Shandong
Shandong ranks first among the provinces in the production of a variety of products, including cotton and wheat as well as precious metals such as gold and diamonds. Other importants crop include sorghum and maize. Shandong has extensive petroleum deposits as well, especially in the Dongying area in the Yellow River delta, where the Shengli Oilfield (lit. Victory Oilfield) is one of the major oilfields of China. Shandong also produces salt from sea water.
Shandong is one of the richer provinces of China, and its economic development focuses on large enterprises with well-known brand names. Shandong has also benefited from South Korean and Japanese investment, due to its geographical proximity to those countries. The richest part of the province is the Shandong Peninsula, where the city of Qingdao is home to two of the most well-known brand names of China: Tsingtao Beer and Haier. In addition, Dongying's oil fields and petroleum industries form an important component of Shandong's economy. On the other hand, the extreme inland west of Shandong is much poorer than the rest of the province.
In 2003, the nominal GDP for Shandong was 150 billion USD -- ranking third in the country (behind Guangdong and Jiangsu).
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