Coastal province (pop., 2002 est.: 90,820,000), eastern China. It lies on the Yellow Sea and is bordered by Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and Hebei provinces. It has an area of 59,200 sq mi (153,300 sq km), and its capital is Jinan. It contains the Shandong Peninsula and an inland zone that includes a fertile, intensely cultivated area that forms part of the Huang He (Yellow River) basin. The peninsula has been occupied since the 3rd millennium &BC;, and by the 8th century &BC; it had become a centre of political and military activity.
It became northern China's leading maritime centre in the 3rd century &AD; and retained that position for centuries. In the 19th century devastating floods resulted in substantial emigration. It came under German, British, and Japanese influence in the late 19th century. The Japanese occupied it in 1937–45; it came under communist control in 1948. Its products include wheat, corn, iron ore, gold, fish, and silk. Confucius and Mencius were born in Shandong.
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