Zibo is a typical cluster city. This kind of urban layout, which is rare in China and praised by experts as "Zibo Model", is characterized by the fact that the five urban areas are only 20 kilometers apart, and the decentralized layout is self-contained and relatively independent.

This layout has full development potential. With Zhangdian as the center, it can extend to Huantai in the north, Linzi in the east, Zichuan in the south and Zhoucun in the west. Convenient transportation, the terrain is not high or low. There is no low-lying and basin-shaped terrain in Jinan, which is not conducive to drainage and ventilation. In 2007, Jinan suffered serious rainstorm losses, which is a typical example!

At present, Zhangdian is mainly a plain with an altitude of more than 50 meters, more than 70 meters in Zichuan in the south and more than 90 meters in Boshan in the south. The whole terrain is high in the south and low in the north, so there is no flood problem. In addition, Zichuan and Boshan in the south are hilly, with good air quality and convenient ventilation. There are no shortcomings of topography and waste gas accumulation in Jinan Basin.

Zibo's geographical position in Shandong is not more than that of Jinan, but looking around the cities, Zibo is more than Jinan. From Zibo to Shandong cities, the transportation is convenient. There are many railways, highways and expressway. This is the place where Qi chose the capital in the past. In the past, the capital of Lu was in Qufu in the southwest, which was also close to Zibo. Culturally, Jinan was inferior to Zibo except the Northern Song Dynasty. The merger of Shandong University with Shandong Polytechnic University and Shandong Medical University makes it stand out from the crowd, which is not conducive to competition. This has caused the defects of talent training in Shandong University. We can consider separating them and putting them in different cities.

The long-term opposition between Jinan and Qingdao is not conducive to its development. We can consider merging into Zibo and becoming a transportation hub and educational gathering place in Zibo. Formed a big Shandong layout with Zibo in the west and Yantai and Weihai in Qingdao in the east.