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Hangzhou (help·info) (Chinese: ??; pinyin: Hángzh?u; Postal map spelling: Hangchow) is a sub-provincial city located in the Yangtze River Delta in the People’s Republic of China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. Located 180 km southwest of Shanghai, as of 2004 the entire Hangzhou Municipality (area administered by city government) had a registered population of 6.5 million people.[1]

The urban agglomeration of the Hangzhou metropolitan area (?????) has a resident population of 3,931,900 as of 2003, of which 2,636,700 are legal residents, of which there are 1,910,000 residents in the urban core six districts. As one of the most renowned and prosperous cities of China for much of the last 1,000 years, Hangzhou is also well-known for its beautiful natural scenery, with the West Lake (X? Hú, ??) as the most noteworthy location.

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 Hangzhou Municipality is divided into eight districts (six urban, two suburban), three county-level cities, and two counties. The central six urban districts occupy 682 km² (263.4 mi²) and have 1,910,000 people. The two suburban districts occupy 2,642 km² (1020 mi²) and have 1,950,000 people.

Gongshu District (???)

Shangcheng District (???)

Xiacheng District (???)

Jianggan District (???)

Xihu District (???)

Binjiang District (???)

Yuhang District (???)

Xiaoshan District (???)

Lin’an (???)

Fuyang (???)

Jiande (???)

Tonglu County (???)

Chun’an County (???)

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Leifeng Pagoda on the West Lake

The celebrated Neolithic culture of Hemudu has been discovered to have inhabited in Yuyao, an area (now a city) a hundred kilometers east of the City of Hangzhou, as far back as 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 listed as 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 Wuyue Kingdom from 907 to 978 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. Named Xifu at the time, it was one of the three great centers of culture in southern China during the tenth century, along with Nanjing and Chengdu. Leaders of Wuyue were noted patrons of the arts, and especially of Buddhism and associated temple architecture and artwork. It also became a cosmopolitan center, drawing scholars from throughout China and conducting diplomacy not only with neighboring Chinese states, but also with Japan, Korea, and the Khitan Liao Dynasty.

In 1089, 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 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 to evolve into a marshland. The Su Dike built by Su Shi, and the Bai Dike built by Bai Juyi, a famous Tang Dynasty Poet who was once the governor of Hangzhou, are both built out of the mud cleaned from the bottom of the Lake. The Lake is surrounded by hills on north and west side. The Baochu Pagoda sits on the Baoshi Hill to the north of the Lake.

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Buddhist carvings in Feilai Feng Caves in Lingyin Temple

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

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

Hangzhou was ruled by Republic of China government under the Kuomintang from 1928 to 1949. On May 3, 1949, the People’s Liberation Army entered Hangzhou and the city came under Communist control. Under Communist control the city went through years of tumultuous history until the end of the Cultural Revolution, much like all major Chinese cities. After Deng Xiaoping’s reformist policies began in 1978, Hangzhou took advantage of being situated in the Yangtze River Delta to bolster its development. It is now one of China’s most prosperous major cities.

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

Hangzhou is renowned for its historic relics and natural beauty. It has been ranked as one of the ten most scenic cities in China.[5] Although Hangzhou has been through many recent urban developments, it still retains its historical and cultural heritage. Today, tourism remains an important factor for Hangzhou’s economy.[6] One of Hangzhou’s most popular sights is West Lake. The lake covers an area of 6 square kilometres and includes some of Hangzhou’s most famous historic and scenic places. The area includes historical pagodas, cultural sites, as well as the natural beauty of the lake and hills.[7]

The world’s largest tidal bore races up the Qiantang River through Hangzhou reaching up to 40 ft in height.
 

The oldest Buddhist temple in the city is believed to be Lingyin Si (”Soul’s Retreat”), which, like most of the other landmarks in this city, has gone through numerous destruction and reconstruction cycles.

Lingyin Temple which contains the Feilang Feng grottos

Jingci Temple

Liuhe Pagoda

Baochu Pagoda

Yue-Wang Miao (???, “King Yue’s Temple”) or Yue Fue Mu is near the West Lake and was originally constructed in 1221 in memory of General Yue Fei, who lost his life due to political persecution.

Xixi National Wetland Park

Hangzhou Botanical Gardens

Dreaming of the Tiger Spring

Hangzhou Zoo

Leifeng Pagoda

Jade Springs (Yu Quan)

Qiantang Tidal Bore (Sliver Dragon)

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