Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, is the center of provincial politics, economy, culture, science and education, and the key city of Yangtze River Delta. It is a famous city in history & culture and also an important national tourist city. Hangzhou locates at the south of the Yangtze River Delta and the Grand Canal. It covers an area of 16,596 km2 with a population of 6.6 million.
1. Long History
Hangzhou, being grouped in the list of the first batch of national famous historical and cultural cities, has enjoyed a long history of over 2,200 years since the county administration was established in Qin Dynasty. It is one of the seven ancient capitals in China and the cradles of Huaxia (China) Civilization. As early as over 5,000 years ago, there were human beings multiplying and living in Hangzhou area, creating Liangzhu Culture, which was known as “the Dawn of Civilization”. Hangzhou, one of the seven ancient capitals of China, was the capital of Wuyue State, of the Five-Dynasties and also the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. In the 13th century, the Italian traveler Macro Polo admired Hangzhou as “the Most Splendid and Luxurious City in the world”. Hangzhou was called Qiantang in ancient times. In the ninth year of Kaihuang of Sui Dynasty (589), Hangzhou was founded to replace the original Qiantang County and the name of Hangzhou was recorded for the first time in history. In the first year of the Republic of China (1912), the original Qiantang County and Renhe County were merged into Hangzhou County. In the 16th year of the Republic of China (1927), Hangzhou County was dismantled and Hangzhou was founded as a city. Hangzhou was liberated on May 3rd, 1949, thus began to write its new chapter of development in history.
2. Economic Development
The economic development level of Hangzhou is very high, its economic strength is continuously ranked second among all provincial capitals and its economic general strength is listed in the top ten among all the big-middle cities in China. Hangzhou is not only one of the safest tourist-city, but also one of the best cities of internal security. Hangzhou locates close to China east coast, in the lower reaches of the Qiantang River and at the southern end of the Grand Canal (Beijing - Hangzhou). The distance between Hangzhou and Shanghai is 200 kilometers, which is connected by the railway and highway. It only takes less than 2 hours to reach Shanghai; the trip is quite comfortable and efficient. The city tree is Camphor Tree and the city flower is Osmanthus.
3. Profound Culture
The profound history of culture heritage of Hangzhou, which is represented by the West Lake culture, the Grand Canal culture and Qiantang culture, promoted the innovation and mutual development by piecing together the Wu and Yue Civilization in Qin and Han Dynasty; the Religious heritage of Buddha and Taoism in Jin, Wei, Sui and Tang Dynasties; the continental and the imperial custom in South Song Dynasty; as well as the Islamic and Christian believes to fuse into an enormous cultural integrity in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The West Lake, the Liangzhu culture, the Wuyue heritage, South Song Civilization as well as those of Ming Dynasty, Qing Dynasty, and period during the Republic of China contribute the merits of their unique culture, along with the natural scenic beauty, the Chinese gardens, the religion, the agriculture, the celebrities, the customs, the silk, the tea, and great variety of food creation, all put together to make up the delicacy, harmony and classic taste of Hangzhou Culture. The Great Canal brought the plants, the water view, the local opera, and the Temple Fair custom together to represent the openness and tolerance in the characteristic of Hangzhou so that the classic and the popular could both find their position. Especially the Qiantang River culture which as if the rolling tide running forward, marking the broad mind and heart of the Hangzhou People.
4. Pleasant Climate
Hangzhou has a subtropical monsoon climate with four distinct seasons. It is warm and humid with sufficient sunshine and plentiful rainfall. Spring and autumn are short, winter and summer are long. In 2014, its average annual temperature was 17.3 °C(63.1℉), the annual rainfall was 1,468 millimeters and the annual sunshine time was 1407.2 hours. The maximum temperature reached 37.9 °C(100℉) on July 22nd; the minimum temperature was -6.7 °C(19.9℉) on January 22nd.
5. Tourism Attractions
As a famous scenic city in China, Hangzhou attracts more than 20 million domestic and foreign tourists every year. Hangzhou is known for its natural beauty of West Lake worldwide. “Above is paradise, below is Suzhou and Hangzhou” expresses people’s indeed praise to Hangzhou. In the Yuan Dynasty, the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo described this city as “the finest and most splendid city in the world.”
West Lake
Located in Hangzhou, provincial seat of Zhejiang Province, the West Lake is one of the most famed tourist attractions in China. For centuries, the West Lake has been well known both for its picturesque landscape and for cultural heritage surviving yet illustrating the past dynasties.
The landscape area of the West Lake includes the surrounding hills and nearby historical sites as well as the lake itself. The lake area covers around 60 square kilometers consisting of 5.68 square kilometers of water area. The West Lake is the centerpiece of the natural fascination with bluish hills on three sides, serene and charming. Along the Lake, there stand lines of willows with ancient bridges leaping over them. Mist now veils the whole landscape, now just perches lightly on the green and luxuriant hills in the vicinity with tiny streams winding in deep valleys. More than ninety theme parks and scenic spots are dotted around the lake area such as the Ten Views of West Lake and ten-odd newly named tourist attractions. Rain or shine, the West Lake holds great attraction to tourists in all seasons. Besides its impressive scenery, the West Lake boasts of abundant cultural heritage and legends passed from generation to generation, commingling natural features, past personages, history, and art in the local area. Thanks to its long history and historic importance, the West Lake is also a cultural resort with 5 major historical monuments and cultural relics under state protection, 35 under province protection, 25 under municipal protection as well as 39 theme museums and cultural spots under a protection system. In the whole landscape area, there are more than one hundred scenic spots open to the tourists at present. Each year there are 0.5 million of foreign guests and 12 million domestic visitors coming to Hangzhou.
Population: 6.6 million
Temperature: average 17.3 °C(63.1℉)
