Hometown of Confucius: Shandong, China

Shandong, the birthplace of Confucius and China's largest exporter of agricultural products, is an important province in terms of culture and economy on the east coast of China. It is also a significant strategic fulcrum for the countries and regions along the New Eurasian Continental Bridge Economic Corridor and the Maritime Silk Road.

It consists of 16 prefecture-level cities: Jinan, its provincial capital; Qingdao; Zibo; Zaozhuang; Dongying; Yantai; Weifang; Jining; Tai'an; Weihai; Rizhao; Linyi; Dezhou; Liaocheng; Binzhou; and Heze.