China Sunvalley

1. General Information

Located at the northwest of Shandong Province, alluvial plains of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and the intersection of the Yellow River and the Grand Canal (Beijing—Hangzhou), Dezhou is the north gate of Shandong Province and south gate of the municipal cities of Beijing and Tianjin. It governs one district, two county-level cities, eight counties and two economic development zones with an area of 10356 square kilometers and a total population of 5.58 million.

Dezhou Cultural Square

2. History and Culture

The name ‘Dezhou’ is from ‘the De Waters’, which is another name of the ancient Yellow River and was changed to ‘Deshui’ by Emperor Shihuang in 221 BC. It was called Ande County in Han dynasty and Dezhou by Emperor Kai of Sui dynasty in 583 AD. In 607 AD, it was named Plain or Pingyuan County by Emperor Yang of Sui dynasty and later regained its name ‘Dezhou’ in the 4th year of Wude of Tang dynasty (621AD).

Chahe River

As one of the cradles of Da Wenkou culture, Dezhou boasts a long history and has been the government center of counties in history since Qin dynasty and served as one of the 33 commercial cities during Ming and Qing dynasties. Dezhou also has many historical and cultural relics, such as the Yu Pavilion (a cultural relic left by Yu, one of the leaders of primitive clans), the Graveyard Group of Qin and Han dynasties, Dongfang Shuo Epigraph (written by the great calligrapher Yan Zhenqing of Tang dynasty), and the graveyard of the King of Sulu (the name of an island country during Chengzu period in Ming dynasty). Dezhou also maintained the footprints of many famous people in history, such as Yu, the hero of Chinese people and one of the leaders of primitive clans and famous for his achievement in fighting against the Yellow River flood; Houyi, the hero of shooting the sun in the legend; Dong Zhongshu, a famous philosopher and great master in Confucian philosophy; Dongfang Shuo, an intelligent scholar and essayist of Han dynasty; famous calligraphers Yan Zhanqing and Xing Tong; the first Number One Scholar in Chinese history produced by imperial exams, and the famous general Song Zheyuan in the wars against the Japanese invaders, etc. Dezhou also boasts its three treasure specialties, braised chicken, golden date and black pottery.