Shandong Province, China , a fertile plain through which the Yellow River completes its journey, is shaped like an eagle launching itself into the sky - an appropriate image for a province beginning to assert itself after a fraught and stagnant past. For centuries Shandong languished as one of the poorest regions of China, over-populated and at the mercy of the Yellow River, whose course has continually shifted, its delta swinging over time from the Bohai Gulf in the north to the Yellow Sea in the south, bringing chaos with every move.

However, the fertility of the flood plain means that human settlements have existed here for more than six thousand years, with Neolithic remains found at two sites, Dawenkou and Longshan. Relics such as wheel-made pottery and carved jade indicate a surprisingly highly developed agricultural society. In the Warring States Period (720-221 BC) Shandong included the states of Qi and Lu, and the province is well endowed with ancient tombs and temples , the best of which are to be found on Tai Shan , China's holiest Taoist mountain near the centre of the province, and its most spectacular tourist site. A second major religious site is at Qufu , home of the province's most illustrious son, Confucius . Although he was ignored during his lifetime, the esteem in which he was held by later generations, and the power of his descendants, who were regarded as almost equal in status to the emperor, are graphically illustrated in the little town by the magnificence of the temple and the mansion in which his clan, the Kong, lived.

Shandong's modern history, though, is dominated by foreign influence and its ramifications. In 1897 the Germans arrived, occupying the port of Qingdao in the south of the province. They made themselves at home and today the city's streetscapes, which look transplanted from Bavaria, presiding over the best beaches in northern China, make it one of the finest-looking of all Chinese cities. The province's ugly contemporary capital, Ji'nan , soon followed, and German influence spread as they built a rail system across the province. Their legacy is still visible in the Teutonic forms of many of Shandong's train stations. At the beginning of this century, resentment at foreign interference, exacerbated by floods and an influx of refugees from the south, combined to make Shandong the setting for the Boxer Rebellion (see Contexts).

Behind Qingdao's German facade is evidence of a new side to Shandong, and a sprawling mass of factories testifies to the rapid pace of modernization and industrialization. Qingdao is the main industrial town, with Ji'nan second, and most trade is done through the port of Yantai . The new Shengli oilfield , in the northeast, is China's second largest, and as large oil reserves in the Bohai sea bed have only just begun to be exploited, a massive economic resurgence seems on the cards. After a slow start, Shandong's tourist industry also seems to be kicking off, and a tourist infrastructure now exists in most large places. Although the rail network is sparse, travelling around the province is made much easier by new highways which connect the major cities. One welcome feature of the province is the relative laxity of the rules on where foreigners are allowed to stay, and budget travellers will find the main sites, Tai Shan and Qufu, agreeably inexpensive. Another bonus is the friendliness of the people, who are proud of their reputation for hospitality, a tradition that goes right back to Confucius, who declared in The Analects, "Is it not a great pleasure to have guests coming from afar?"