Shandong literally means "east of the mountains", which refers to the province's location east of the Taihang range. Located in the lower reaches of the Yellow River the province extends out to the sea forming the Shandong Peninsula. It is the home of Confucius, and many other historic sites. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, water sport events will be held in Qingdao, in Shandong province.
Administrative type | Province |
Area | 156 700 km 2 (1.6% of China's total area) - almost twice the size of Scotland |
Capital City | Jinan |
Other large cities | Zibo Qingdao |
Population (2004) | 91 million (2nd) 1 one and a half times the size of UK |
GDP (2004) - per capita | US $188 billion (2nd) - greater than Scotland by a quarter US $2048 (8th ) |
Consumption per capita (2004) | US $898 (9th) |
Foreign Direct Investment (2003) | US $6 billion (3rd) |
Exports Imports | US $27.7 billion (6.3% of China's total exports) US $21.7 billion (5.3% of China's total imports) |
Number of Universities (2004) Number of higher education graduates (2004) | 97 167,000 |
Source: China Statistical Yearbook 2005 | 1 Regional rankings within China, 1st = highest, 31st = lowest |
Scottish Links
Government Links
Angus is twinned with Yantai in Shangdong
The Governor of Shandong Province, Mr HAN Yuqun, visited Edinburgh in late 2005.
Scottish Executive Permanent Secretary Sir John Elvidge visited Shandong in June 2006.
Commercial Links
The China Britain Business Council have on office in Qingdao
Educational/Science Links
The University of Glasgow have a general collaboration agreement with Yantai University in Shandong
Napier University have an agreement with Shandong Finance Institute which allows students study 3 years in China and 1 year in Edinburgh, leading to a degree from Napier. The University also have an agreement encouraging joint research and staff exchanges with the Shandong Finance Institute.
The University of Aberdeen have a research focused memorandum of understanding with Yantai Normal University
Cultural/Sports Links
Legendary Scottish athlete and Christian missionary, Eric Liddell, is buried at Weifang in Shandong Province.
The Executive is developing its database of Scottish links with each of China's regions. Do you know of any Sino-Scottish regional link that we have not included above or that is in need of updating? If so, please let us know by completing the regional links form.