Dongying is a piece of ancient land with time-honored history and culture. The cultural memories of this region can be traced back to the periods of the Dawenkou and Longshan Cultures more than 5,000 years ago. The Fujia Relic Site in Dongying, where China’s earliest craniotomy was unearthed, is a typical example of the local sub-classification of North Shandong Dawenkou Culture. The salt making relic site of the Shang and Zhou dynasties reveals that the land of Dongying was already inhabited by human beings more than 3,000 years ago. Guangrao County in the south of Dongying was called Le’an in ancient times and was the hinterland of the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn (770 B.C.-476 B.C.) and the Warring States (475 B.C.-221 B.C.) periods. Within its territory, the Boqin Platform where Duke Huan of the Qi State established alliances with the other dukes has a history of more than 2,600 years. Lijin County in north Dongying was established as a county during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and was a port for salt transport at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the early period of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The Qilu culture, stretching back several thousand years, which attached great importance to economy, upheld ethics and advocated military strength, has enabled this region to produce an enormous amount of talented people. Sun Wu—a great militarist in ancient China, was born here. His book, Sun Tzu’s Art of War , esteemed as the “Military Bible,” enjoys a great prestige at home and abroad. Dongying is also an important part of the birthplace of the Confucian culture. The “Ouyang Eight
Doctors” represented by Ouyang Sheng during the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) secured great achievements in the studies of Shang Shu—an ancient Chinese classical work.

Dongying is a former revolutionary area, where many legendary stories of the old revolutionaries are in wide circulation. The CPC Liuji Branch established in 1925 was one of the earliest rural Party branches in Shandong Province. The Chinese version of Communist Manifesto preserved by the CPC Liuji Branch was the only such kind of treasured historical relic of those spread among the peasants, playing an important role in the countryside nationwide. During the Anti- Japanese War period, Dongying was a famous anti-Japanese base, a secure rear area of the Bohai region of war and base for the CPC, governmental and military headquarters, which rendered energetic support to the anti-Japanese bases in Jiaodong and south Shandong.



Dongying is an immigration city with diversified cultures. The Yellow River Delta underwent three immigration waves: at the end of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1358) and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644); during the Republic of China (1911-1949) and after New China was founded. The different regional backgrounds and characteristic cultures merged and promoted
each other, thus forming the cultural characteristics of the Yellow River Estuary which feature tolerance, harmony and openness. The time-honored Yellow River culture, the profound ancient culture of the State of Qi, the hardworking and enterprising petroleum culture, the open and assimilating immigrant culture, the widespread revolutionary culture, and the amazing and unique ecological culture give glory to each other and make up the Yellow River Estuary culture with its remarkable characteristics.