Wikipedia
Linqing is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Liaocheng in western Shandong Province, China. It is located north-northwest of Liaocheng. The city proper has about residents (January 2000), whereas Linqing as a whole had inhabitants in 1999. The city is situated at the confluence of the Wei River and the Grand Canal. It is from Beijing on the Jingjiu railway line to Hong Kong. Elevation within Linqing County ranges from to above sea level. The area of the county is 955 km². The annual average temperature is 12.8℃, the highest recorded temperature 41.4℃, and the lowest recorded temperature - 22.1℃. Annual mean precipitation is 590.4 millimeters. There are 205 frost-free days per year on average and the average annual sunshine is 2661 hours.
Linqing has played an important role in the history of China. In Ming and Qing times it was a great center for the distribution of textiles, grain and bricks and is also famous as the place where the tiles of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City were produced. Today the city's flourishing economy is based on a number of light industrial enterprises.
Aside from the Grand Canal, sights include a distinctive promontory, a stupa , a Ming-Dynasty Hui mosques (Linqing Northern Mosque, , Linqing Eastern Mosque, ), and ruins of the old customs house , Linqing City Museum (in a historical building ensemble known as the ). In particular, the Sheli Pagoda near the Grand Canal is a well-known local landmark.
Notable natives of Linqing include: Tang Dynasty musician Lu Cai, Ming Dynasty poet Xie Zhen, national hero Zhang Zizhong, and contemporary renowned educator Ji Xianlin.
Once visited by the missionary and sinologist Matteo Ricci, Linqing has been the seat of an apostolic prefecture since 1931. The seat has been vacant since 1981.