Geographical Location: Heze lies in southwest of Shandong Province, and borders Jiangsu, Henan, and Anhui Provinces. It is located between north latitude 34°39″~35°52″ and east longitude 114°48″~116°24″, with the Yellow River running on its northwest, and the former riverbed of the Yellow River lies in its south.

Administrative Divisions: There are eight counties and two districts under the administration of Heze, namely Caoxian County, Dingtaoxian County, Shanxian County, Chengwuxian County, Juyexian County, Yunchengxian County, Juanchengxian County, Dongmingxian County, Mudan District and a provincial Economic Development Zone. The land area is 12,239 km2, and population 8.75 million.

History, Culture and Education: Heze has a long history and brilliant culture. There are more than 100 historic sites in Heze, and it is known as the home of peonies, kung fu, calligraphy, and Chinese traditional operas. Heze now has a university, 45 high schools/technical schools/ professional schools, from which 60,000 students graduate yearly, including professionals on agriculture, livestock farming, machinery, electronics, accounting, chemistry and medicine.

Climate: Heze lies in the North Temperate Zone, and has a monsoon continental climate. It has four clearly-divided seasons, with abundant sunshine. The annual radiation from the sun is 116.6~123.64 cal/cm2, duration of sunshine 2329.2~2578.3 hours, annual average temperature 13.5~14℃, frostless season 209 days, annual precipitation 665cm, and annual incoming water from the Yellow River 18.3 billion m3. The annual amount of water per person is 421m3, which makes Heze a water-rich area in north China. The average relative humidity is 68%~72%.