Every 1M+ Chinese City #3

Name

Simplified Chinese: 德州

Traditional Chinese: 德州

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: dé zhōu

Cantonese jyutping: dak1 zau1

Population

citypopulation.de: 1,190,000

census 2020 (metro): 1,491,878

Dezhou is a small city in northwest Shandong on the border with Hebei. Not many people outside Shandong (and maybe Hebei) would have heard of it, except that the Beijing-Shanghai high speed railway passes through here.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 东营

Traditional Chinese: 東營

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: dōng yíng

Cantonese jyutping: dung1 jing4

Population

citypopulation.de: 1,010,000

census 2020 (metro): 1,188,656

Dongying was established after the discovery of the Shengli Oilfield, the second largest in China after Daqing. The whole city's economy revolves around petroleum.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 聊城

Traditional Chinese: 聊城

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: liáo chéng

Cantonese jyutping: liu4 sing4

Population

citypopulation.de: 1,130,000

census 2020 (metro): 1,488,905

Liaocheng is a typical agricultural city, and not well known outside Shandong.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 济南

Traditional Chinese: 濟南

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: jì nán

Cantonese jyutping: zai2 naam4

Population

citypopulation.de: 6,350,000

census 2020 (metro): 5,452,335

Jinan is the capital of Shandong. It is renowned for the many springs and the Daming Lake in the city centre. There were many poems and essays written on these, some of which are on the secondary school syllabus (and this is how most students learn about the city).

Name

Simplified Chinese: 淄博

Traditional Chinese: 淄博

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: zī bó

Cantonese jyutping: zi1 bok3

Population

citypopulation.de: 3,800,000

census 2020 (metro): 3,386,471

Zibo is a historical city. Linzi in the east was the capital of the state of Qi from the Eastern Zhou period since the 8th century BC. China claimed this is the birthplace of football, as the game of cuju was first documented in the history of Qi.

Despite its moderate size, the city is relatively unknown outside Shandong. The character 淄 (zī) is uncommon in the Chinese language, and some illiterate people may mispronounce it as nǎo, similar to 腦 (brain) or 惱 (frustration).

Name

Simplified Chinese: 潍坊

Traditional Chinese: 濰坊

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: wéi fāng

Cantonese jyutping: wai4 fong1

Population

citypopulation.de: 3,075,000

census 2020 (metro): 3,095,520

Weifang, know as the "City of Kite", is a historical city famous for its handicraft industry. Similar to Zibo, people outside Shandong may have heard of the city but would not know too much about it.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 青岛

Traditional Chinese: 青島

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: qīng dǎo

Cantonese jyutping: cing1 dou2

Population

citypopulation.de: 7,250,000

census 2020 (metro): 7,172,451

Qingdao is a rare case in China that it is larger and more famous than its provincial capital. It started when the area was leased to Germany in 1898 for 99 years. The German built the first modern city in China that came with electricity, running water, a sewage system, and the Tsingtao Brewery.

After World War I, the Allies handed over Qingdao to Japan, sparking outrage across the country which led to the May 4th Movement in 1919.

Today, Qingdao is a global port city. It has the third largest GDP in Northern China after Beijing and Tianjin.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 烟台

Traditional Chinese: 煙臺

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: yān tái

Cantonese jyutping: jin1 toi4

Population

citypopulation.de: 2,450,000

census 2020 (metro): 2,311,885

Yantai, originally called Chefoo, was developed into a modern city when it was a designated treaty port opened to foreign trade, after the Qing lost the Second Opium War. Nowadays it has the second largest economy in Shandong after Qingdao.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 威海

Traditional Chinese: 威海

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: wēi hǎi

Cantonese jyutping: wai1 hoi2

Population

citypopulation.de: 1,430,000

census 2020 (metro): 1,164,730

Weihai, originally called Weihaiwei, was a major battlefield during the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895. In 1898, after Dalian was leased to the Russian, the Qing government decided to lease it out to the British (who named it "Port Edward") for 25 years to counterbalance the Russian.

Nowadays, Weihai is a popular tourist destination, especially for the Koreans due to its proximity.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 泰安

Traditional Chinese: 泰安

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: tài ān

Cantonese jyutping: taai3 on1

Population

citypopulation.de: 1,490,000

census 2020 (metro): 1,416,591

Tai'an is named after Mount Tai, the Eastern Great Mountain of the Five Sacred Mountains in China, and the most sacred one of them all. Therefore the city life is always connected to the mountain.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 菏泽

Traditional Chinese: 菏澤

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: hé zé

Cantonese jyutping: ho4 zaak6

Population

citypopulation.de: 1,440,000

census 2020 (metro): 1,293,767

Heze is famous for being the largest centre for the cultivation of peony, which accounts for 30% of its economy. Other than that, the city is little known outside Shandong.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 济宁

Traditional Chinese: 濟寧

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: jì níng

Cantonese jyutping: zai2 ning4

Population

citypopulation.de: 1,790,000

census 2020 (metro): 1,700,054

Jining is again relatively unknown outside Shandong. By contrast, the nearby Qufu (which comes under its administration) is more famous, thanks to being the birthplace of Confucius.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 枣庄

Traditional Chinese: 棗莊

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: zǎo zhuāng

Cantonese jyutping: zou2 zong1

Population

citypopulation.de: 1,790,000

census 2020 (metro): 975,539

Zaozhuang, literally "date village" (date as in the fruit), is a coal mining city and again a bit obscure. On the other hand, the town of Tai'erzhuang in the southeast is more famous due to the Battle of Tai'erzhuang in 1938, in which the Nationalist Army scored their first major victory against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War (WW2).

Name

Simplified Chinese: 临沂

Traditional Chinese: 臨沂

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: lín yí

Cantonese jyutping: lam4 ji4

Population

citypopulation.de: 4,300,000

census 2020 (metro): 3,651,868

Linyi is named after the Yi River that flows through the city. Its economy is based on the many wholesale markets in the city. Despite its size, it is a lesser known city in China. The character 沂 (yí) is specialised for naming the river and the city. I must confess I didn't know how to pronounce it in Cantonese until researching for this blog.

Name

Simplified Chinese: 日照

Traditional Chinese: 日照

Pronunciation

Mandarin pinyin: rì zhào

Cantonese jyutping: jat6 ziu3

Population

citypopulation.de: 1,210,000

census 2020 (metro): 1,172,205

Rizhao, literally means "sunshine", is a port city and a poor cousin to Qingdao. Again it is not well known outside Shandong.