Linqing

Linqing 临清市
County-level city
Junction of the "Lu Canal" and "Southern Canal" sections of the Grand Canal at Linqing
Country	China
Province	Shandong
Prefecture-level city	Liaocheng
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)

Linqing (Chinese: 临清; pinyin: Línqīng) is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Liaocheng in western Shandong Province, China. It is located north-northwest of Liaocheng. The city proper has about 143,000 residents (January 2000), whereas Linqing as a whole had 709,328 inhabitants in 1999. The city is situated at the confluence of the Wei River and the Grand Canal. It is 380 kilometres (240 mi) from Beijing on the Jingjiu railway line to Hong Kong. Elevation within Linqing County ranges from 29 metres (95 ft) to 38 metres (125 ft) above sea level. The area of the county is 955 km². The annual average temperature is 12.8℃, the highest recorded temperature 41.4℃, and the lowest recorded temperature - 22.1℃. Annual mean precipitation is 590.4 millimeters. There are 205 frost-free days per year on average and the average annual sunshine is 2661 hours.

Linqing has played an important role in the history of China. In Ming and Qing times it was a great center for the distribution of textiles, grain and bricks and is also famous as the place where the tiles of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City were produced. Today the city's flourishing economy is based on a number of light industrial enterprises.

Aside from the Grand Canal, sights include a distinctive promontory, a stupa (Chinese: 舍利塔; pinyin: Shèlì Tǎ), a Ming-Dynasty Hui mosques (Linqing Northern Mosque, Chinese: 临清清真北寺; pinyin: Línqīng Qīngzhēn Bĕisì, Linqing Eastern Mosque, Chinese: 临清清真东寺; pinyin: Línqīng Qīngzhēn Dōngsì), and ruins of the old customs house (Chinese: 钞关; pinyin: Chāo Guān), Linqing City Museum (in a historical building ensemble known as the Chinese: 鳌头矶; pinyin: áo Tóu Jī). In particular, the Sheli Pagoda near the Grand Canal is a well-known local landmark.

Notable natives of Linqing include: Tang Dynasty musician Lu Cai, Ming Dynasty poet Xie Zhen, national hero Zhang Zizhong, and contemporary renowned educator Ji Xianlin.

Once visited by the missionary and sinologist Matteo Ricci, Linqing has been the seat of an apostolic prefecture since 1931. The seat has been vacant since 1981.

External links

• Article on Linqing from China Today, no.78 (2005)
• Official website of Linqing city government (in Chinese)
• Another Linqing site (in Chinese), but with pictures