Ancient history , which probably called Yachou; its exquisite workmanship and valuable inscripts made it China's first-class national artifact and now preserved in
China National Museum|left city sewer passing underneath the former city wall With its location on the eastern edge of the
North China Plain, Shandong was home to a succession of
Neolithic cultures for millennia, including the
Houli (),
Beixin (),
Dawenkou (),
Longshan (), and
Yueshi cultures (). The
Shang and
Zhou dynasties exerted varying degrees of control over western Shandong, while eastern Shandong was inhabited by
Dongyi peoples, who were considered barbarians by the inhabitants of the
Central Plain. Following the annexation the Dongyi state of
Lai by the
state of Qi in 567 BC, the Dongyi gradually became
sinicized. During the
Spring and Autumn and
Warring States periods, power was accumulated by regional states; Shandong was home to the state of Qi based in
Linzi, and the
state of Lu based in
Qufu. Lu is famous for being the home of
Confucius; however, it was comparatively small, eventually being annexed by the neighboring
state of Chu to its south. Meanwhile, Qi was a significant power throughout the entire period, and ruled cities including
Jimo,
Linzi, and
Ju.
Imperial history was the only intact Sui dynasty pagoda in China The
Qin dynasty conquered Qi and founded the first centralized Chinese state in 221 BC. The
Han dynasty that followed created several commanderies supervised by two inspectorates () in what is now modern Shandong: () in the north and () in the south. During the
Three Kingdoms period, Shandong was part of the northern kingdom of
Cao Wei, which ruled over northern China. After the Three Kingdoms period, a brief period of unity under the
Western Jin dynasty gave way to invasions by nomadic barbarians from the north. Northern China, including Shandong, was overrun. Over the next century or so, Shandong changed hands several times, falling to the
Later Zhao, then
Former Yan, then
Former Qin, then
Later Yan, then
Southern Yan, then the
Liu Song dynasty, and finally the
Northern Wei dynasty, the first of the Northern dynasties during the
Northern and Southern dynasties period. Shandong stayed with the Northern dynasties for the rest of this period. In 412 AD, the Chinese
Buddhist monk
Faxian landed at
Laoshan, on the southern edge of the Shandong peninsula, and proceeded to
Qingzhou to edit and translate the scriptures he had brought back from
Pakistan and
India. The
Sui dynasty reestablished unity in 589, and the
Tang dynasty (618–907) presided over the next golden age of China. For the earlier part of this period, Shandong was ruled as part of
Henan Circuit, one of the
circuits (a political division). Later on, China splintered into warlord factions, resulting in the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Shandong was part of the Five Dynasties, all based in the north. he
Song dynasty reunified China in the late tenth century. The classic novel
Water Margin was based on folk tales of outlaw bands active in Shandong during the Song dynasty. In 1996, the discovery of over two hundred buried Buddhist statues at Qingzhou was hailed as a major
archaeological find. The statues included early examples of painted figures and are thought to have been buried due to
Emperor Huizong's repression of
Buddhism (he favored
Taoism). The Song dynasty was forced to cede northern China to the
Jurchen Jin dynasty in 1142. Shandong was administered by Jin as
Shandong East Circuit and
Shandong West Circuit – the first use of its current name.
Early modern era City, with a view of the
Grand Canal. Drawing by
William Alexander, draughtsman of the
Macartney Embassy to China in 1793. The modern province of Shandong was created by the
Ming dynasty, where it had a more expansive territory, including the eastern of
Liaoning (
Liaodong). In 1376, the capital of Shandong moved from
Qingzhou to
Jinan, and since then, Jinan served as the provincial capital for seven centuries. After
Emperor Yongle moved the capital to
Beijing in 1421, the cities of
Jining and
Linqing along the
Grand Canal flourished due to the development of canal grain transport. However, due to the
Little Ice Age (approximately 1550–1770), crop yields declined and famine persisted year after year, and compounded by the harsh policies of the
imperial court, peasant rebellions broke out continuously. In 1633, Ming generals
Kong Youde and
Geng Zhongming led their troops from
Dengzhou, Shandong to
Liaodong to surrender to the
Manchu Qing, later joining the
Qing army's entry into China proper. By 1640, peasant uprisings led by the
White Lotus Society in Shandong intensified. The Ming court dispatched
Zhu Datian to suppress the revolt, causing Shandong's population to decline sharply once again. The
earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 8.5 and an
epicenter just northeast of
Linyi devastated Dengzhou and the prefecture, and killed foreigners and locals, between 43,000 and 50,000 people are claimed to lost their lives.
Late Qing era and other colonial officers, together with
Sun Baoqi, the
Qing Governor of Shandong, in
Kiautschou Bay Leased Territory, April 1910 After the defeat in the
First Opium War, China became increasingly exposed to Western influence; as a coastal province, Shandong was significantly affected. After the
Second Opium War, Qing court opened
Cheefoo as trade port, and then western powers like established consulates, missionaries, Christian schools, and factories in there. Due to its strategic position, every power wanted to gain its position in the province; in the 1880s, Shandong became the logistics and training base of
Beiyang Fleet, and
Weihaiwei served as the headquarter of the fleet. However, Beiyang fleet was disastrous defeated by
Imperial Japanese Navy in 1894, and Japanese began to penetrate into Shandong. Three years later, two German catholic missionaries were killed in
Juye,
Heze, causing the
Juye Incident, and Qing government had to cede
Qingdao to the German Empire. In 1898,
Weihaiwei was also given to Britain, as the result of pressure from
Russian Empire. Moreover, due to the annexation of
Outer Manchuria by Russia in 1860, the Qing government revoked the prohibition and
encouraged settlement of Shandong people to what remained of
Manchuria. A large number of people from Shandong migrated to
Northeast China,
Russian Far East, and
Korea in search of better opportunities. Many settled in Northeast China (also known as Manchuria), contributing significantly to the region's demographic and agricultural development, engaging in farming, construction, and mining. Before the
extermination and forced deportation by Soviets, there were roughly 200 thousand Chinese labors in
Russian Far East, 95% of whom are from Shandong. Shandong was one of the first places where the
Boxer Rebellion broke out, and became one of the centers of the uprising. In 1899, Qing general
Yuan Shikai was appointed governor of the province to suppress the uprising. He held the post for three years. Germany took control of the peninsula in 1898, leasing
Jiaozhou Bay and its port of Qingdao under threat of force. Development was a high priority for the Germans: over 200 million
marks were invested in world-class
harbor facilities including
berths, heavy machinery, rail yards, and a floating dry dock. Private enterprises worked across the Shandong Province, opening mines, banks, factories, and rail lines. As a consequence of the First World War, Japan
seized German holdings in
Qingdao and Shandong. The 1919
Treaty of Versailles transferred ownership to Japan instead of restoring Chinese sovereignty over the area. Popular dissatisfaction with this outcome, referred to as the
Shandong Problem, led to the vehement student protests in the
May Fourth Movement. Among the reservations to the Treaty that the
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved was "to give Shantung to China", the treaty with reservations was not approved. Finally, Shandong reverted to Chinese control in 1922 after the United States' mediation during the
Washington Naval Conference.
Weihai followed in 1930.
ROC era in 1929. The central Shandong coal basin, endowed with substantial coal reserves, was first systematically exploited by Germans, which laid the foundation for subsequent development of this region Shandong's return to Chinese administration came during the
Warlord Era of the Republic of China, when the
Zhili clique of warlords was given control, but after the
Second Zhili–Fengtian War of 1924, the northeast China-based
Fengtian clique took over. In April 1925, the Fengtian clique installed the warlord
Zhang Zongchang, nicknamed the "Dogmeat General", as military governor of Shandong Province.
Time dubbed him China's "basest warlord". He ruled over the province until 1928 when he was ousted in the wake of the
Northern Expedition. He was succeeded by
Han Fuju, who was loyal to the warlord
Feng Yuxiang but later switched his allegiance to the Nanjing government headed by
Chiang Kai-shek. Han Fuju
also ousted the warlord
Liu Zhennian, nicknamed the "King of Shandong East", who ruled eastern Shandong Province, hence unifying the province under his rule. In 1937 Japan began its invasion of China in the
Second World War, which would eventually become part of the Pacific theater. Han Fuju was made Deputy Commander in Chief of the 5th War Area and put in charge of defending the lower Yellow River valley. However, he abandoned his base and about 600,000 Ethnic Chinese civilians fled out Jinan city with only elderly too old to leave remaining when Japanese troops crossed the Yellow River. He was executed shortly thereafter for not following orders . During the Japanese occupation, with resistance continuing in the unoccupied areas especially by Muslim peasant villages, by 1945, communist
Chinese Red Army forces already held some parts of Shandong. Over the next four years of the
Chinese Civil War, they expanded their holdings, eventually driving the
Kuomintang (government of the
Republic of China) out of Shandong to the island of Taiwan. In May 1947, during the
Menglianggu Campaign in the Yimeng Mountains of central Shandong, the Chinese Communist
East China Field Army annihilated the Nationalist 74th Corp, widely considered the most elite unit of the
National Revolutionary Army. In 1948, Communist forces captured
Weixian—then known as the "fortress of central Shandong"—during the
Battle of Weixian. On 2 June 1949, after the withdrawal of the Nationalist Army's 11th Pacification District and U.S. forces from Qingdao, the
People's Liberation Army entered the city and incorporated it into Shandong's jurisdiction. On 12 August of the same year, the PLA's
Third Field Army secured victory in the
Changshan Islands Campaign. With this, the Communist forces had taken full control of Shandong Province. On 25 August 1966, a confrontation known as the "Qingdao Incident" broke out between cadres and workers on one side and students from three major local universities on the other. This marked the beginning of the
Cultural Revolution in Shandong Province. Mao died in 1976, ending the era of restless political movement in China, two years later, the new leadership launched the
Reform and Opening Up. Shandong, especially the eastern coastal region—experienced significant economic development. By 1986, for the first time, the total output value of township and village enterprises across the province surpassed that of agriculture. In 1996, Shandong became the first province in China to achieve full electrification of all households. In 1999,
Zhanhua County, the province's last officially designated impoverished county, was declared poverty-free. In 2004, Shandong overtook
Guangdong in both industrial output and profits, becoming China's top province in industrial strength for the first time. ,
Yantai, and
Rizhao are constantly ranked top 50 in the world
by container traffics In August and September 2008, Qingdao, as a partner city of
Beijing, hosted the
sailing competitions of the
29th Summer Olympic Games and the
13th Summer Paralympic Games. In 2009, Jinan hosted the
11th National Games of the People's Republic of China. On 16 July 2010, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel visited China, during which both sides agreed to support the establishment of the
Sino-German Ecopark within the
Qingdao Economic and Technological Development Zone. In 2011, the development plan for the
Shandong Peninsula Blue Economic Zone was officially approved. On 3 June 2014, the
State Council formally approved the establishment of the national-level
Qingdao West Coast New Area in Huangdao District. In August 2019, the State Council approved the establishment of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, which includes three areas: Jinan, Qingdao, and Yantai. By 2020, the total population of the
Shandong Peninsula urban agglomeration was expected to exceed 103 million, with an urban population of 67 million. == Geography ==