The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With 8,472 square miles (21,940 km2) and a population of more than 2.2 million people, it is the second-largest metropolitan area centered in Missouri (after Greater St. Louis) and is the largest metropolitan area in Kansas, though Wichita is the largest metropolitan area centered in Kansas. Alongside Kansas City, Missouri, these are the suburbs with populations above 100,000: Overland Park, Kansas; Kansas City, Kansas; Olathe, Kansas; Independence, Missouri; and Lee's Summit, Missouri.
Qihe County, which belongs to Dezhou City, is located in the western part of Shandong Province, with Jinan, the provincial capital to the east, Beijing, Tianjin and Tang to the north, and Nanjing, Shanghai and Hangzhou to the south. With Qihe River as the center, there are Qingdao, Jinan, Taiyuan, Zhengzhou, Shijiazhuang, Tianjin, Beijing and other big cities within a radius of 500 kilometers. Qihe River is located in the northwest plain of Shandong Province, the north bank of the Yellow River, and Jinan across the river. The county has jurisdiction over 2 townships, 11 towns and 2 subdistrict offices, with a total population of 780000 and a total area of 1411 square kilometers. It is an alluvial plain in the lower reaches of the Yellow River with fertile soil, suitable climate and sufficient light. Qihe is the most beautiful ecotourism demonstration city in China, the only new energy automobile manufacturing city in China and the equipment manufacturing city of emerging industries in China. Qihe County is also the only top 100 counties on the list of underdeveloped areas in Shandong Province, ranking among the 15th national counties.