Zhangdian District

Zhangdian (张店) is the central city district of Zibo city, Shandong, People's Republic of China.

It contains the administrative offices of Zibo central government, and has major rail and bus stations. The outer area is highly industrialized. The central area is a mixture of high rise office buildings, newly constructed condos, government offices and large shopping malls/plazas. The CBD is located around the the central park in Zhangdian.

Zhangdian, the central part of Zibo, is, compared to other parts of China, a relatively small city; however, like many other parts of China, there is a large amount of apartment building construction. If you can tell the value of the city by the value of the apartments, then an average apartment in Zichuan (a district of Zibo) is about 1,000 RMB per square metre, whereas in Qingdao (Shandong's main seaport city) is about 6,000 RMB per square metre, and in Zhangdian it's between 2,000 to 3,000 per square metre, thus showing that it is beginning to feel the pressure of inflation.

As cities go, it's relatively safe, with a low crime rate - citizens walk alone in dark streets at night without fear, and the People's Park in the central part of the CBD is a popular place for walking, jogging and other forms of exercise and recreation.

Tourism

Zibo is still relatively new at opening up its borders to people - whereas a foreign tourist or worker wouldn't even get a side glance in Beijing or Shanghai, foreigners are stared at, pointed to and even waved at with the obligatory, "Hello" in passing.

There is a fair sized group of foreigners who work in Zhangdian, mainly either teachers or workers in foreign-based enterprises. Although there is currently no official 'foreigners club' per se, informal get togethers are common, and aid is always available to newcomers and tourists if needed - and, as finding English-speaking shopkeepers is an almost impossible task, it is often needed.