Hangzhou ( or , ; , ,
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese ()—in linguistics Standard Northern Mandarin or Standard Beijing Mandarin, in common speech simply Mandarin, better qualified as Standard Mandarin, Modern Standard Mandarin or Standard Mandarin Chinese—is a modern standa ...
pronunciation: ), also
romanized
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...
, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of
Hangzhou Bay
Hangzhou Bay, or the Bay of Hangzhou (), is a funnel-shaped inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai, which lies north of the Bay. The Bay extends from the East China Sea to its head ...
, which separates
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
and
Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
. Hangzhou grew to prominence as the southern terminus of the
Grand Canal and has been one of China's most renowned and prosperous cities for much of the last millennium. It is a major economic and
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manag ...
hub within China, and the second biggest city in
Yangtze Delta
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangna ...
after Shanghai. Hangzhou is classified as a
sub-provincial city
A sub-provincial division () in China is a prefecture-level city governed by a province promoted by half a level. Thus, it is half a level under the provincial level (hence the name sub-provincial) but half a level above the prefecture-level.
...
and forms the core of the Hangzhou metropolitan area, the fourth-largest in China after Guangzhou-Shenzhen Pearl River agglomeration, Shanghai-Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou conurbation and Beijing. As of 2019, the Hangzhou metropolitan area was estimated to produce a
gross metropolitan product
Gross metropolitan product (GMP) is a monetary measure of the value of all final goods and services produced within a metropolitan statistical area during a specified period (''e.g.'', a quarter, a year). GMP estimates are commonly used to compar ...
(
nominal) of 3.2 trillion yuan ($486.53 billion),
making it larger than the economy of Nigeria (the largest in Africa). As of the
2020 Chinese census
The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), also referred to as the 2020 Chinese Census, was the seventh national census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. Census w ...
, it had a total population of 11,936,010 inhabitants. However, its metropolitan area, populated by 13.035 million people over an area of , consists of all urban districts in Hangzhou and 3 urban districts of the city of
Shaoxing
Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitant ...
.
Hangzhou has been repeatedly rated as the best commercial city in
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...
by ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' and the Chinese city with the highest growth potential by the
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...
, and it boasts the eight largest GDP among cities in
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...
with a GDP of around 1.8 trillion
RMB ($280 billion). Home to the headquarters of large global tech companies such as the
Alibaba Group,
Ant Group
Ant Group ()'','' formerly known as Ant Financial, is an affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group. The group owns the world's largest mobile (digital) payment platform Alipay, which serves over 1.3 billion users and 80 million ...
and
NetEase
NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications, and commerce. The company was founded in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile gam ...
, Hangzhou is known for attracting professionals and entrepreneurs who work in
information technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology syste ...
. Since 2014, its rapid population growth has led to a steady increase in local housing prices. According to the 2020 Hurun Global Rich List, Hangzhou ranks 11th in the world and 6th in China (after
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
,
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...
and
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...
) in the number of resident billionaires.
Hangzhou is a major city for scientific research in the Asia-Pacific, ranking
19th globally by scientific outputs. It hosts
several notable universities, including
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...
,
Zhejiang University of Technology,
Hangzhou Normal,
Hangzhou Dianzi,
Zhejiang A&F,
Zhejiang Sci-Tech,
Zhejiang Chinese Medical,
Westlake,
China Jiliang and
Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics. In September 2015, Hangzhou was awarded the
2022 Asian Games
The 2022 Asian Games (), officially known as the 19th Asian Games (), also known as Hangzhou 2022, ( zh, c=杭州2022, p=Hángzhōu Èr líng èr èr), will be a multi-sport event celebrated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Hangzhou will be the t ...
. Its
West Lake
West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural ...
, a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
west of the city, is among its best-known attractions. A study conducted by
PwC
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
and China Development Research Foundation ranked Hangzhou first among "Chinese Cities of Opportunity". According to the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershir ...
(GaWC), the city is classified as
Beta (global second-tier) city, together with
Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a municipality in Southwest China. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the State Co ...
,
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
and
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
in China. Hangzhou is also one of the world's top 100 financial centers, according to the
Global Financial Centres Index
The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World ...
. It will be the third Chinese city to host the
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...
, after
Beijing 1990 and
Guangzhou 2010. Hangzhou also hosted the
11th G20 summit in 2016.
History
Early history
![Jade cong, Liangzhu Culture, 5200-2200 BC, Shanghai Museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Jade_cong%2C_Liangzhu_Culture%2C_5200-2200_BC%2C_Shanghai_Museum.JPG)
The celebrated
neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
culture of
Hemudu is known to have inhabited
Yuyao, south-east of Hangzhou, as far back as seven thousand years ago. It was during this time that rice was first cultivated in southeast China. Excavations have established that the
jade
Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group ...
-carving
Liangzhu culture
The Liangzhu culture (; 3300–2300 BC) was the last Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta of China. The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while pottery ...
(named for its
type site
In archaeology, a type site is the site used to define a particular archaeological culture or other typological unit, which is often named after it. For example, discoveries at La Tène and Hallstatt led scholars to divide the European Iron A ...
just northwest of Hangzhou) inhabited the area immediately around the present city around five thousand years ago. The first of Hangzhou's present neighborhoods to appear in written records was
Yuhang
Yuhang is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. Its 2013 population was estimated at 1.17 million. Its inhabitants speak both Mandarin and a variety of Hangzhounese, ...
, which probably preserves an old
Baiyue
The Baiyue (, ), Hundred Yue, or simply Yue (; ), were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of East China, South China and Northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, b ...
name.
Hangzhou was made the seat of the
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
of Hang in , entitling it to a
city wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
which was constructed two years later. By a longstanding convention also seen in other cities like
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...
and
Fuzhou
Fuzhou (; , Fuzhounese: Hokchew, ''Hók-ciŭ''), alternately romanized as Foochow, is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian province, China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute ...
, the city took on the name of the area it administered and became known as Hangzhou. Hangzhou was 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.
[Ebrey, ''Cambridge Illustrated History of China'', 114: " ..the Grand Canal, dug between 605 and 609 by means of enormous levies of conscripted labour."]
Tang dynasty
In the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
,
Bai Juyi
Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...
was appointed governor of Hangzhou.
[Waley (1941), 131] Already an accomplished poet, his deeds at Hangzhou have led to his being praised as a great governor. He noticed that the farmland nearby depended on the water of
West Lake
West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural ...
, but due to the negligence of previous governors, the old
dyke had collapsed, and the lake so dried out that the local farmers were suffering from severe
drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
. He ordered the construction of a stronger and taller dyke, with a
dam to control the flow of water, thus providing water for irrigation and mitigating the drought problem. The livelihood of local people of Hangzhou improved over the following years. Bai Juyi used his leisure time to enjoy the West Lake, visiting it almost daily. He then had willows and other trees planted along the dyke, making it a beautiful landmark.
It is listed as one of the
Seven Ancient Capitals of China
This is a list of historical capitals of China.
Four Great Ancient Capitals
There are traditionally four major historical capitals of China referred to as the "Four Great Ancient Capitals of China" (). The four are Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang and ...
. It was first the capital of the
Wuyue Kingdom from 907 to 978 during the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...
. Named Xifu () at the time, it was one of the three great bastions of culture in
southern China
South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...
during the tenth century, along with
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...
and
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...
.
[.] Leaders of Wuyue were noted patrons of the arts, particularly of
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
temple architecture and artwork. The dyke built to protect the city by King
gave the
Qiantang its modern name. Hangzhou also became a cosmopolitan center, drawing scholars from throughout China and conducting diplomacy with neighboring Chinese states, and also with
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
,
Goryeo
Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificat ...
, and the
Khitan Liao dynasty
The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...
.
Song dynasty
In 1089, while another renowned poet
Su Shi
Su Shi (; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, gastronomer, pharmacologist, poet, politician, and travel writer during the Song dynasty. A major personality of ...
(Su Dongpo) was the city's governor, he used 200,000 workers to construct a long
causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tr ...
across West Lake. 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
Su Shi (; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, gastronomer, pharmacologist, poet, politician, and travel writer during the Song dynasty. A major personality of ...
a Song dynasty poet who was once the governor of Hangzhou, built out of mud dredged from the lake bottom. 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.
Hangzhou was chosen as the new capital of the
Southern Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
in 1132, when most of
northern China
Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions is not precisely defined and only serve to depict where there appears to be regional differences between the climate ...
had been conquered by the Jurchens in the
Jin–Song wars
The Jin–Song Wars were a series of conflicts between the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234) and the Han-led Song dynasty (960–1279). In 1115, Jurchen tribes rebelled against their overlords, the Khitan-led Liao dynasty (916–1125), ...
. The surviving
imperial family had retreated south from its original capital in
Kaifeng
Kaifeng () is a prefecture-level city in east-central Henan province, China. It is one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China, having been the capital eight times in history, and is best known for having been the Chinese capital during the Nort ...
after it was captured by the
Jurchens
Jurchen (Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They lived in the northeast of China, later known as Manch ...
in the
Jingkang Incident of 1127.
Emperor Gaozong moved to Nanjing, then to modern
Shangqiu
Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respectivel ...
, then to
Yangzhou
Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, ...
in 1128, and finally to Hangzhou in 1129.
The Song government intended it to be a temporary capital, but over the decades Hangzhou grew into a major commercial and cultural center of the Song dynasty, rising from being a middling city of no special importance to being one of the world's largest and most prosperous.
Once the prospect of retaking northern China had diminished, government buildings in Hangzhou were extended and renovated to better befit its status as a permanent imperial capital. The imperial palace in Hangzhou, modest in size, was expanded in 1133 with new roofed alleyways, and in 1148 with an extension of the palace walls. The city walls were built with
tamped earth
Rammed earth is a technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainable building method.
...
and stone and was 30 feet high and 10 feet thick at its base. There were 13 gates and several towers on the walls. The walls covered the city by four miles north to south and only one mile east to west.
According to the Italian explorer
Odoric of Pordenone, Hangzhou was the greatest city in the world. It was heavily populated and filled with large family estates. It had 12,000 bridges. Bread, pork, rice, and wine were abundant despite the large population. Arab merchants lived in Hangzhou during the
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
, due to the fact that the oceangoing trade passages took precedence over land trade during this time. The
Phoenix Mosque was constructed by a Persian settler in Hangzhou.
From 1132 until the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
invasion of 1276, Hangzhou remained the capital of the Southern Song dynasty and was known as Lin'an (). 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
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
. During that time the city was a 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
Jurchen (Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They lived in the northeast of China, later known as Manch ...
.
Numerous philosophers, politicians, and men of literature, including some of the most celebrated poets in Chinese history such as
Su Shi
Su Shi (; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, gastronomer, pharmacologist, poet, politician, and travel writer during the Song dynasty. A major personality of ...
,
Lu You
Lu You (; 1125–1210) was a Chinese historian and poet of the Southern Song Dynasty (南宋).
Career Early life and marriage
Lu You was born on a boat floating in the Wei River early on a rainy morning, November 13, 1125. At the time of his ...
, and
Xin Qiji
Xin Qiji (28 May 1140 – 3 Oct 1207) was a Chinese calligrapher, military general, and poet during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279).
Life
During Xin's lifetime, northern China was occupied during the Jin–Song Wars by the Jurchens of ...
came here to live and die. Hangzhou is also the birthplace and final resting place of the scientist
Shen Kuo
Shen Kuo (; 1031–1095) or Shen Gua, courtesy name Cunzhong (存中) and pseudonym Mengqi (now usually given as Mengxi) Weng (夢溪翁),Yao (2003), 544. was a Chinese polymathic scientist and statesman of the Song dynasty (960–1279). Shen wa ...
(1031–1095 AD), his tomb being located in the
Yuhang
Yuhang is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. Its 2013 population was estimated at 1.17 million. Its inhabitants speak both Mandarin and a variety of Hangzhounese, ...
district.
[Yuhang Cultural Network (October 2003)]
Shen Kuo's Tomb
The Yuhang District of Hangzhou Cultural Broadcasting Press and Publications Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-05-06.
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
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
'', 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.
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 1208, 1229, 1237, and 1275. The 1237 fire alone destroyed 30,000 dwellings. However, the worst was the 1208 fire which burned for 4 days in a 3-mile diameter and burnt 58,097 houses as well as killing 59 people. To combat this threat, the city constructed storage buildings that were rented out to merchants where watchmen patrolled by night and was enclosed by water on all sides.
Besides this, 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 fire.
Yuan dynasty
Hangzhou was besieged and captured by the advancing
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
armies of
Kublai Khan
Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of ...
in 1276, three years before the final collapse of the Southern Song.
[Gernet, 15.] Historian
Patricia Buckley Ebrey
Patricia Buckley Ebrey (born March 7, 1947) is an American historian specializing in cultural and gender issues during the Chinese Song Dynasty. Ebrey obtained her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago in 1968 and her Masters and PhD fro ...
noted that the Mongol
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
treated the Jurchen Wanyan royal family harshly, butchering them by the hundreds as well as the
Tangut emperor of
Western Xia
The Western Xia or the Xi Xia (), officially the Great Xia (), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as ''Mi-nyak''Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts and Tibetans, was a Tangut-led Buddhist imperial dynasty of China tha ...
when they defeated him earlier. However Patricia also noted the Mongols were totally lenient on the Han Chinese Zhao royal family of the
Southern Song
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
explicitly unlike the Jurchens during the
Jingkang incident, sparing both the Southern Song royals in the capital Hangzhou like the
Emperor Gong of Song
Emperor Gong of Song (2 November 1271 – 1323), personal name Zhao Xian, was the 16th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the seventh emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. The sixth son of his predecessor, Emperor Duzong, Zhao Xian ca ...
and his mother as well as sparing the civilians inside it and not sacking the city, allowing them to go about their normal business, rehiring Southern Song officials. The Mongols did not take the southern Song palace women for themselves but instead had Han Chinese artisans in
Shangdu marry the palace women. The capital of the new
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
was established in the city of
Dadu (
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
), but Hangzhou remained an important commercial and administrative center for their southern territory.
File:Hangzhou pic 10.jpg, Leifeng Pagoda
File:Leifeng Pagoda in the Southern Song Dynasty by Li Song.jpg, ''Xi Hu Landscape'' by Li Song (1190–1264), showing the Leifeng Pagoda in the Southern Song Dynasty.
File:西湖平湖秋月.JPG, "Moon over the Peaceful Lake in Autumn", one of the Ten Scenes of the Xi Hu
Image:Hupao.jpg, Dreaming of the Tiger Spring
Hupao or Dreaming of the Tiger Spring () is a spring and park in southwestern Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.
The water from the spring itself seeps out from quartzite and is regarded as among the finest in China. The water is popular for ...
, the burial place of monk Jigong
Ji Gong (, 22 December 1130 – 16 May 1209), born Li Xiuyuan and also known as "Chan Master Daoji" () was a Chan Buddhism, Chan Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk who lived in the Southern Song. He purportedly possessed supernatural powers, which he used ...
.
Foreign descriptions
Yuan China was very open to foreign visitors, and several returned west describing Hangzhou—under the names Khinzai, Campsay, etc.as one of the foremost cities in the world. The
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
merchant
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in '' The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
supposedly visited Hangzhou in the late 13th century. In
his book, he records that the city was "greater than any in the world"
and that "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 manuscripts of Polo's account greatly exaggerate the city's size, although it has been argued that the "hundred miles" of walls would be plausible if
Chinese miles were intended instead of
Italian ones and that the "12,000 stone bridges" might have been a copyist error born from the city's 12 gates. In the 14th century, the
Moroccan traveler
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berber Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, largely in the Muslim ...
arrived; his later account concurred that al-Khansā was "the biggest city I have ever seen on the face of the earth."
He visited Hangzhou in 1345 and noted its charm and described how the city
sat on a beautiful lake and was surrounded by gentle green hills. He was particularly impressed by the large number of well-crafted and well-painted Chinese wooden ships with colored sails and silk awnings in the canals. He attended a banquet held by Qurtai, the
Yuan Mongol administrator of the city, who according to Ibn Battuta, was fond of the skills of local Chinese
conjurers.
Modern history
![Hangzhou CBD 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Hangzhou_CBD_2.jpg)
The city remained an important port until the middle of the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
era, when its harbor slowly
silt
Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel ...
ed up. Under the
Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, it was the site of an
imperial army garrison.
In 1856 and 1860, the
Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied Hangzhou. The city was heavily damaged during its conquest, occupation, and eventual reconquest by the Qing army.
Hangzhou was ruled by the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...
government under the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
from 1927 to 1937. From 1937 to 1945, the city was occupied by
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
. The Kuomintang returned in 1945, and governed until 1949. On May 3, 1949, the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...
entered Hangzhou and the city came under
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
(CCP) control. After
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...
's reformist policies began in the end of 1978, Hangzhou took advantage of being situated in the
Yangtze Delta
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangna ...
to bolster its development. It is now one of China's most prosperous major cities.
During the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...
, Hangzhou was stage to a series of labor unrest and factional fighting known as the
Hangzhou incident.
In September 2015, Hangzhou was awarded the
2022 Asian Games
The 2022 Asian Games (), officially known as the 19th Asian Games (), also known as Hangzhou 2022, ( zh, c=杭州2022, p=Hángzhōu Èr líng èr èr), will be a multi-sport event celebrated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Hangzhou will be the t ...
. It will be the third city in China to host the
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...
after
Beijing 1990 and
Guangzhou 2010. It also hosted the
eleventh G20 summit in 2016.
In February 2020, the city was under curfew measures due to the
outbreak of coronavirus beginning in Wuhan that
spread across China.
Geography
Hangzhou is located in northwestern Zhejiang province, at the southern end of the
Grand Canal of China
The Grand Canal, known to the Chinese as the Jing–Hang Grand Canal (, or more commonly, as the「大运河」("Grand Canal")), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest canal or artificial river in the world. Starting in Beijing, it passes ...
, which runs to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
, in the south-central portion of the
Yangtze River Delta
The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan re ...
. Its administrative area (sub-provincial city) extends west to the mountainous parts of
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...
province, and east to the coastal plain near
Hangzhou Bay
Hangzhou Bay, or the Bay of Hangzhou (), is a funnel-shaped inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai, which lies north of the Bay. The Bay extends from the East China Sea to its head ...
. The city center is built around the eastern and northern sides of the West Lake, just north of the
Qiantang River
The Qiantang River, formerly known as the Hangchow River and alternatively romanised as the Tsientang River, is a river in East China. An important commercial artery, it runs for through Zhejiang, passing through the provincial capital Hangz ...
.
Climate
Hangzhou's climate is
humid subtropical
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(
Köppen ''Cfa'') with four distinctive seasons, characterised by long, very hot, humid summers and chilly, cloudy and drier winters (with occasional snow). The mean annual temperature is , with monthly daily averages ranging from in January to in July. The city receives an average annual rainfall of and is affected by the
plum rains of the Asian monsoon in June. In late summer (August to September), Hangzhou suffers
typhoon
A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...
storms, but typhoons seldom strike it directly. Generally they make landfall along the southern coast of Zhejiang, and affect the area with strong winds and stormy rains. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from on 6 February 1969 up to on 9 August 2013; unofficial readings have reached , set on 29 December 1912 and 24 January 1916, up to , set on 10 August 1930. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 30% in March to 51% in August, the city receives 1,709.4 hours of sunshine annually.
Demographics
![The Villa at 214, Nanshan Road 01 2015-03](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/The_Villa_at_214%2C_Nanshan_Road_01_2015-03.JPG)
Hangzhou is a city in China and had a population of 5,162,039 (including Xiaoshan and Yuhang) at the 2010 census, an increase of 4.8% per year since the 2000 census. The most recent estimates of the city's urban area population are between 6,658,000 and 6,820,000.
During the
2010 Chinese census
The 2010 Chinese census, officially the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (中華人民共和國第六次全國人口普查), was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China w ...
, the metropolitan area held 21.102 million people over an area of .
Hangzhou
prefecture
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
had a
registered population of 9,018,000 in 2015. The entire province had a population of 8,700,373, and the encompassing
urban agglomeration
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
(including
Shaoxing
Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitant ...
) is estimated to have population of 8,450,000.
The encompassing
metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
was estimated by the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) to have, , a population of 13.4 million,
[ Linked from the OEC]
here
although other sources put the figure at over 21 million. The Hangzhou metropolitan area includes the major cities of
Shaoxing
Shaoxing (; ) is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as Kuaiji and Shanyin and abbreviated in Chinese as (''Yuè'') from the area's former inhabitant ...
,
Jiaxing
Jiaxing (), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the p ...
and
Huzhou
Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provin ...
.
Politics
Structure
Administrative divisions
Hangzhou is classified as a
sub-provincial city
A sub-provincial division () in China is a prefecture-level city governed by a province promoted by half a level. Thus, it is half a level under the provincial level (hence the name sub-provincial) but half a level above the prefecture-level.
...
and forms the core of the Hangzhou metropolitan area,
the fourth-largest in China. It is the capital and most populous city of
Zhejiang Province
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
in
East China
East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China.
A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Governme ...
. Hangzhou comprises 10
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
, 1
county-level city
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
, and 2
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
. The ten urban districts occupy and have a population of 8,241,000, in which there are six central urban districts and four suburban districts. The central urban districts occupy and have a population of 3,780,000 and the suburban districts occupy and have a population of 4,461,000.
In the early 90s, the urban districts of Hangzhou only comprises Shangcheng, Xiacheng, Gongshu, Jianggan.
On December 11, 1996,
Binjiang District
() is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, in East China, it is located in the core urban area of Hangzou. It is across the Qiantang River from West Lake and the older parts of Ha ...
was established. On March 12, 2001, Xiaoshan and Yuhang, formerly two
county-level cities
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
under the administration of Hangzhou
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of Chi ...
, were re-organized as two districts. On December 13, 2014, and in July 2017, Fuyang and Lin'an, formerly two
county-level cities
A county-level municipality (), county-level city or county city, formerly known as prefecture-controlled city (1949–1970: ; 1970–1983: ), is a county-level administrative division of the People's Republic of China. County-level ...
under the administration of Hangzhou
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of Chi ...
, were re-organized as two districts. On April 9, 2021,
Linping District
Linping is a district of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. It officially become a district on April 9, 2021.
Linping District has a total area of 280 Square kilometers as of April 2021. Linping ...
and
Qiantang District
Qiantang District is a district in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province in China. In August 2019, the Hangzhou Qiantang New Area, a provincial-level new area in Zhejiang established, and later has been transformed into a new area and integ ...
was established.
Economy
![Alibaba Center in Binjiang Hangzhou2021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Alibaba_Center_in_Binjiang_Hangzhou2021.jpg)
Hangzhou's economy has rapidly developed since its opening up in 1992. It is an industrial city with many diverse sectors such as light industry, agriculture, and textiles. It is considered an important manufacturing base and logistics hub for coastal China.
Additionally, the city is an
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manag ...
and technology hub. The 2001 GDP of Hangzhou was
RMB 156.8 billion, which ranked second among all of the provincial capitals after Guangzhou. The city has more than tripled its GDP since then, increasing from RMB 156.8 billion in 2001 to RMB 1.3509 trillion in 2018 and GDP per capita increasing from US$3,020 to $21,184.
As of 2019, the Hangzhou metropolitan area was estimated to produce a
gross metropolitan product
Gross metropolitan product (GMP) is a monetary measure of the value of all final goods and services produced within a metropolitan statistical area during a specified period (''e.g.'', a quarter, a year). GMP estimates are commonly used to compar ...
(
nominal) of 3.2 trillion yuan ($486.53 billion),
making it larger than the economies of Argentina, with a GDP of $452 billion (the 26th biggest in the World) and Nigeria with a GDP of $448 billion (the largest in Africa).
A study conducted by
PwC
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
and China Development Research Foundation saw Hangzhou ranked first among "Chinese Cities of Opportunity". Hangzhou is also considered a
World City with a "Beta+" classification according to
GaWC
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershir ...
. Hangzhou ranked 89 in the
Global Financial Centres Index
The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World ...
in 2018.
It was also ranked first in the China Emerging City Rankings of the
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...
, which assesses Chinese cities growth potential, in both 2021 and 2022. Hangzhou ranks 11th in the world and 6th in China (after
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
,
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...
and
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...
) in terms of the number of billionaires according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2020.
Industries
Hangzhou is the headquarters of several technology companies including
Alibaba Group,
Ant Group
Ant Group ()'','' formerly known as Ant Financial, is an affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group. The group owns the world's largest mobile (digital) payment platform Alipay, which serves over 1.3 billion users and 80 million ...
,
NetEase
NetEase, Inc. () is a Chinese Internet technology company providing online services centered on content, community, communications, and commerce. The company was founded in 1997 by Ding Lei. NetEase develops and operates online PC and mobile gam ...
and
HikVision
Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Ltd., often shortened to Hikvision, is a Chinese state-owned manufacturer and supplier of video surveillance equipment for civilian and military purposes, headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Due to i ...
. As a result of its internet industry, many programmers from other cities such as Shanghai or Beijing have come to Hangzhou. The city has developed many new industries, including medicine, information technology, heavy equipment, automotive components, household electrical appliances, electronics, telecommunication, fine chemicals, chemical fibre and food
processing.
Economic and Technological Development Zones
Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone was established and approved as a national development zone by the
State Council in 1993. It covers an area of . Encouraged industries include electronic information, biological medicine, machinery and household appliances manufacturing, and food processing. Hangzhou Export Processing Zone was established on April 27, 2000, upon approval of the State Council. It was one of the first zones and the only one in Zhejiang Province to be approved by the government. Its total planned area is . It is located close to
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is the principal airport serving Hangzhou, a major city in the Yangtze River Delta region and the capital of Zhejiang Province, China. and Hangzhou Port.
Hangzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was set up with approval from the State Council as a state-level high-tech Industrial Development Zone in March 1991. The HHTZ is composed of three parts, with the main regions being the Zhijiang Sci-Tech Industrial Park and Xiasha Sci-Tech Industrial Park. HHTZ has become one of the most influential high-tech innovation and high-tech industry bases in Zhejiang Province. , HHTZ hosts more than 1,100 software developers and
BPO enterprises. Major companies such as
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...
,
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational telecommunications, information technology, and consumer electronics corporation, established in 1865. Nokia's main headquarters are in Espoo, Finland, i ...
and
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...
have established R&D centers in the zone. In 2011, the GDP of the zone rose by 13.1 percent, amounting to RMB 41.63 billion. This accounted for 5.9 percent of Hangzhou's total GDP. The HHTZ positions itself as the "Silicon Valley" of China. The Alibaba Group is headquartered in the zone.
Tourism
![Former Residence of Hu Xueyan 3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/Former_Residence_of_Hu_Xueyan_3.jpg)
Hangzhou is known for its historic relics and natural environment. Although Hangzhou has been through many recent urban developments, it still retains its historical and cultural heritage. Today,
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
remains an important factor for Hangzhou's economy.
[Hangzhou Today: Tourism](_blank)
China Pages. Retrieved August 22, 2006. One of Hangzhou's most popular sights is
West Lake
West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural ...
, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. The West Lake Cultural Landscape covers an area of and includes some of Hangzhou's most notable historic and scenic places. Adjacent to the lake is an area which includes historical pagodas, cultural sites, as well as the natural environment of the lake and hills, including
Phoenix Mountain. There are two causeways across the lake.
;Other places of interest:
*
Grand Canal, also a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. The part of the Canal in Hangzhou was built in 610 AD. The core historical sites are accessible by Hangzhou Metro
Line 5's
The Grand Canal station
The Grand Canal () is a metro station on Line 5 of the Hangzhou Metro in China. It is located in the Gongshu District
Gongshu District ( ) is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Provin ...
or
East Gongchen Bridge station.
* The world's largest
tidal bore
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (se ...
races up the
Qiantang River
The Qiantang River, formerly known as the Hangchow River and alternatively romanised as the Tsientang River, is a river in East China. An important commercial artery, it runs for through Zhejiang, passing through the provincial capital Hangz ...
through Hangzhou reaching up to in height.
* The residence of
Hu Xueyan
Hu Guangyong (1823–1885), better known by his courtesy name Xueyan, was a businessman in China during the latter Qing dynasty. He was active in banking, real estate, shipping and Chinese medicine. He was involved in the salt, tea, clothing, gra ...
() located on Yuanbao Street was built in 1872 by Hu Xueyan, a native of
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...
, a very successful businessman. It was restored and opened to the public in 2001.
*
Xixi National Wetland Park. Established with the aim of preserving the wetland ecological system, it covers an area of about . Fish ponds and reed beds have been restored and it is home to many types of birds. It holds a temple and several historic rural houses.
*
Hangzhou Botanical Garden
*
Hangzhou Zoo
Hangzhou Zoo () is a zoo in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.
External links
Hangzhou Zoo website(Chinese)
*https://archive.today/20121129015025/http://monkey.ioz.ac.cn/bwg-cciced/english/bwg-cciced/tech-21.htm
*http://www.hudong.com/wiki ...
* Old China Street on He Fang Street (''He Fang Jie'' or ''Qing He Fang'', literally 'neighbourhood along the river'), which offers various souvenirs.
* Jade Springs (Yu Quan)
*
Yuefei Temple
The Yue Fei Temple or commonly known in Chinese as Yuewang Temple () is a temple built in honour of Yue Fei, a general of the Southern Song dynasty who fought against the Jurchen Jin dynasty during the Jin–Song Wars, after the capital of China m ...
A temple constructed during the
Song Dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
in 1221 to commemorate
Yue Fei
Yue Fei ( zh, t=岳飛; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general who lived during the Southern Song dynasty and a national hero of China, known for leading Southern Song forces in the wa ...
, which is located near the
West Lake
West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural ...
.
*
West Lake Cultural Square West Lake Cultural Square (), is a square in the Xiacheng District of Hangzhou, China. It was built in 2002 and it covers an area of 36,000 m. It is used for science and performing arts exhibitions, entertainment, leisure, and also has a business c ...
is one of the tallest buildings in the city centre (about ) and houses the Zhejiang Natural History Museum and Zhejiang Museum of Science and Technology.
*
Qiandao Lake
Qiandao Lake (), a human-made, freshwater lake located in Chun'an County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, was formed after the completion of the Xin'an River hydroelectric station in 1959.
Geography
1,078 large islands dot the lake and a ...
is a man-made lake with the largest number of islands in
Chun'an County
() is a county of Zhejiang Province, East China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang, containing the well-known Qiandao Lake and bordering Anhui province to the northwest. It has ...
, under administration of the Hangzhou
prefecture-level city
A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure.
During the Republican era, many of Chi ...
. These islands are different in size and shape, and have distinctive scene.
*
Longjing tea
Longjing tea (; Standard Chinese pronunciation ), sometimes called by its literal translated name Dragon Well tea, is a variety of pan-roasted green tea from the area of Longjing Village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. It is produced ...
fields, west of the lake.
*
Qiantang River
The Qiantang River, formerly known as the Hangchow River and alternatively romanised as the Tsientang River, is a river in East China. An important commercial artery, it runs for through Zhejiang, passing through the provincial capital Hangz ...
is the largest river in Zhejiang Province, China. Every year during August 15 to August 18 of the lunar month in China, the Qiantang Tide occurs. It is called "the Biggest Tide in the World"
In March 2013 the Hangzhou Tourism Commission started an online campaign via Facebook, the 'Modern Marco Polo' campaign. Over the next year nearly 26,000 participants applied from around the globe, in the hopes of becoming Hangzhou's first foreign tourism ambassador. In a press conference in Hangzhou on 20 May 2014,
Liam Bates was announced as the successful winner and won a $55,000 contract, being the first foreigner ever to be appointed by China's government in such an official role.
Religion
Scenic places near West Lake
*
Jingci Temple
Jingci Temple () is located at the foot of Huiri Peak of Nanping Hill. It is the second prominent Buddhist temple beside West Lake in Hangzhou, China. Together with Lingyin Temple, it is called the jewel of the southern and northern hills. The t ...
is located just south of West Lake.
*
Lingyin Temple (Soul's Retreat) is located about west of West Lake. This is believed to be the oldest
Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism repres ...
in the city, which has gone through numerous destruction and reconstruction cycles.
*
Baochu Pagoda is located just north of West Lake on Precious Stone Hill ()
*
Yue-Wang Temple (King Yue's Temple) or Yue Fei Miao is on the northwest shore of West Lake. It was originally constructed in 1221 in memory of General
Yue Fei
Yue Fei ( zh, t=岳飛; March 24, 1103 – January 28, 1142), courtesy name Pengju (), was a Chinese military general who lived during the Southern Song dynasty and a national hero of China, known for leading Southern Song forces in the wa ...
, who died due to political persecution.
*
Leifeng Pagoda, located on Sunset Hill south of West Lake.
Other religious buildings
*
Liuhe Pagoda or six harmonies pagoda is located on Yuelun Hill on the north bank of Qiantang River
*
Confucius Temple
* Chenghuangmiao (City God Pavilion) located on Wushan (Wu Hill)
*
Dreaming of the Tiger Spring
Hupao or Dreaming of the Tiger Spring () is a spring and park in southwestern Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China.
The water from the spring itself seeps out from quartzite and is regarded as among the finest in China. The water is popular for ...
* The
Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Hangzhou The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception () is a Roman Catholic cathedral, located at 415 Zhongshan Road North (中山北路415号) not far from Wulin Square (武林广场) in downtown Hangzhou, China. Since it is the only Catholic ch ...
is one of the oldest
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
churches in China, dating back 400 years to the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
.
*
Fenghuang Mosque () is one of the oldest
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s in China, the current construction at the intersection of Xihu Avenue () and the Central Zhongshan Road () dates back 700 years to the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
.
*
Hupao Temple ()
Islam
In 1848, during the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, Hangzhou was described as the "stronghold" of
Islam in China
Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most num ...
, the city containing several mosques with Arabic inscriptions. A Hui from
Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
also told an Englishman that Hangzhou was the "stronghold" of Islam in Zhejiang province, containing multiple mosques, compared to his small congregation of around 30 families in Ningbo for his mosque. Within the city of Hangzhou are two notable mosques:
New Hangzhou Great Mosque and the
Phoenix Mosque
Judaism
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
Kaifeng Jewish community.
There was formerly a Jewish synagogue in Ningbo, as well as one in Hangzhou, but no traces of them are now discoverable, and the only Jews known to exist in China were in Kaifeng.
Christianity
Two of the
Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism The Three Pillars of Chinese Catholicism (聖教三柱石, literally the "Holy Religion's Three Pillar-Stones") refer to three Chinese converts to Christianity, during the 16th and 17th century Jesuit China missions:
* Xú Guāngqǐ ( Wade–Giles ...
were from Hangzhou. There was
persecution of Christians
The persecution of Christians can be historically traced from the first century of the Christian era to the present day. Christian missionaries and converts to Christianity have both been targeted for persecution, sometimes to the point of ...
in the early 21st century in the city.
Culture
![Relics Unearthed from Leifeng Pagoda Site 03 2017-12](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Relics_Unearthed_from_Leifeng_Pagoda_Site_03_2017-12.jpg)
The native residents of Hangzhou, like those of
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...
and southern
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...
, speak the
Hangzhou dialect, which is a
Wu dialect. However, Wu Chinese varies throughout the area where it is spoken, hence, Hangzhou's dialect differs from those of regions in southern Zhejiang and southern
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...
. As the official language defined by China's central government,
Mandarin is the dominant spoken language.
There are several museums located in Hangzhou with regional and national importance. China National Silk Museum (), located near the West Lake, is one of the first state-level museums in China and the largest silk museum in the world. China National Tea Museum () is a national museum with special subjects as tea and its culture. Zhejiang Provincial Museum () features collection of integrated human studies, exhibition and research with its over 100,000 collected cultural relics.
Many theaters in Hangzhou host opera shows.
Yue opera
Yue opera, also known as Shaoxing opera, is the Chinese opera genre. Only Peking opera is more popular nationwide.
Originating in Shengzhou, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province in 1906, Yue opera features actresses in male roles as well as femininity ...
, originated from Shengzhou, Zhejiang Province, is the second-largest opera form in China. Also, there are several big shows themed with the history and culture of Hangzhou lik
Impression West Lakeand the Romance of Song Dynasty.
Hangzhou has historically been an important hub for artists and scholars. In modern times, Hangzhou was home to the
China Academy of Art
China Academy of Art (), also translated as China National Academy of Fine Arts, was founded in Hangzhou in 1928 by the government of the Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China and the renowned educator Cai Yuanpei. It was the first a ...
and prominent painters such as
Lin Fengmian and
Fang Ganmin.
Tea is an important part of Hangzhou's economy and culture. Hangzhou is best known for originating
Longjing, a notable variety of
green tea
Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since th ...
, the most notable type being
Longjing Tea
Longjing tea (; Standard Chinese pronunciation ), sometimes called by its literal translated name Dragon Well tea, is a variety of pan-roasted green tea from the area of Longjing Village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. It is produced ...
. Known as the best type of Long Jing tea, Xi Hu Long Jing is grown in Longjing village
near
West Lake
West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural ...
in Hangzhou, hence its name.
The local government of Hangzhou heavily invests in promoting tourism and the arts, with emphasis placed upon
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...
production,
umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally use ...
s, and Chinese hand-held folding
fans.
Cuisine
![Xi Hu Longjing Tea 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Xi_Hu_Longjing_Tea_01.jpg)
Hangzhou's local cuisine is often considered to be representative of
Zhejiang provincial cuisine, which is claimed as one of
China's eight fundamental cuisines. The locally accepted consensus among Hangzhou's natives defines dishes prepared in this style to be "fresh, tender, soft, and smooth, with a mellow fragrance."
Generally, Hangzhou's cuisines tend to be sweeter rather than savoury. Owing to the fact that Hangzhou is located near the Yangtze river, where the climate is mild, the local people enjoy a light diet incorporating river fishes. The rich history of the city provides the local people with stories revolving around the origins of local dishes.
Dishes such as Pian Er Chuan Noodles (), West Lake Vinegar Fish (), Dongpo Pork (), Longjing Shrimp (),
Beggar's Chicken (), Steamed Rice and Pork Wrapped by Lotus Leaves(), Braised Bamboo Shoots (), Lotus Root Pudding () and Sister Song's Fish Soup () are some of the better-known examples of Hangzhou's regional cuisine.
restaurants in Hangzhou include Xin Feng restaurant (), Zhi Wei Guan (), Grandma's Home (), Green Tea Restaurant (), etc. These restaurants create the advanced food and dishes of the traditional Hangzhou cuisine, and .
Longjing tea
Longjing tea (; Standard Chinese pronunciation ), sometimes called by its literal translated name Dragon Well tea, is a variety of pan-roasted green tea from the area of Longjing Village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. It is produced ...
is the most famous green tea and rank first among top ten famous teas in China. Those planted by the
West Lake
West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. It is divided into five sections by three causeways. There are numerous temples, pagodas, gardens, and natural/artificial islands within the lake. Gushan (孤山) is the largest natural ...
is the best Longjing tea.
Transportation
Port
The Port of Hangzhou is a small river port with a cargo throughput that exceeds 100 million tons annually.
Air
Hangzhou is served by the
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is the principal airport serving Hangzhou, a major city in the Yangtze River Delta region and the capital of Zhejiang Province, China. , which provides direct service to many international destinations such as
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
,
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Regional routes reach
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
, and
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
. It has an extensive domestic route network within the PRC and is consistently ranked top 10 in passenger traffic among Chinese airports. Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport has two terminals, Terminal A and Terminal B. The smaller Terminal A serves all international and regional flights while the larger Terminal B solely handles domestic traffic. The airport is located just outside the city in the
Xiaoshan District
Xiaoshan is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. Xiaoshan was formerly a city in its own right, separated by the Qiantang River from Hangzhou proper, but the municipal ...
with direct bus service linking the airport with Downtown Hangzhou. The ambitious expansion project will see the addition of a second runway and a third terminal which will dramatically increase capacity of the fast-growing airport that serves as a secondary hub of
Air China
Air China Limited () is the flag carrier of the People's Republic of China and one of the "Big Three" mainland Chinese airlines (alongside China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines). Air China's headquarters are in Shunyi District ...
. A new elevated airport express highway is under construction on top of the existing highway between the airport and downtown Hangzhou. The second phase of Hangzhou Metro Line 1 has a planned extension to the airport.
Railway
Hangzhou sits on the intersecting point of some of the busiest rail corridors in China. The city's main station is
Hangzhou East station (colloquially "East Station" , official national rail translation: Hangzhoudong Station). It is one of the biggest rail traffic hubs in China, consisting of 15 platforms that house the High Speed services to Shanghai, Nanjing, Changsha, Ningbo, and beyond. The metro station beneath the rail complex building is a stop along the Hangzhou Metro Line 1 and Line 4. There are frequent departures for
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
with approximately 20-minute headways from 6:00 to 21:00. Non-stop CRH high-speed service between Hangzhou and Shanghai takes 50 minutes and leaves every hour (excluding a few early morning/late night departures) from both directions. Other
CRH CRH may refer to:
* Calibre radius head, a traditional British ordnance term for a concept in ballistic projectile design
* Celtic Resources Holdings, an Irish mining company
* China Railway High-speed, a high-speed railway service operated by China ...
high-speed trains that stop at one or more stations along the route complete the trip in 59 to 75 minutes. Most other major cities in China can also be reached by direct train service from Hangzhou. The
Hangzhou railway station
Hangzhou railway station ( or ) is located in Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. It is affiliated to Shanghai Railway Bureau, and is also the terminal of the Shanghai–Hangzhou Railway. The station is ranked first-class.
...
(colloquially the "City Station" ) was closed for renovation in mid 2013 but has recently opened again.
A second high-speed rail channel through Hangzhou is operational along with another major station,
Hangzhou West,opened on September 22, 2022.
Direct trains link Hangzhou with more than 50 main cities, including 12 daily services to
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
and more than 100 daily services to
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
; they reach as far as
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
. The
China Railway High-Speed
China Railway High-speed (CRH) is a high-speed rail service operated by China Railway.
The introduction of CRH series was a major part of the sixth national railway speedup, implemented on April 18, 2007. By the end of 2020, China Railway ...
service inaugurated on October 26, 2010. The service is operated by the CRH 380A(L), CRH 380B(L) and CRH380CL train sets which travel at a maximum speed of , shortening the duration of the trip to only 45 minutes.
Coach
Central (to the east of the city centre, taking the place of the former east station), north, south, and west long-distance coach stations offer frequent coach service to nearby cities/towns within Zhejiang province, as well as surrounding provinces.
Bus
Hangzhou has an efficient bus network, consisting of a modern fleet of diesel, hybrid and electric buses, as well as
trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
es. Hangzhou was once known for its extensive
bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
network expanding from downtown to many suburban areas through dedicated bus lanes on some of the busiest streets in the city. However, as of mid-2021, all but one BRT routes and feeding routes had closed or been transformed to regular routes. Only route B1 is still in operation.
Cycle hire
Bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
B ...
s and
electric scooters are very popular, and major streets have dedicated bike lanes throughout the city. Hangzhou has an extensive
public bike rental system, the
Hangzhou Public Bicycle system. A dock-and-station system similar to those in Paris and London is adopted and users can hire a bicycle with IC card or mobile phone application. Journeys within 60 minutes are free of charge.
Metro
Hangzhou Metro
The Hangzhou Metro () is a rapid transit system that serves Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, China. The system opened on November 24, 2012. It is the 17th city in China to operate a rapid transit system.
Network
Metro
Commuter rail
Descrip ...
has a network of 323 km as of mid-2021, not including the
Hangzhou-Haining Intercity Railway which has a length of 46 km. Major expansion plans continue. It is the 17th city in China to have a rapid rail transit system. In 2018, the
State Council approved the planning for 15 metro lines, including extensions to the three existing lines, scheduled to open in time for the
2022 Asian Games
The 2022 Asian Games (), officially known as the 19th Asian Games (), also known as Hangzhou 2022, ( zh, c=杭州2022, p=Hángzhōu Èr líng èr èr), will be a multi-sport event celebrated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Hangzhou will be the t ...
. By then the Hangzhou Metro system is projected have a network of .
The construction of the Metro started in March 2006, and Line 1 opened on November 24, 2012.
Line 1 connects city centre with suburbs. It run from Xianghu to Wenze Road with a branch to Lingping, which would later become part of Line 9. By June 2015, the southeast section of Line 2 (starts in Xiaoshan District, ends to the south of the city centre) and a short part of Line 4 (fewer than 10 stations, connecting Line 1 and Line 2) were completed. The system is expected to have 15 lines upon completion; most lines are still under construction. The extensions of Line 2 (city centre and northwest Hangzhou) and Line 4 (east of
Binjiang District
() is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, in East China, it is located in the core urban area of Hangzou. It is across the Qiantang River from West Lake and the older parts of Ha ...
) opened in 2018. Line 5/6/7/8 opened their first parts in 2019 and 2020
Taxis
Taxis are also popular in the city, with the newest line of
Hyundai Sonata
The Hyundai Sonata is a mid-size car that has been manufactured by Hyundai since 1985. The first generation Sonata, which was introduced in 1985, was a facelifted Hyundai Stellar with an engine upgrade, and was withdrawn from the market in two ...
s and
Volkswagen Passats, and tight regulations. In early 2011, 30 electric taxis were deployed in Hangzhou; 15 were
Zotye
Zotye Auto (; officially Zotye International Automobile Trading Co., Ltd.) was a privately owned Chinese automobile manufacturer based in Yongkang, Zhejiang, China. It was owned by Zotye Holding Group and was established in 2005 and known for it ...
Langyues and the other 15 were
Haima Freemas. In April, however, one Zoyte Langyue caught fire, and all of the electric taxis were taken off the roads later that day. The city still intends to have a fleet of 200 electric taxis by the end of 2011. In 2014, a large number of new electric taxis produced by Xihu-BYD (Xihu (westlake) is a local company which produced televisions in the past) were deployed.
Education and Research
Universities
Hangzhou hosts many universities, most notably the
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a National university, national public university, public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigiou ...
, which is one of the world's top 100th comprehensive public research universities. Hangzhou has a large student population with many higher education institutions based in the city. Public universities include
Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a National university, national public university, public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigiou ...
,
Zhejiang University of Technology, and
Hangzhou Normal University
Hangzhou Normal University (), or Hangzhou Teachers College, is a public university in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, China.
Having merged with Hangzhou Education College and Hangzhou Medical Junior College, HNU comprises nine c ...
etc. Xiasha, located near the east end of the city, and Xiaoheshan, located near the west end of the city, are college towns with a cluster of several universities and colleges. The universities in Hangzhou include:
*
China Academy of Art
China Academy of Art (), also translated as China National Academy of Fine Arts, was founded in Hangzhou in 1928 by the government of the Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China and the renowned educator Cai Yuanpei. It was the first a ...
(1928)
*
China Jiliang University
*
Hangzhou Dianzi University
*
Hangzhou Normal University
Hangzhou Normal University (), or Hangzhou Teachers College, is a public university in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, China.
Having merged with Hangzhou Education College and Hangzhou Medical Junior College, HNU comprises nine c ...
(1908)
*
Westlake University (2018)
*
Zhejiang Chinese Medical University
*
Zhejiang Forestry University
*
Zhejiang Gongshang University
Zhejiang Gongshang University (; abbreviated as ZJGSU or ZJSU) is a public higher educational institution that focuses on the fields of social science.
The university is administrated by Zhejiang Province. "Zhejiang" is the province where the un ...
(1911, China's first business school in China)
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Zhejiang International Studies University
Zhejiang International Studies University () is located in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. Zhejiang International Studies University (ZISU), situated near the West Lake, is run by Zhejiang Provincial Government.
Brief history
The main ro ...
(1955, also known as Zhejiang Education Institute)
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Zhejiang Sci-Tech University
Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (ZSTU; ) is a university in Zhejiang province that provides programs in the fields of engineering, sciences, humanities (arts), economics, management and law with engineering being its main focus. It is run jointly b ...
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Zhejiang University
Zhejiang University, abbreviated as ZJU or Zheda and formerly romanized as Chekiang University, is a National university, national public university, public research university based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is a member of the prestigiou ...
(1897), one of the top universities in China.
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Zhejiang University City College
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Zhejiang University of Science and Technology
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Zhejiang University of Media and Communications (1984)
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Zhejiang University of Technology (1953)
Primary and secondary schools
Provincial key Public high schools in Hangzhou include
Hangzhou No. 4 High School,
Hangzhou No. 14 High School
Hangzhou No.14 High School is a provincial level key high school located at 580 Fengqi Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The school is located at the center of the city. In front of Mituo Mountain and near West Lake, the school is energized by the atmosp ...
, Hangzhou NO.2 High School,
Hangzhou Foreign Language School
Hangzhou Foreign Languages School (HFLS) (Chinese: 杭州外国语学校 (simp.)/杭州外國語學校 (trad.)), colloquially referred to as "Hangwai"(杭外), is a grade 7–12 public high school located in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Founded ...
,
High School Attached to Zhejiang University,
High School attached to Hangzhou Normal university
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift t ...
,
Hangzhou No. 1 High School
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, wh ...
and
Hangzhou Xuejun High School Hangzhou Xuejun High School (Chinese: 杭州学军中学) is a high school in Hangzhou China.
The school is often referred to as one of the "three best high schools" in Hangzhou. Hangzhou Wenlan High School is attached to Hangzhou Xuejun High Scho ...
.
Private high schools in Hangzhou include
Hangzhou Green Town Yuhua School
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...
,
Hangzhou Chinese International School,
Hangzhou International School
Hangzhou International School (杭州国际学校 hángzhōu guójì xuéxiào) is a nonprofit Early Years through Grade 12 (2–18 years of age) accredited educational institution serving over 725 students from the local expat population in Han ...
and
Hangzhou Japanese School
Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whic ...
() (
nihonjin gakkō
, also called Japanese school, is a full-day school outside Japan intended primarily for Japanese citizens living abroad. It is an expatriate school designed for children whose parents are working on diplomatic, business, or education missions o ...
).
Research
Hangzhou is a major city for scientific research in China, ranking 9th in Asia-Oceania region and
19th globally by the
Nature Index The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries and their scientific output since its introduction in November, 2014. Each year, Nature Index ranks the leading institutions (which can be companies, universities, government agen ...
as of 2022.
Twin towns – sister cities
Hangzhou is
twinned with:
Ancient proverbs about Hangzhou
An ancient Chinese proverb about Hangzhou and Suzhou is:
Paradise above, Suzhou and Hangzhou below. ()
This phrase has a similar meaning to the English phrases "Heaven on Earth".
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in '' The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
in his accounts described Suzhou as "the city of the earth" while Hangzhou is "the city of heaven". The city presented itself as "Paradise on Earth" during the
G20 summit
The following list of G20 summits summarizes all G20 conferences held at various different levels: summits of heads of state or heads of government, ministerial-level meetings, Engagement Group meetings and others.
Summits of state leaders
...
held in the city in 2016.
Another saying about Hangzhou is:
Be born in Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
, live in Hangzhou, eat in Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...
, die in Liuzhou
Liuzhou (; , IPA Pronunciation:) is a prefecture-level city in north-central Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. The prefecture's population was 3,758,700 in 2010, including 1,436,599 in the built-up area made of 4 urban ...
. ()
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 (of
Guangxi
Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...
) for its wooden coffins which supposedly halted the decay of the body (likely made from the
camphor tree
''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel.
Description
''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...
).
Notable residents
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Jack Ma
Jack Ma Yun (; born 10 September 1964) is a Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and former executive chairman of Alibaba Group, a multinational technology conglomerate. In addition, he co-founded Yunfeng ...
: Co-founder and executive chairman of the
Alibaba Group.
*
Zong Qinghou: Entrepreneur, founder, chairman and CEO of the
Hangzhou Wahaha Group
The Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd. (WHH; ) is a private group of companies, and the largest beverage producer in China. The company is headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. "Wa ha ha" signifies "laughing child".
Wahaha has roughly 150 ...
.
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Sun Yang: Olympic gold medalist and competitive swimmer.
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Ye Shiwen
Ye Shiwen (; ; born 1 March 1996) is a Chinese swimmer. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won gold medals in the 400 metres and 200 metres individual medley, breaking the world record in the 400 m event and the Olympic record in the 200 m event ...
: Olympic gold medalist and competitive swimmer.
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Wu Yibing
Wu Yibing (; ; born 14 October 1999) is a Chinese professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of No. 58, achieved on 13 February 2023, and a doubles ranking of No. 295, achieved on 23 April 2018. He is the first Chinese man ...
: World No.1 in the
ITF juniors ranking and professional tennis player.
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Li Wenhan
Li Wenhan (; born ) is a Chinese singer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of UNIQ, a Chinese-South Korean boy group formed by Yuehua Entertainment in 2014. In 2019, he participated in the Chinese survival program, ''Youth With You ...
: Singer, actor, member of boy groups
UNIQ
uniq is a utility command (computing), command on Unix, Plan 9 from Bell Labs, Plan 9, Inferno (operating system), Inferno, and Unix-like operating systems which, when fed a text file or Standard streams#Standard input (stdin), standard input, o ...
and
UNINE.
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Yuan Li
Yuan Li (; born 12 July 1973), sometimes called "China's Audrey Hepburn" or "China's Mother Teresa", is a Chinese actress. She has won the China Golden Eagle Award for Best Supporting Actress and Hundred Flowers Award for Best Supporting Actres ...
: Actress.
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Hu Yitian
Hu Yitian (; born 26 December 1993) is a Chinese actor. He made his acting debut in the television drama '' A Rush to Dead Summer'' (2017), and subsequently starred in the 2017 hit web series '' A Love So Beautiful'' which brought him wider reco ...
: Actor.
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Wang Yiren
Everglow (, stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by Yuehua Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: E:U, Sihyeon, Mia, Onda, Aisha, and Yiren. Everglow debuted on March 18, 2019, with the single album '' Arrival ...
: Singer and member of
Everglow
Everglow (, stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by Yuehua Entertainment. The group is composed of six members: E:U, Sihyeon, Mia, Onda, Aisha, and Yiren. Everglow debuted on March 18, 2019, with the single album ''Arrival ...
.
See also
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Historical capitals of China
This is a list of historical capitals of China.
Four Great Ancient Capitals
There are traditionally four major historical capitals of China referred to as the "Four Great Ancient Capitals of China" (). The four are Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang and X ...
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Jiangnan
Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...
*
List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population
China is the world's most populous country. According to Demographia, in 2017 there were 102 Chinese cities with over 1 million people in the "urban area", as defined by the group's methodology.
Definition and classification
According to the ad ...
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Suzhou numerals
The Suzhou numerals, also known as ' (), is a numeral system used in China before the introduction of Arabic numerals. The Suzhou numerals are also known as ' (), ' (), ' (), ' () and ' ().
History
The Suzhou numeral system is the only survivin ...
– in the
Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology Technical standard, standard for the consistent character encoding, encoding, representation, and handling of Character (computing), text expre ...
standard version 3.0, these characters are incorrectly named Hangzhou style numerals
Explanatory notes
References
Citations
Sources
; General
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*
*
*
*
*
*
*
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Economic profile for Hangzhouat
HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 as the international marketing dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. The organisation has 50 offices around the world, includin ...
Further reading
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External links
Hangzhou Government websiteArts Crafts Museum Hangzhou in Google Cultural InstituteEN.GOTOHZ.COM – The Official Website of Hangzhou Tourism Commission
TRAVELWESTLAKE– The Official Travel Guide of Hangzhou
TRAVELZHEJIANG– The Official Travel Guide of Zhejiang Province
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{{Authority control
Cities in Zhejiang
Jiangnan
National Forest Cities in China
Populated places established in the 3rd century BC
Provincial capitals in China
Sub-provincial cities in the People's Republic of China
Yangtze River Delta
Prefecture-level divisions of Zhejiang