Name: Zoucheng

Title: The hometown of Mencius

Population: 1.44 million

Area: 1,616 square kilometers

Administrative divisions

Zoucheng governs 16 towns (subdistricts), an economic development zone, and 900 administrative villages.

Natural resources

Zoucheng has rich natural resources. The eastern part is a mountainous area while the western part is a plain area. The mountains, hills and plains each account for one-third of Zoucheng's land area. There are six mountain chains which include Yishan, Fenghuang and Lianqing mountains.

The area has more than 190 mountains, 111 rivers, 114 reservoirs, and 77 percent of the area is countryside.

Tourism

Zoucheng has a history of more than 6,000 years. It is known as Zoulu holy land and has been influenced by Mencius thought, a mother education culture, the culture of Zou Lu, and the culture of Fuxi. Zoucheng has formed a three-zone development pattern of Mencius Lake new district, Dongcheng district and its old district, with an urbanization rate of 63.1 percent. It has become a modern medium-sized city.

Zoucheng has 18 4A-level and 3A-level scenic spots. Visitors can climb Yishan Mountain, visit San Meng (the Temple and Cemetery of Mencius and the Meng Family Mansion), visit the national wetland park, and enjoy beautiful scenery in the eastern part of Zoucheng.

Economy

Zoucheng is striving to create a market-oriented, law-based, specialized, open, service-oriented and efficient business environment. It only takes three hours to set up a business, and the whole process of government approvals can be completed within 80 days. Zoucheng ranks 42nd among the top 100 demonstration counties for business environment in China.

In recent years, Zoucheng has created some leading industries such as a digital economy, equipment manufacturing, green chemical technology, new energy sources, new materials, health and medicine, and robot "1+5". It has cultivated leading corporations such as Shandong Rongxin Group and Taiyang Honghe Paper Co Ltd, and set up high-end projects such as JD Cloud Digital Economy Industrial Park and mushroom town.

In 2023, Zoucheng's GDP hit 104.1 billion yuan ($14.37 billion), a 7 percent increase year-on-year.

Night view of Hujia Mountain in Zoucheng, Jining in Shandong province [Photo/Official WeChat account of the information office of the Jining municipal government]

Yishan Mountain [Photo/Official WeChat account of the information office of the Jining municipal government]