A glimpse of the Weifang International Kite Festival.

Weifang City

Weifang, a city in east China's Shandong Province, is located in the center of Shandong Peninsula, covering a total area of around 16,167 square kilometers. The city has under its jurisdiction four districts, six county-level cities, two counties and four municipal development zones.

Weifang is known the world over for its traditional kite-making industry. With the annual sales exceeding 2 billion yuan (281.5 million U.S. dollars), kites in Weifang are exported to more than 50 countries and regions. Weifang kite-making skills were included in the first batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage representative projects list in 2006.

Over 270 years ago, Zheng Banqiao, a renowned artist and poet from the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), while serving as the magistrate of Weixian County in today's Weifang, Shandong Province, wrote a poem describing the vibrant nightlife of Weifang, where lights glimmered late into the night, and merchants continued their trade.

More than two centuries have passed, yet Weifang remains prosperous and is now renowned as the East Asian Cultural Capital, as well as the capital of Chinese paintings and Chinese epigraphy. In November 2021, the city was admitted to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network as a capital of crafts and folk arts. In the same year, it was designated as an International City of Peace by the International Cities of Peace, a global nonprofit association dedicated to promoting peace worldwide.

Enchanting city

Yishan Mountain, a 5A scenic spot in Linqu County, Weifang, has stood witness to the history of 10 dynasties with 16 emperors climbing the mountain to worship the gods since the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–24 CE). Yunmen Mountain, the "No. 1 Mountain of Longevity," in Qingzhou, is known for its stone Buddha statues and stone inscriptions, including the iconic Chinese character "寿" (meaning longevity) of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) carved into the side of the mountain.

There are five principal river systems running from west to east in Weifang, including Xiaoqinghe River, Mihe River, Bailang River, Weihe River and North Jiaolai River. They all flow into Bohai Sea, with a basin area of 10,509 square kilometers, accounting for 66.3% of the total area of Weifang.

With good wetlands ecosystem, the Bailang Oasis Wetlands Park, located on the upper reaches of Bailang River, was home to more than 30 species of wild birds, including egrets, pheasants, wide ducks, magpies, doves, woodpeckers and so on. Wandering in the park, visitors are likely to have a feeling of getting into a wild forest.