Jining has under its jurisdiction 11 counties, county-level cities and districts, as well as 4 functional areas, namely Jining National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Taibai Lake New Area, Jining Economic and Technological Development Zone, and Qufu Cultural Demonstration Zone. It covers an area of 11,000 square kilometers with a population of 8.34 million.

Jining enjoys a time-honored history and splendid culture and it has been reputed as the Home Town of Confucius and Mencius, the Capital of the Grand Canal and the City with Great Cultural Significance. It is the birthplace of Emperor Huangdi, the founding ancestor of the Chinese civilization, and five sages, namely Confucius, Mencius, Yanhui, Zengzi, and Zisi. It is also an important origin of the Chinese civilization and the birthplace of Confucianism. There are 36 national cultural relic protection units and 13 national intangible culture heritage projects in Jining.

Jining is an important industrial city of Shandong. Several national-level industrial bases covering coal chemical industry, engineering machinery, special-purpose vehicles, biotechnology, new textile material, and optical-electronics have been established here. Jining is abundant in natural resources. The city enjoys more than 50% of coal reserves of Shandong, and its rare earth reserves rank second in China. Weishan Lake is the largest fresh water lake in northern China. Three railways, four expressways and four highways go through the city. There are more than 10 domestic air routes in Jining Qufu Airport. The city’s inland waterway transport capacity accounts for over 80% of that of Shandong, and a 1000-ton ship fleet can reach Hangzhou directly.

Jining has established sister-city relations or friendly cooperative relations with 21 cities around the world.