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East China · 华东Capital: Hangzhou

Zhejiang浙江· /

Classical gardens, water towns, and Alibaba's tech corridor.

Zhejiang is the — closely tied to Shanghai by a constant stream of high-speed trains. Hangzhou, the capital, has been celebrated for over a millennium for the beauty of .

Beyond Hangzhou, the province offers like Wuzhen and Xitang, the dramatic offshore monastery on Putuoshan, and the where Longjing (Dragon Well) is still pan-fired by hand.

Zhejiang is also the — birthplace of Yue opera, the Six Dynasties poetic landscape painting tradition, and (in the 20th century) the modern Chinese e-commerce industry centred on Hangzhou's Alibaba.

Top Attractions

Culture & Traditions

Tea Ceremony Around West Lake

A morning at a Meijiawu tea house involves picking and pan-firing your own leaves, then learning the three-pour pre-warming ritual the Hangzhou way.

Yue Opera

A 100-year-old all-female opera form born in Shengzhou — gentler and more romantic than Peking opera, with stories of doomed lovers and scholar-officials.

Song Dynasty Heritage

Hangzhou was the capital of the Southern Song dynasty. Museums, palace foundations under the Phoenix Mountain and the famous Song Dynasty Town theme park bring the era back to life.

Water-Town Calligraphy

Wuzhen, Xitang and Nanxun preserve old workshops where the famed "Hu writing brushes" are bound and the "four treasures of the study" sold to visiting scholars.

Tech Capital Pulse

Modern Hangzhou is the headquarters of Alibaba, NetEase and a thicket of AI startups — Hangzhou's metro and digital-yuan-friendly shops are a glimpse at China's near future.

Cities

11 prefecture-level · sorted by tourist popularity
  1. 1

    Hangzhou

    杭州Capital

    Provincial capital and UNESCO West Lake city; home to Alibaba, NetEase, and the headquarters of dozens of Chinese tech companies. Longjing tea villages, Lingyin Temple and Song Dynasty Town all sit inside its 16,853 km².

  2. 2

    Ningbo

    宁波

    7,000-year-old port city — Tianyi Pavilion (China's oldest surviving private library, 1561), the Old Bund European quarter, and Asia's largest cargo throughput at the Ningbo-Zhoushan port complex.

  3. 3

    Shaoxing

    绍兴

    Cultural heartland — Lu Xun's hometown, Wang Xizhi's Lanting (Orchid Pavilion), Yue Kingdom royal tombs, and the canal-laced old town with its famous rice-wine and stinky-tofu lanes.

  4. 4

    Wenzhou

    温州

    Coastal mountain city famous for its private-enterprise pioneer status, the Yandang Mountain peaks (UNESCO Geopark), and the offshore Nanji Islands.

  5. 5

    Jiaxing

    嘉兴

    North-Zhejiang canal city anchoring Wuzhen and Xitang water towns; site of the 1921 founding of the CPC at the South Lake meeting boat.

  6. 6

    Huzhou

    湖州

    Lake-Taihu-side city — home to Nanxun water town, the Mogan Mountain bamboo-and-tea resort, and the source of the famous Hubi (Huzhou) writing brushes.

  7. 7

    Jinhua

    金华

    Central Zhejiang prefecture — Hengdian World Studios (world's largest film backlot), Yiwu (China's largest small-commodities wholesale market) and the Wuyi Mountains hot springs.

  8. 8

    Zhoushan

    舟山

    Archipelago city of 1,390 islands — sacred Putuoshan Buddhist island, Zhujiajiao beach island and the Shenjiamen wholesale fish market (Asia's largest).

Famous Locals

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