Hangzhou

Hangzhou
Sub-provincial city
Chinese transcription(s)
• Chinese	杭州
• Pinyin	Hángzhōu
Hangzhou Skyline with Yellow Dragon Stadium
Hangzhou in Zhejiang
Country	China
Province	Zhejiang
Government
• CPC Secretary	Wang Guoping (王国平)
• Mayor	Cai Qi (蔡奇)
Area
• Sub-provincial city	16,847 km2 (6,505 sq mi)
Population
• Sub-provincial city	6,400,000
• Density	380/km2 (980/sq mi)
• Urban	3,931,900
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code	310000
GDP	¥410.4 billion (2007)
GDP per capita	¥ 61,313 (2007)
License Plate Prefix	浙A
City Flower	Sweet Osmanthus
City Tree	Camphor laurel (Cinnamomum camphora)
Regional Dialect	Hangzhou dialect
Website	http://www.hangzhou.gov.cn/

(Chinese: 杭州; pinyin: Hángzhōu; Wade–Giles: Hangchow; Postal map spelling: Hangchow) is a sub-provincial city located in the Yangtze River Delta in the People's Republic of China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. Located 180 kilometres (112 mi) southwest of Shanghai, as of 2004 the entire Hangzhou Region ("shì", 杭州市) or Prefecture-level city had a registered population of 6.5 million people. The urban agglomeration of the Hangzhou metropolitan area (杭州市区) has a resident population of 3,931,900 as of 2003, of which 2,636,700 are legal residents. There are 1,910,000 residents in the six urban core districts.

As one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China for much of the last 1,000 years, Hangzhou is also well-known for its beautiful natural scenery, with the West Lake (Xī Hú, 西湖) as the most well-known location.

Divisions

Hangzhou Region or prefecture-level city contains the Hangzhou metropolitan area (eight districts), 3 metropolitan counties, and 2 ordinary counties. The central six urban districts occupy 682 km² (263.4 mi²) and have 1,910,000 people. The two suburban districts occupy 2,642 km² (1020 mi²) and have 1,950,000 people.

• Gongshu District (拱墅区)
• Shangcheng District (上城区)
• Xiacheng District (下城区)
• Jianggan District (江干区)
• Xihu District (西湖区)
• Binjiang District (滨江区)
• Yuhang District (余杭区)
• Xiaoshan District (萧山区)
• Lin'an (临安市)
• Fuyang (富阳市)
• Jiande (建德市)
• Tonglu County (桐庐县)
• Chun'an County (淳安县)

History

Early history

The celebrated Neolithic culture of Hemudu inhabited Yuyao, an area (now a city 100 kilometers east of Hangzhou), as far back as seven thousand years ago when rice was first cultivated in southeastern China. The area immediately surrounding the modern city of Hanghzhou was inhabited five thousand years ago by the Liangzhu culture, so named for the small town of Liangzhu not far to the northwest of Hangzhou where the ancient jade carving civilization was first discovered.

The city of Hangzhou was founded about 2,200 years ago during the Qin Dynasty; it is listed as one of the Seven Ancient Capitals of China, but the city wall was not constructed until the Sui Dynasty (591).

Hangzhou is at the southern end of China's Grand Canal which extends to Beijing. The canal evolved over centuries but reached its full length by 609.

It was the capital of the Wuyue Kingdom from 907 to 978 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. Named Xifu at the time, it was one of the three great centers of culture in southern China during the tenth century, along with Nanjing and Chengdu. Leaders of Wuyue were noted patrons of the arts, and especially of Buddhism and associated temple architecture and artwork. It also became a cosmopolitan center, drawing scholars from throughout China and conducting diplomacy not only with neighboring Chinese states, but also with Japan, Korea, and the Khitan Liao Dynasty.

In 1089, while the poet Su Shi (often known as Su DongPo) was the city's governor, he used 200,000 workers to construct a 2.8 km long causeway across the West Lake, which Qing Emperor Qianlong considered particularly attractive in the early morning of the spring time. The lake was once a lagoon tens of thousands of years ago. Silt then blocked the way to the sea and the lake was formed. A drill in the lake-bed in 1975 found the sediment of the sea, which confirmed its origin. Artificial preservation prevented the lake from evolving into a marshland. The Su Causeway built by Su Shi, and the Bai Causeway built by Bai Juyi, a famous Tang Dynasty poet who was once the governor of Hangzhou, were both built out of mud dredged from the bottom of the lake. The lake is surrounded by hills on the northern and western sides. The Baochu Pagoda sits on the Baoshi Hill to the north of the lake.

Southern Song

The Liuhe Pagoda of Hangzhou, built in 1165 during the Song Dynasty.

Hangzhou was chosen as the new capital of the Southern Song Dynasty when they regrouped after their defeat at the hands of the Jin in 1123. It remained the capital from the early 12th century until the Mongol invasion of 1276, and was known as Lin'an (臨安). It served as the seat of the imperial government, a center of trade and entertainment, and the nexus of the main branches of the civil service. During that time, the city was a sort of gravitational center of Chinese civilization: what used to be considered "central China" in the north was taken by the Jin, an ethnic minority dynasty ruled by Jurchens.

Numerous philosophers, politicians, and men of literature, including some of the most celebrated poets in Chinese history such as Su Shi (苏轼), Lu You (陆游), and Xin Qiji (辛弃疾) came here to live and die. Hangzhou is also the birthplace and final resting place of the famed scientist Shen Kuo (1031-1095 AD), his tomb being located in the Yuhang district.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, commercial expansion, an influx of refugees from the conquered north, and the growth of the official and military establishments, led to a corresponding population increase and the city developed well outside its 9th century ramparts. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, Hangzhou had a population of over 2 million at that time, while historian Jacques Gernet has estimated that the population of Hangzhou numbered well over one million by 1276. (Official Chinese census figures from the year 1270 listed some 186,330 families in residence and probably failed to count non-residents and soldiers.) It is believed that Hangzhou was the largest city in the world from 1180 to 1315 and from 1348 to 1358.

Lakeside Buildings on the West Lake.

Because of the large population and densely-crowded (often multi-story) wooden buildings, Hangzhou was particularly vulnerable to fires. Major conflagrations destroyed large sections of the city in 1132, 1137, 1208, 1229, 1237, and 1275 while smaller fires occurred nearly every year. The 1237 fire alone was recorded to have destroyed 30,000 dwellings. To combat this threat, the government established an elaborate system for fighting fires, erected watchtowers, devised a system of lantern and flag signals to identify the source of the flames and direct the response, and charged more than 3,000 soldiers with the task of putting out fires.

The Lingyin Temple

The city of Hangzhou was besieged and captured by the advancing Mongol armies of Kublai Khan in 1276, three years before the final collapse of the empire. The capital of the new Yuan Dynasty was established in the city of Khanbaliq (Beijing).

The Venetian Marco Polo supposedly visited Hangzhou in the late 13th century. His book refers to the city as "beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world." He called the city Kinsay which simply means "capital" in Chinese (actually Polo used a Persianized version of the word). Although he exaggerated that the city was over one hundred miles in diameter and had 12,000 stone bridges, he still presented elegant prose about the country: "The number and wealth of the merchants, and the amount of goods that passed through their hands, was so enormous that no man could form a just estimate thereof."

The renowned 13th century Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta said it was "the biggest city I have ever seen on the face of the earth."

Ming and after

The city remained an important port until the middle of the Ming Dynasty era when its harbor slowly silted up.

As late as the latter part of the 16th and early 17th centuries, the city was an important center of Chinese Jewry, and may have been the original home of the more well-known Kaifeng Jewish community

Hangzhou was ruled by Republic of China government under the Kuomintang from 1928 to 1949. On May 3, 1949, the People's Liberation Army entered Hangzhou and the city came under Communist control. After Deng Xiaoping's reformist policies began in 1978, Hangzhou took advantage of being situated in the Yangtze River Delta to bolster its development. It is now one of China's most prosperous major cities.

Hangzhou (next to West Lake) was where, in February 1972, President Richard Nixon and Zhou Enlai signed what came to be called the "Shanghai Communique" (which had been negotiated in Beijing).

The Chinese "one dollar bill", its one yuan note, used to have a picture on it of the Great Wall, but that was replaced about five years ago with a picture of a scene in West Lake.

Geography and climate

Hangzhou is located in northern Zhejiang province, eastern China, at the southern end of the Grand Canal of China, on the plain of the mid-lower reaches of the Yangtze River (Cháng Jiāng). The prefecture-level region of Hangzhou extends west to the border with the hilly-country Anhui Province, and east to the flat-land near Hangzhou Bay. The city center is built around the eastern and northern sides of the West Lake, just north of the Qiantang River.

Hangzhou's climate is Humid Subtropical with three distinctive seasons. The average annual temperature in Hangzhou is 16.2°C. The summers are hot and humid, while winters are relatively cool and dry. In July, the hottest month, the average temperature is approximately 33.8°C (92.8°F); in January the average temperature is about 3.6°C (38.5°F). Hangzhou receives an average annual rainfall of 1450 mm. In mid-summer, Hangzhou, along with other cities in Zhejiang province, suffer typhoon storms, but typhoons seldom strike it directly. Generally they make land along the southern coast of Zhejiang, and affect Hangzhou with strong winds and stormy rains.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high °C	8	10	14	20	26	29	33	32	28	23	17	11
Avg low temperature °C	2	3	7	12	17	22	25	25	21	15	9	4
Source: MSN Weather

Tourism

Hu Xueyan Residence

Hangzhou is renowned for its historic relics and natural beauty. It has been ranked as one of the ten most scenic cities in China. Although Hangzhou has been through many recent urban developments, it still retains its historical and cultural heritage. Today, tourism remains an important factor for Hangzhou's economy. One of Hangzhou's most popular sights is West Lake. The lake covers an area of 6 square kilometres and includes some of Hangzhou's most famous historic and scenic places. The area includes historical pagodas, cultural sites, as well as the natural beauty of the lake and hills.

• The world's largest tidal bore races up the Qiantang River through Hangzhou reaching up to 40 ft (12 m) in height.
• The oldest Buddhist temple in the city is believed to be Lingyin Si ("Soul's Retreat"), which, like most of the other landmarks in this city, has gone through numerous destruction and reconstruction cycles.
• Lingyin Temple which contains the Feilai Feng grottos
• Jingci Temple
• Liuhe Pagoda
• Baochu Pagoda
• Yue-Wang Temple (岳王庙, "King Yue's Temple") or Yue Fei Miao is near the West Lake and was originally constructed in 1221 in memory of General Yue Fei, who lost his life due to political persecution.
• Fenghuang Temple (凤凰清真寺) is one of the oldest mosques in China, the current construction at the intersection of Xihu Road (西湖大道) and the Central Zhongshan Road (中山中路) dating back 700 years to the Yuan dynasty.
• The Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Hangzhou is one of the oldest Catholic churches in China, dating back 400 years to the Ming dynasty.
• Xixi National Wetland Park
• Hangzhou Botanical Garden
• Dreaming of the Tiger Spring
• Hangzhou Zoo
• Leifeng Pagoda
• Jade Springs (Yu Quan)
• Qiantang Tidal Bore (Sliver Dragon)

For more local information look for a copy of More Hangzhou Magazine

Economy

Tea plantation in Hangzhou.

Hangzhou's industries have traditionally been textile, silk and machinery, but electronics and other light industries are developing, especially since the start of the new open economy in 1992.

Toshiba has its only overseas production plant for laptop computers here.

Wahaha, the nation's largest beverage company, is headquartered in the city.

Alibaba is an e-commerce/e-auction company based in the city.

Longjing tea is produced on the outskirts of town at Longjing (龙井) or Dragon Well. It is among the few remaining places where tea is still baked by hand and is said to produce one of the finest green teas in China, earning a spot in the China Famous Tea list.

The GDP per capita was ¥61,313 (ca. US$8,063), ranked no. 8 among 659 Chinese cities.

The 2005 overall rank of Hangzhou among all the Chinese cities is No. 5. In 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 Forbes magazine ranked Hangzhou the POLITICAL capital city in Zhejiang Province, the number 1 city in China for BUSINESS.

Culture

The native residents of Hangzhou, like those of Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu, speak a Wu dialect. However, the Wu dialect varies throughout the area where it is spoken, hence, Hangzhou's dialect differs from regions in southern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu. In addition, Putonghua (Mandarin) is also spoken.

Tea is an important part of Hangzhou's economy and culture. Hangzhou is best known for originating Longjing, a famous variety of green tea. Furthermore, there are many types of Longjing tea, the most famous being Xi Hu Long Jing. Known as the best type of Long Jing tea, Xi Hu Long Jing is grown near Xi Hu in Hangzhou, hence its name.

Further, Hangzhou is known for its artistic creations, such as silk, umbrellas, and Chinese hand-held folding fans.

Hangzhou cuisine is the representative of Zhejiang Cuisine, one of China’s eight cuisines. And it wins reputation for freshness, tenderness, softness, smoothness of its dishes with mellow fragrance. A great poet of Song Dynasty once praised it as follows: there’s no food that can compare with the Hangzhou cuisine.

Famous dishes like West Lake Sour Fish, Dongpo Pork, Longjing Shrimp Meat, Jiaohua Young Chickens, Steam Rice Flower and Pork Wrapped by Lotus Leaves, Braised Bamboo Shoots and Lotus Root Powder are widely known and popular among both local people and tourists.

Transportation

Bars and Shops alongside the street of Hangzhou.

Luohan Tang (Arhat Hall) at Hupaoquan in Hangzhou, China

Hangzhou is serviced by the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, which has direct flights to Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, regional routes to Hong Kong and Macau, as well as numerous domestic routes. Located just outside of the city in the Xiaoshan District, it is one of the major secondary international airports in China.

Hangzhou Railway Station (colloquially the "City Station" 城站) serves the city centre with direct trains departing for Shanghai, (journey time now 1hr18, 55 yuan) and most other major cities in China. The significantly less modern Hangzhou East Railway Station (colloquially "East Station" 东站) has many through trains and local trains, though few terminating or departing.

Trains leaving Hangzhou reach more than 20 cities directly, including Beijing (北京) (1650 km), Shanghai (上海) (200 km), and Xi'an (西安) (1550 km).

Train tickets can be purchased at the Wulinmen Ticket Office (No. 199, Wulin Road) or Huansha Road Ticket Office (No. 147, Huansha Road).

The construction of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Maglev Train Line has been debated for several years, and on 18th August 2008 Beijing Authorities gave the project the go-ahead, to start construction in 2010. Transrapid has been contracted to construct the line.

North, east, south and west long-distance bus stations offer regular large and small coach services to towns within Zhejiang province and surrounding provinces.

Public transport within Hangzhou city is primarily in the form of an extensive public (trolley) bus network. As the city area is so flat, bicycles were traditionally very popular and are still popular with the less well-off residents, though many now use electric bicycles and scooter (Motor cycle)s. Taxis are also very common. With its line of the newest Hyundai Elantras and Volkswagen Passats, and tight regulations (compulsory A/C, handicap service, lake-blue appearance etc.), the city's taxi service is rated amongst the top in the country. The subway system had been in construction, and it will be 8 metro lines which constitute the whole city's metro network. The completion of the first two lines is expected in 2011 or 2012.

Colleges, universities and High Schools

See also List of universities in the People's Republic of China

National

• Zhejiang University (浙江大学) (founded in 1897)
• China Academy of Art (中国美术学院) (founded in 1928)

Public

• Zhejiang University of Technology (浙江工业大学) (1953~)
• Zhejiang Gongshang University (浙江工商大学)
• Hangzhou Dianzi University (杭州电子科技大学)
• Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (浙江理工大学)
• Zhejiang University of Science and Technology (浙江科技学院)
• Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (浙江中医药大学)
• China Jiliang University (中国计量学院) (founded on Oct. 18, 1978)
• Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics (浙江财经学院)
• Hangzhou Normal University (杭州师范大学)
• Zhejiang University of Media and Communications (浙江传媒学院)

Private

• City College,Zhejiang University (浙江大学城市学院)
• Zhejiang Shuren University (浙江树人大学)

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

High Schools

• Hangzhou High School(杭州高级中学)
• Hangzhou Second High School(杭州市第二高级中学)

Chinese sayings

A typical Chinese garden's window decoration in Hangzhou

"Be born in Suzhou, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou, die in Liuzhou." (生在苏州, 活在杭州, 吃在广州, 死在柳州)

The meaning here lies in the fact that Suzhou was renowned for its beautiful and highly civilized and educated citizens, Hangzhou for its scenery, Guangzhou for its food, and Liuzhou for its nanmu wood coffins which supposedly halted the decay of the body.

"Above is Heaven, Below are Suzhou and Hangzhou." (上有天堂，下有苏杭)

This phrase is semantically similar to the English phrase "paradise on Earth".

Sister cities

• Sayama, Japan, since 1979-02-21
• Boston, United States, since 1982-05-01
• Baguio, Philippines, since 1982-08-13
• Leeds, England, since 1988-06-08
• Fukui, Japan, since 1989-11-23
• Yeosu, South Korea, since 1994-11-01
• Nice, France, since 1998-03-30
• Paramaribo, Suriname, since 1998-05-23
• Budapest, Hungary, since 1999-08-09
• Beit Shemesh, Israel, since 2000-03-12
• Agadir, Morocco, since 2000-06-29
• Curitiba, Brazil, since 2001-09-19
• Kazan, Russia, since 2003-10-16
• Cape Town, South Africa, since 2005-04-18
• Oviedo, Spain, since 2006-05-12

See also

• Jiangnan
• List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population

Further reading

• Cotterell, Arthur. (2007). The Imperial Capitals of China - An Inside View of the Celestial Empire. London: Pimlico. ISBN 9781845950095. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |Pages= ignored (|pages= suggested) (help)
• Gernet, Jacques. (1962). Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250-1276. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-0720-0.

External links

• Hangzhou Government website
• Hangzhou Travel Guide
• Hangzhou Tours and Hotel Bookings
• Hangzhou City Guide | Events | News | Venues | Guide
• Hangzhou Attraction List