Liaocheng

Liaocheng 聊城
Prefecture-level city
聊城市
Country	China
Province	Shandong
County-level divisions	8
Township-level divisions	134
City seat	Dongchangfu District (36°27′N 115°59′E)
Government
• CPC Secretary	Song Yuanfang (宋远方)
• Mayor	Lin Fenghai (林峰海)
Area
• Total	8,715 km2 (3,365 sq mi)
Population  (2004)
• Total	5,565,000
• Density	640/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code	0635
License Plate Prefix	鲁P
Website	http://www.liaocheng.gov.cn/

Liaocheng (Chinese: 聊城; pinyin: Liáochéng), also known as the Water City, is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the province of Hebei and Henan to the west. The Grand Canal flows through the center of the city.

During the Song dynasty, the area of present-day Liaocheng included the prefectures of both Bozhou (博州) and Jizhou (濟州).

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Liaocheng administers 8 county-level divisions, including 1 district, 1 county-level city and 6 counties.

• Dongchangfu District (东昌府区)
• Linqing City (临清市)
• Yanggu County (阳谷县)
• Dong'e County (东阿县)
• Chiping County (茌平县)
• Gaotang County (高唐县)
• Guan County (冠县)
• Shen County (莘县)

These are further divided into 134 township-level divisions.

Education

• Liaocheng University (聊城大学)

History

Liberation

In August 1949 Liaocheng was detached from Shandong and attached to Pingyuan. In November 1952 Pingyuan was dissolved and Liaocheng returned to Shandong.

Attractions

• Shanxi-Shaanxi Assembly Hall (short Shanshan Hall, Chinese: 山陕会馆; pinyin: shān shǎn huì guǎn)
• Guangyue Tower (Chinese: 光岳楼; pinyin: guāng yuè lóu)
• Yueyang Building
• Huanghe Building
• Iron Tower
• Lion Building (site where - according to the legend - Wu Song fought and killed Ximen Qing)
• Linqing Mosque

Sister cities

Liaocheng is a sister city of the following cities.

• Uiryeong County, South Korea (since June 7, 2001)
• Blacktown, Australia (October 14, 2003)
• Gwangmyeong, South Korea (May 3, 2005)

External links

• Government website of Liaocheng (available in Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean)