Shandong

Shandong^{[note 1]} is a coastal province in East China.^[8] Shandong has played a major role in the development of Chinese civilization and culture. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and a site with one of the longest histories of continuous religious worship in the world.^[9] The Buddhist temples in the mountains south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China.^[10] The city of Qufu was the birthplace of Confucius, and later became the center of Confucianism.^[11]

Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient and modern north–south and east–west trading routes has helped establish it as an economic center. After a period of political instability and economic hardship beginning in the late 19th century, Shandong has experienced rapid growth in recent decades. Home to over 100 million inhabitants, Shandong is the world's sixth-most populous subnational entity, and China's second-most populous province.^[12] The economy of Shandong is China's third-largest provincial economy with a GDP of CN¥8.3 trillion (US$1.3 trillion) in 2021, equivalent to the GDP of Mexico.^[13][14] If considered among sovereign states, Shandong would rank as the 15th-largest economy and the 15th-most populous as of 2021.^[15] Its GDP per capita is slightly above the national average.

Shandong is one of China's leading provinces in education and research. It has 153 higher education institutions, ranking second in East China after Jiangsu and fourth among all Chinese first-level divisions after Jiangsu, Guangdong and Henan.^[16] As of 2024, the Nature Index ranked two major cities in Shandong (Jinan #31 and Qingdao #38) in the global top 40 cities by scientific research output.^[17]

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