Gaomi

Gaomi City is located in eastern Shandong Province between the Jiaolai and Wei rivers. It is administered under Weifang City. Known in ancient times as Yi'an, Gaomi has over 2,200 years of history and is the birthplace of famed Spring and Autumn period government minister Yan Ying, Qing era senior imperial secretary Liu Yong (Liu Luoguo), and the winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature, Mo Yan. The “Three Treasures” of Chinese folk art - puhui nianhua (“ash-dabbing Spring Festival painting” - a painting method that incorporates a base layer of ashes), clay sculpture (nisu), and paper cutting (jianzhi) have long enjoyed a fine reputation and are famous throughout the world. Famous destinations include the Zheng Ancestral Temple, the former residence of Mo Yan, Fenghuang (“Phoenix”) Park, the Nanhu (“South Lake”) Botanical Garden, the Xiaokang River, and Baiyang (“Chinese White Poplar”) Mountain.