About Zibo
Long before it became an industrial city of about 4.7 million people, Zibo's Linzi district was the capital of the State of Qi, one of the great powers of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Archaeologists call the area an underground museum, and its chariot burials, royal tombs and bronze treasures make Linzi one of the best places in China to meet that early civilization.
Linzi also claims a world first: FIFA recognized cuju, a kicking game played here more than two thousand years ago, as the earliest form of football. Elsewhere in the city, Boshan has fired ceramics and colored glass for centuries, Zichuan honors the Qing writer Pu Songling, and Zhoucun preserves an old Ming and Qing trading town.
In 2023 Zibo became a national sensation for its barbecue, as visitors poured in by train to grill skewers on small tabletop stoves and wrap them in flatbread with scallions. The city sits on the high-speed line between Jinan and Qingdao, making it easy to combine with either.
Best seasonApril to June and September to October for mild weather.
Ideal stayTwo days: one for Linzi's Qi sites, one for Zhoucun and Boshan.
ArrivingZibo Railway Station is on the Jinan-Qingdao line; Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport is the nearest major airport.
