Hangzhou () is a sub-provincial city in China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. Located 180 km southwest of Shanghai, the population in the city proper is now 1.75 million.

In China, the city is well known for its beautiful scenery, with the West Lake (Xi Hu) as the most noteworthy location.

Hangzhou is located at the southern end of the Grand Canal of China.

Administration

13 cities, counties and districts at county level are under the direct jurisdiction of Hangzhou:

• Cities: Fuyang, Jiande , Lin'an
• Counties: Tonglu , Chun'an
• Districts: Shangcheng , Xiacheng , Xihu, Gongshu, Jianggan , Binjiang , Xiaoshan , Yuhang

History

The celebrated Neolithic culture of Hemudu (河姆渡) was discovered in this area seven thousand years ago, when rice was first cultivated in southeastern China.

The city of Hangzhou was founded about 2,200 years ago during the Qin Dynasty. It is one of the seven ancient capitals of China. But the city wall was not constructed until the Sui Dynasty (591). It was the capital of the Wu Yue Kingdom for more than 200 years, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.

The oldest Buddhist temple in the city is believed to be Lingyin Si (灵隐寺, "Soul's Retreat"), which, like most of the other landmarks in this city, has gone through numerous destruction and reconstruction cycles. The contemporary building was finished in 1910.

Hangzhou was a capital of the Southern Song Dynasty with a population of over 450.000, a center of trade and entertainment and a home to the main branches of the civil service. During that time, the city was the gravity centre of Chinese civilization as what used to be considered the "central China" in the north was taken by Jin, a dynasty of an ethnic minority. Numerous philosophers, politicians, and men of literature, including some of the most celebrated poets in Chinese history such as Su Shi (苏轼), Lu You (陆游), and Xin Qiji (辛弃疾) came here to live and die.

In 970, the Liu-He Pagoda (六和塔) was first constructed on the north shore of Qiantang River, towering over 100 meters in height. It collapsed in 1121, and was reconstructed in 1156 to a more sustainable height of 60 m.

In 1089, Su Shi constructed a 2.8 km long dike across the West Lake, which Qing Emperor Qianlong considered particularly attractive in the early morning of the spring time. The lake, which itself is artificial, is largely surrounded by mountains. The Baoshi Pagoda sits on one of these hills to the north.

Yue-Wang Miao (岳王庙, "King Yue's Temple") near the West Lake was originally constructed in 1221 in memory of General Yue Fei, who lost his life due to political persecution.

The Venetian Marco Polo visited Hangzhou in the late 13th century and referred to the city as 'beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world.' '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 city used to be a port until the middle Ming Dynasty when its harbor slowly silted up with sediments. And Hangzhou was liberated by Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi 蒋介石) during the 1911 revolution which overthrew the Qing Dynasty, China's last period of dynastic rule. It is still the southern-most port of the Grand Canal.

View of the West Lake from the mountains to the north-west.

Economy

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

Tea is produced on the outskirts of town at Longjing (龙井) or Dragon's Well. It is the only remaining place where tea is still baked by hand and is said to produce the finest green tea in all of China.

The GDP per capita was ¥38247 (ca. US$4620), ranked no 10 among 659 Chinese cities.

The 2005 overall rank of Hangzhou among all the Chinese cities is No.5. In 2004, Forbes magazine ranked Hangzhou the number 1 city in China for business.

The Hangzhou municipality includes 8 districts, namely: Shangchen; Xiacheng; Jianggan; Gongshu; Xihu; Binjiang; Xiaoshan; and Yuhang. The metropolitian area also includes three nearby cities - Jiande, Fuyang and Lin’an, and two adjacent counties - Tonglu and Chun’an.

By the end of 2003, Hangzhou had a registered population of 6.4 million including an urban registered population of 3.9 million.

Hangzhou is also one of China's most popular tourist destinations and is an important part of the local economy. West Lake, or Xihu, has been a tourist destination for many centuries.

Climate

Hangzhou has hot summers and cold winters. In July the average high temperature is 33 degrees Celsius; in January the average high is 8 degree Celsius. Hangzhou receives an average annual rainfall of 145 cm.

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