The morning markets along and off Jingsi Road in the old city are where Jinan does breakfast at its most functional and affordable. Stalls set up before dawn selling fresh vegetables, live fish from Yellow River and fish ponds, bean curd in various stages of preparation, and the raw materials of Shandong home cooking. By 7am the main action is in full swing; by 9am most of the vendors are packing up.
Walking through the market before visiting the spring parks gives a good grounding in what Jinan is actually like when it's not performing for visitors. The spring onions are enormous — Shandong is famous for its spring onions, eaten raw with bread and paste as a daily staple — and the variety of bean curd products is remarkable, reflecting a culture that has been making tofu here for at least a thousand years.