Jining (simplified Chinese: 济宁; traditional Chinese: 濟寧; pinyin: Jǐníng) is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively. Jining, which is located right to the north of the Lake Nanyang (Chinese: 南阳湖; pinyin: Nányáng Hú), is today the northernmost city reachable by navigation on the Grand Canal of China.