The three most famous cities in Shandong are Jinan, Qingdao, and Weifang. Jinan, the provincial capital known as the "City of Springs", and Qingdao, called the "City of Beer", are both on the list of the "Historic Cities" of China; while welfang is an internationally recognized "Capital of Kite". In recent years, an international beer festival and an international kite event has been held each year respectively in Qingdao and Weifang. The warm atmosphere of beer-drinding, and heated kite flying competitions plus concurrently-held colorful art shows have drawn large number of Chinese and overseas tourists, and remarkably enhanced trade and economic exchanges.

Jinan is called a "City of 72 Famous Springs". In 1996, owing to changes of the underground water, a spring-gushing spectacular reappeared in Jinan. At present, preparations are under way for the building of a "Famous Spring Park" which is designed to rely on non-natural power to display the charm of the springs.

Tourism has instilled vigor into the three famous cities.

The mirage, which is rarely seen, usually appears between spring and summer, more often in a sunny weather after rain when there are coluds and mist drifting over the sea. Owing to the refraction of the sunshine caused by the cloud layers, one can suddenly catch the sight of a mysterious picture on the horizon over the sea where they see cities, cars, hores, villages, hills and crowds of people.

Confucius Temple group

Compared with the mirag, the special scenery of the Estuary at Dongying can be seen all the year round. One spectacular is the groing of new land at a pace of 20 sq.kms.per year as a result of sea silt expansion. There one can also appreciate a magnificent view of primitive beauty where the yellow river water and the blue sea water meet,with flocks of birds hovering over the blue sky. It is proposed to go to the Weishanhu Lake in summer, when the over 6,666 hec. Of lotus are in blosso over a water surface of over 100 sq.kms., releasing enchanting fragrance and offering a splendid view. "The lotus is linking up with the sky" is what an ancient poetic sentence describes the scene.

"The Legends of the Water Margin", "Tales of Liaozhai", and "Jin Ping Mei"(Golden Lotus) are three Chinese literature classics widely-known to Chinese as well as overseas lovers of ancient Cinese culture. But probably less people know that the intoxicating stories of the books were originated from Shandong.

hometown of Pu Songling --- Pujiazhuang

The hometown of Pu Songing, the author of "Tales of Liaozhai" is in Shandong's Zibo City. His simple and graceful former residence and a simple graveyard still stand today in his home village called "Pujiazhuang" (Pu Family Village). It is from here that the great novelist created one vivid story of ghosts and spirits after another, with which he tended to lay bare the dark politics of the time and to reveal the rich and colorful emotional world of the human being.

As novel is a portrayal of the real life,the customs and way of life depicted in the novel "Jin Ping Mei" can still be found today in Zaozhuang and Linqing, where the stories took place. As for "The legends of the Water Margin", a classic known almost to every household in China, it has left numerous sites and relics almost everywhere in Jining, Heze, and Liaocheng in the southwest of Shandong. They include the Jingyanggang, the site of Wu Song beat Ximen Qing to death, the Heifengkou (blace wind pass) guarded by Li Kui, and Liangshan Village and Loyalty and Brotherhood Hall where the heroes of the Liangshan rose in revolt. Avisit to these places is helpful to deepening one's uderstanding of the novels.