Spring City Square

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Jinan has a recorded history dating back 2600 years.

It is most famous for its springs, fresh water coming out of caves and into what is now a canal system.

People gather at the various spot and collect this water in containers and take home to use.

So agriculture was recorded in this area around 22BC, due to the natural abundance of water and a temperate climate.



Jinan is the capital of the Shandong province, and the city is a natural midpoint for many of the road and rail systems.



Spring City Square in the central square of Jinan and located on the south part of the canal system, one parallel block away from the shopping mecca of Quancheng Lu.

This is a huge recreational area, almost 1km square, completed in 1999 with musical fountains, a lotus sculpture and a huge big blue sculpture I think that is meant to represent water.

There is a mixture of types of seating, a variety of paths and surfaces, and a huge natural meeting point for people of all ages.



Kite flyers enjoy this area, families enjoy the canal and the manicured gardens, there is a rose garden section, a café area which is on a lower level, swank cafés by the river, and an elevated walkway and a set of escalators to take you into the shopping heaven that is Quancheng Lu.



Western treats yesterday, as I had gelato from a river café specialising in Belgium beer (WHY?) and a coffee from Starbucks which conspired to keep me awake until the early hours of the morning.



And it was national poverty day and we were supposed to consider living on Y6.3 a day, around $1-75 Australian.

Considering my gelato was Y30 and my coffee around Y20, I felt like an indulged westerner when I listened to the Chinese version of CCTV discussing what it felt like to have to live off only Y6.3.

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Photos

Natural Spring
The water in the canal is crystal clear, lots of weed, quite shallow with little fish. The absence of ducks would be because they are farmed and eaten, so wild ducks would just not happen.

Walkway decorations
Children playing a traditional board game

Traditional fishing
Usually you see fisherman with a very long pole line, not the commercial rod and reel we see most often

Walkway to Quancheng
Go over this walkway, up and down the set of escalators into a very modern shopping mall

Spring City Square
There were lots of kite flyers yesterday, i could imagine how busy this place would be on the weekend

Unsure of what to call this
2 guys were on these little skateboards, one for each foot, dancing to music, but one man was spinning the little tops with a whip like aparatus.

Giant sculpture
I think this is representing water? Can't find any information about it.