Why is Jinan the capital city of Shandong Province?

Historically, Linzi and Qingzhou were once one of the political centers of Shandong. From the Ming Dynasty, Jinan became the capital of Shandong Province, which continues to this day.

Historical and cultural factors

Jinan, with a history of more than 4,000 years, is the birthplace of Longshan culture. Now the urban area based on the original Licheng County has a history of more than 2,600 years. Culturally, it is the intersection of Qi culture based on Weifang, Qingzhou, Linzi and Zhoucun and Lu culture based on Qufu and Taishan, which has some characteristics of Qilu culture. Although Jinan belonged to Qi State in history, it was influenced by China feudal society, focusing on Lu culture. At the same time, Jinan was also the intersection of Longshan culture and Dawenkou culture in ancient times. In modern times, Daming Lake in Jinan and the surrounding area of Daguan Garden became the birthplace of Shandong Quyi, and together with Beijing and Tianjin, they became the three northern Quyi towns in China, known as Qushan Art Sea. Although Shandong Kuaishu and Shandong Opera were not produced in Jinan, they were all spread to the whole country on the basis of Jinan.

Geographical traffic factors

Jinan is close to the center of Shandong Province, and the distance between different regions is reasonable. There is no problem of being too far away, and all areas can be easily reached in a relatively short time. This is very beneficial in the overall planning, centralized meetings, investigation visits, education consultation, disaster relief, medical assistance and emergency treatment in the whole province. But why aren't Linzi and Qingzhou, the capitals of Shandong Province, closer to the center? Because most human civilizations are distributed in the plains, large-scale urban communities are also distributed in the plains. Geographically, the plain of Shandong Province is divided into three parts: the piedmont impact plain, the Yellow River flood plain and the low hilly plain in southwest Shandong by the Luzhong Mountain area and the Yellow River (formerly Jishui and Daqing River). The piedmont impact plain includes Zibo and Weifang, leading to Jiaodong Peninsula. The Yellow River Plain is a part of the North China Plain, including Dezhou, Liaocheng and Binzhou, Beijing and Shanhaiguan in the north and Taihang Mountain in the west. The low hilly plain in southwest Shandong is a part of Huaihai Plain, including Jining, Tai 'an and Heze, which leads to the Central Plains in the west and Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the south. Most towns in Shandong Province are concentrated in these three plains, which are geographically bounded. Jinan, located in the west of the impact plain in front of Lushan Mountain, is the transition zone and intersection of the three plains, thus becoming the transportation hub of urban communities on the three plains. Except for a few areas with low hills in the east, Jinan is basically dominated by plains, and the traffic is unimpeded. In the north-south traffic, there are many bridges across the Yellow River in Jinan (historically, there are Yellow River, Jishui or Daqinghe Ferry), which can easily cross the North China Plain such as Dezhou and Liaocheng, and reach Beijing, Shanhaiguan and parts of Shanxi. At the same time, through the valley plain in Changqing, southwest of Jinan, you can smoothly cross the mountain area of Luzhong, with a smaller slope, shorter journey and smaller curvature. The route through the mountain area goes all the way south and immediately reaches the Huaihai Plain centered on Jining and Xuzhou, thus leading to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and the Central Plains. This is a traffic advantage that Linzi and Qingzhou do not have. Therefore, in history, Jinan has become one of the important traffic nodes connecting Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai and Beijing. In modern times, with the construction of the Jin-Pu Railway here, replacing the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has become the most important traffic artery for Jiangsu and Zhejiang to enter Beijing. Historically, Xiaoqing River can be used to transport salt, which is one of the important factors for Jinan to become the birthplace of Shandong cuisine. At the same time, Jinan itself is not in the earthquake zone, so the possibility of suffering from major earthquake disasters is relatively low, which is also one of the relevant references to ensure Jinan to become a provincial capital city.

economic factor

In the era of agricultural civilization, Jinan is located in the impact plain in front of Lushan Mountain, and its terrain is similar to that of a basin. Water resources are easy to collect and fertile land can ensure the development of agriculture. One of the few large wetland paddy fields (Wujiabao-Beiyuan-Huashan-Yao Qiang-Baiyun Lake to Zouping junction) is formed in the north along Xiaoqing River. There are many droughts in North China. In the period of agricultural civilization, this geographical condition is relatively easy to resist the intrusion of drought. At the same time, Jinan's topography is high in the south and low in the north, which can weaken the trend of the Yellow River water swinging to Jinan city and reduce the threat of the Yellow River flood to Jinan city center. Moreover, the diverse landforms of mountains, plains, rivers, wetlands and lakes also make Jinan rich in products, which is also the most fundamental reason why Jinan has become one of the birthplaces of Shandong cuisine. In modern times, modern industry and commerce gradually developed through Yanjiaoji and beijing-shanghai railway, becoming the earliest city in China to open commercial ports. Through the construction of railways and highways, you can easily reach all cities in China and become one of the important logistics centers in China. At the same time, relying on the advantages of concentrated universities and rich cultural background, a high-tech industry represented by Qilu Software Park has been formed.

Military factors

The hills and rivers on both sides of Jinan take valley plains and mountain ferries (bridges) as portals, forming a terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The distribution of many north-south rivers in the urban area, together with the Yellow River (Jishui, Daqing River), Xiaoqing River, Daming Lake and some sporadic hills, has formed layers of military obstacles. Historically, moats and city walls were built on the basis of urban rivers, which further strengthened Jinan's military defense capability. In addition to these mountains and rivers passing through Jinan, it is mainly plain terrain, and there is basically no danger to defend. This terrain is relatively easy to control militarily. At the same time, Jinan is not a coastal area, so it is not easy to be directly attacked by maritime forces. Until modern times, such terrain also played a huge role in the military. The historical process of Jingnan Rebellion, Northern Expedition (Jinan 5.3 tragedy) and Liberation War (Jinan campaign) all highlighted the importance of Jinan as a military center.