Current Time in Zoucheng, China

Zoucheng lies in the south-west of Shandong Province in eastern China, administered as part of the city of Jining. It stands on the edge of the North China Plain, where flat, intensively farmed fields give way to a line of low granite hills that rise abruptly from the wheat and maize. The nearby town of Qufu, birthplace of Confucius, is only a short distance to the north, and together the two form the historic heartland of Chinese classical philosophy.

The city and its rural districts have a population of well over a million. Zoucheng is one of the wealthiest county-level cities in Shandong, largely because it sits on part of the great Yanzhou coalfield. Deep mines, power stations, coal chemical plants, paper mills and machinery works form the industrial base, while the countryside produces wheat, maize, peanuts, cotton and vegetables. In recent years the city has invested heavily in cleaner industry, cultural tourism and the restoration of its historic quarter.

Zoucheng is above all the birthplace of Mencius, the philosopher who lived in the fourth century before the common era and became the most influential interpreter of Confucian thought. His teaching that human nature is fundamentally good, and that rulers hold their position only so long as they serve the people, shaped Chinese political philosophy for two thousand years. The state of Zou existed here in the Spring and Autumn period, and imperial dynasties from the Song onwards honoured the site with temples and titles. The Mencius Temple, the Mencius Family Mansion and the family cemetery form a magnificent complex of halls, ancient cypresses, stone tablets and courtyards that receives visitors and scholars from across East Asia.

Another remarkable heritage lies in the hills. On Mount Tie, Mount Gang and neighbouring slopes, Buddhist monks of the sixth century carved enormous sutra texts directly onto sloping rock faces, with characters up to half a metre across, creating some of the finest examples of Chinese calligraphy on stone anywhere. Mount Yi, a short drive away, is famous for its jumbled granite boulders, caves and temples, and for a stele that once recorded the visit of the first emperor of Qin. The restored old town of Zoucheng, with its walls, gate towers and traditional shopfronts, has become a popular place to walk in the evening.

Local culture reflects this scholarly inheritance, with ceremonies honouring Mencius, calligraphy schools, opera performances and a strong emphasis on education. Shandong cuisine is served generously here, with wheat noodles, steamed buns, braised pork, freshwater fish and the mutton soups of the inland counties.

Zoucheng is well connected by expressway and by the Beijing to Shanghai railway corridor, with a high-speed station at Qufu a short distance away and an airport near Jining. Colleges of mining, technology and teacher training operate locally, and the region has a long tradition of academic achievement.

Zoucheng is important as the home of Mencius and as one of the cradles of Confucian civilisation.