Jining

The land of Confucius and Mencius, Jining has the Three Confucian Sites of Qufu and Mencius Temple in Zoucheng, plus scenic Weishan Lake, ideal for tracing cultural roots.

Jining lies in southwestern Shandong and is the birthplace of Confucian culture. In Qufu, the Confucius Temple, Confucius Mansion and Confucius Forest are World Heritage Sites, and Nishan is where Confucius was born. Zoucheng has the Mencius Temple and Mencius Mansion, Liangshan is known for the novel Water Margin, and Weishan Lake is a major freshwater lake in northern China, with lotus in bloom in summer. Spring and autumn are the best seasons to visit, and Qufu holds a Confucius commemoration every autumn. The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway has a Qufu East station, and you can also arrive via Jining Da'an Airport.

Destinations

• Qufu
• Taierzhuang Ancient Town
• Heze

Itineraries

• Grand Shandong Loop Self-Drive Tour – Starting from Jinan, this loop covers central, southern, and coastal Shandong before returning via Qingzhou, connecting…
• Southwest Shandong Grand Canal Self-Drive Tour – Drive south along the Shandong section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, from Linqing and Liaocheng to Weishan Lake…
• Jinan, Mount Tai, Qufu & Qingdao High-Speed Rail Tour – A classic first-time itinerary in Shandong, connecting Jinan's springs, Mount Tai, the Three Confucian Sites, and coast…
• Peonies and Water Margin Road Trip in Heze and Liaocheng – Heze's peonies and the Water Margin sites at Liangshan in Yuncheng, then north to Yanggu and Liaocheng in western Shand…