When a local group of Sacramentans sought to establish a “sister city” relationship with a city in China, Jinan was selected because of its many similarities with Sacramento.  The two cities lie at the similar latitude on Earth, on the opposite side of the globe set apart by the Pacific Ocean (Sacramento Latitude: 38° 31' N, Longitude: 121° 30' W; Jinan Latitude 36° 40' N and Longitude 116° 57' E).  Sacramento is the capital of California, and Jinan is the capital of Shandong province.  Sacramento is located along the Sacramento River and just south of the American River's confluence in California's Central Valley, while Jinan is situated on the lower reaches of the Yellow River - the second longest river in China.  The Sister City affiliation with Jinan was endorsed by the Sacramento City Resolution on October 16, 1984.  The Jinan-Sacramento Sister Cities Corporation (JSSCC) was established then and continues to promote the sister-city friendship as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.

Jinan is known as the "City of Springs" because of the large number of natural artesian springs. The majority of the springs, many of which have been historically listed under the "72 Famous Springs" concentrated in the downtown district and flow north to converge in Daming Lake.  The Baotu Spring Park is the most popular of the springs in Jinan. Besides the Baotu Spring, the park contains several other springs that are listed among the "72 Famous Springs". "Baotu" (Chinese: 趵突; pinyin: Bào tū) means "jumping and leaping" in Chinese. The water in the spring pool can be seen foaming and gushing, looking like a pot of boiling water. The spring was visited by the Emperor Qian Long (1711 A.D - 1799 A.D) of the Qing Dynasty who declared it "the first spring under the heaven" (天下第一泉). A tablet with the Emperor's handwriting "Baotu Spring" has since been erected beside the spring pool.

Jinan is also known for its abundance of cultural relics and historic sites dating back more than 6,000 years. It is considered as one of China’s 14 ancient cities. Since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD0, Jinan has been the political, economic and cultural center of Shandong Province. Nearby is the town of Qufu - the birthplace of Confucius, China’s most illustrious son, and Taishan (Mt. Tai) - the holiest of China’s five sacred Taoist mountains.  Shandong Province is not only one of the most economically developed coastal provinces in China, but also a major contributor to the ancient Chinese culture — the auspicious birthplace of Qilu culture.  It has become an active force in the succession of the Chinese culture and permeated every aspect of it.

Jinan is the political center as well as the education center of the province.  Shandong University is one of the oldest and prestigious universities in China. It was founded in 1901 and is the second national university established in China.  Shandong University has 104 Undergraduate degree programs, 209 Master’s degree programs, 127 Doctoral degree programs, and 15 post-doctorate mobile stations. In addition, there are 7 professional master's degree programs in law, business management, engineering, clinical medicine, public health, dentistry and public administration respectively.  Founded in 1958, Shandong Traditional Chinese Medicine College is one of the first centers of higher education in China to specialize in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

With a population of around 6 million, Jinan is a thriving industrial center manufacturing silk goods, machine tools, precision instruments, chemicals, fertilizers, paper, marble, textiles and flour.  The Shengli oil fields, the second largest in China, lie just to the east. Jinan’s hot and dry summer climate contributes to its thriving agricultural industry and a top producer of grain crops, vegetables, fruit and cotton. Serving as a major communication and transportation center, Jinan is a junction of east/west and north/south railways.

For more information on Jinan, visit the City of Sacramento’s website or the Jinan City Government’s homepage at http://www.jinan.gov.cn/col/col821/index.html, or click here.  View more photos of Jinan