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Located in the middle part of Shandong Province, Zibo is an important transportation hub. Zibo governs 5 districts (Zhangdian, Zichuan, Boshan, Zhoucun and Linzi) and each of these districts has a distinct downtown area of their own. The T-shaped city has a total area of 5,938 square kilometers-three counties (Huantai, Gaoqing and Yiyuan) include; the total population of the city is 4.18 million, of which 2.76 million are in the city proper. Zibo is well known as the historical state of Qi, which had ever been the most populous city in the east about 2000 years ago. Zibo is the birth place of ancient football Cuju, which according to FIFA, was the earliest form of the sport. Pu Songling, a world famous short story writer of Qing Dynasty, is one of the city's numerous celebrities born and bred here ancient and modern times. As the birthplace of Qi Culture and because of the abundant nature resources, it is an excellent tourist city in China. Manufacturing industry holds an important place of the city's economy and of course it has contributed a lot not only to the city itself but also to the whole country since the founding of New China. Some people associate Zibo with ceramics sometimes due to its powerful forces in ceramics manufacturing. Zibo enjoys fame as of Famous Industrial City, Capital of the Ceramics Production Base and City of Petrochemical Industry. After one hundred years of development, Zibo has a solid industrial foundation. The dominant industries are: petrochemical industry, pharmaceuticals, metallurgy, building materials, machinery and textile, etc. High and new-technology industries, such as new materials, fine chemicals, electronics and information, and biological medicines, are developing rapidly. According to 2007/2008 Global City Competitiveness Report released by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Zibo was among the top 20 cities in the world who enjoy the fastest economic growth between 2001 and 2005. According to Oriental Outlook MagazineIssue No.1, 2009, Zibo ranks No.1 on the list of cities with reasonable real estate prices in China, also No.2 on the list of cities with good public security. In 2009, the city was awarded as among "Best 10 Harmonious Cities that enjoy Sustainable Development in China". |
