Zibo is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the middle part of Shandong Province, Zibo is an important transportation hub. Zibo governs 5 districts (Zhangdian, Zichuan, Boshan, Zhoucun and Linzi) and each of these districts has a distinct downtown area of their own. The T-shaped city has a total area of 5,938 square kilometers-three counties (Huantai, Gaoqing and Yiyuan) included; the total population of the city is 4.53 million at the 2010 census, of which nearly 3 million are in the city proper. Zibo is well known as the historical state of Qi, which had ever been the most populous city in the east about 3000 years ago.