The province consists of a peninsula, southern low mountains and great plains surrounding both. The peninsula separates the Bo Gulf (hai) from the rest of the Yellow Sea. The most famous mountain--not the highest--is Mount Tai(4), one of the Five Sacred Mountains of China. The plains of the north extend westward into the North China Plain. At the sea they change from arrable to akali flats. The Yellow (Huang) River (he) flows northeast into the sea, protected from flooding the plains by dikes. Its course has shifted many times, even going south of the mountains. The Grand Canal crosses the provinces south to north, connecting several of the nine shallow lakes near Jining.
Shandong Province, in central_and_northeastern China centers on Jinan(5) but its fame is eclipsed by the beer producing port of Qingdao(6). Another of the 15 other cities (shi) with more than a million residents is Zibo, centered on the city of Zhongdian.
northwest
northeast
southeast from the Shandong Peninsula
southeast
south
southwest
(1) Shan-tung in Wade-Giles transliteration; translates as East of the Mountains.
(2) Sheng in Wade-Giles transliteration.
(3) Transliterated from Chinese as Zhuongguo or Chung-hua; can be translated as the Middle Kingdom or Middle Land.
(4) Translates from Chinese as big or great. The shan of Taishan means mountain.
(5) Or Tsinan.
(6) Or Tsingtao.