Linzi District 临淄区

Setting and landscape

The ground is higher in the south and lower in the north, ranging from 420 metres down to 31 metres above sea level; low hills give way to plains, which cover about 72 per cent of the district. The Zi River (淄河) flows north through the east of the district, and the Wu River (乌河), rising on the north side of Huangshan (黄山), a hill in the south-centre of the district, crosses the north-west. Neighbours are Qingzhou (青州) to the east, Zichuan (淄川) to the south, and Zhangdian (张店) and Huantai (桓台) to the west. Since 1974 the district seat has been Xindian (辛店), on the Jiaozhou–Jinan railway.

History

Finds at the Houli (后李) culture site put settlement here at about 8,000 years ago. From Jiang Taigong's (姜太公) enfeoffment around 1045 BC until the Qin conquest of 221 BC, Linzi was the Qi capital; the Strategies of the Warring States (战国策) describes streets where carriage hubs knocked and shoulders rubbed. Guan Zhong (管仲) served as chancellor here, Confucius came to hear the Shao music (韶乐), and the Jixia Academy (稷下学宫) drew the Hundred Schools to lecture and debate, with Xunzi (荀子) among its heads. On 15 July 2004 FIFA recognised Linzi as the birthplace of football through cuju (蹴鞠), played here over 2,300 years ago. Linzi became a district of Zibo in 1969.

What to see

The Old City of Qi at Linzi (临淄齐国故城) lies in Qidu town (齐都镇). A palace city in the south-west corner adjoins a larger outer city for officials, commoners and merchants; the walls total about 21.3 kilometres, and rammed-earth stretches still stand 5 to 6 metres high. Duke Huan's Terrace (桓公台), a 14-metre palace platform, survives, and an excavated outlet under the wall passes water through 15 stone openings too small for people. The city became a national key protected site on 4 March 1961, and in 2006 the old Qi capital and the Qi royal tombs joined China's World Heritage tentative list.

The Linzi Chinese Ancient Chariot Museum (临淄中国古车博物馆), opened in 1993 in Qiling subdistrict (齐陵街道), stands over a Spring and Autumn chariot pit at Houli, one of China's ten major archaeological finds of 1990. Its pit hall shows 10 real chariots and 38 horses in a row, and the galleries hold 19 reconstructed chariots of different periods. The Tian Qi royal tombs (田齐王陵) and the Tonglin site (桐林遗址) are also national key protected sites.

Highlights

• Old City of Qi at Linzi 临淄齐国故城: Walled capital of Qi with a palace city, standing rammed-earth walls and a stone drainage outlet; national key site since 1961.
• Duke Huan's Terrace 桓公台: 14-metre rammed-earth palace platform in the north-west of the old palace city.
• Linzi Chinese Ancient Chariot Museum 临淄中国古车博物馆: Built over a Spring and Autumn pit with 10 chariots and 38 horses; opened 1993.
• Tian Qi royal tombs 田齐王陵: Royal tombs of the Tian Qi rulers, a national key protected site.