhenjiao Mosque (Chinese: ; pinyin: Zhēnjiào Sì). It dates back to 1302 and is one of the three most well-known mosques of the Yuan dynasty.[4]
  • Ou Yuan, a Ming Dynasty garden. It turned to be a combination of park and zoo, and is used as a performance area for citizens in the dawn and nightfall.
  • Qingzhou Museum, featuring some of the Buddhist statues unearthed in 1996–7
  • Tuoshan ("Camel Mountain") and Yunmenshan ("Cloud Gate Mountain") a pair of mountains which include an ancient collection of Buddhist grottoes under national protection. The mountains are located approximately 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of the city center, with a single gondola servicing both. (the coordinates of the peak are 36°38′54.9″N 118°27′27.5″E / 36.648583°N 118.457639°E / 36.648583; 118.457639).
  • Yang Tian, a natural park with marvelous surface features. It is covered by virgin forest, through which crystal rivers are flowing, and dotted with quantities of natural rock cavities. What makes this park more amazing is the so-called thousand Buddha's cave, which is considered as the first cave for the Buddhas. This is because of the huge volume of the cavern and the 1048 Buddhas in it that are in different postures and look extraordinarily vivid.

Timeline

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  • 412: The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Faxian landed on the south of Shandong peninsula at Laoshan, and proceeded to Qingzhou to translate and edit the scriptures he had collected in India.
  • 1986: The name "Qingzhou" is recovered from "Yi Du".
  • 1996: The discovery of over 200 buried Buddhist statues at Qingzhou was hailed as a major archaeological find. The statues included early examples of painted figures, and are thought to have been buried due to Emperor Huizong's Song Dynasty repression of Buddhism (he favoured Taoism).[5]

References

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  1. ^ 潍坊市-行政区划网 www.xzqh.org (in Chinese). XZQH. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
  2. ^ 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  3. ^ 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  4. ^ Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (2015). China's Early Mosques. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-1-4744-3721-9.
  5. ^ Royal Academy of Arts exhibition brochure: "Return of the Buddha. The Qingzhou discoveries" Archived October 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine