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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. By the end of 2003, Hangzhou had a registered population of 6.4 million including an urban registered population of 3.9 million. First built as a county during the Qin Dynasty some 2,100 years ago, Hangzhou became prosperous after the building of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty (581-618). The city was the capital of Wuyue State (893-978) during the Five Dynasties Period and of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).
It is one of the six famous ancient capitals of China. (The other five are Beijing, Nanjing, Xi$an, Luoyang, and Kaifeng.) Hangzhou has been called a "paradise on earth," with its picturesque West Lake and its many other world-famous sites. It is also noted for its silk industry, which has existed since the seventh century and still flourishes today. As one of the most renowned and prosperous cities in China for much of the last 1,000 years, Hangzhou is also well known for its beautiful natural scenery, with the West Lake as the most noteworthy location.
Transportation
Traffic (Bus) East Railway Station→ Hotel: No. K518, No. 818 South Bus Station→ Hotel: No. K39, No. 39 North Bus Station→ Hotel: No. K555, No. 95 West Bus Station→ Hotel: No. K49 Hotel→Hangzhou Wulin Square: No. 151, No. 15, No. 555, No. Y2, etc /20 minutes Hotel→West Lake: No. 7, No. K7, No. U2, etc / 5—40 minutes Hotel→Xiaoshan Airport: express bus of civil aviation, gate of railway mansion, every half hour per shift, 45 minutes first bus 6: 00, last bus 20: 00 ￥20 Taxi: ￥90—110 the First Bridge of Qianjiang River : the First Bridge of Qianjiang River—Fuxing Avenue—Zhonghe Viaduct—West Lake Avenue(from Xiaoshan, Jinhua, Shaoxing) the Second Bridge of Qianjiang River: the Second Bridge of Qianjiang River—Genshan West Road—Huancheng East Road—West Lake Avenue(from Shanghai, Ningbo, highway of Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo) the Third Bridge of Qianjiang River: the Third Bridge of Qianjiang River—Qingjiang Road—Qingtai Street—Jianguo South Road(from Xiaoshan Airport)
Position and Ttransport
- on the square of train station
- Hotel—West Lake: 1 kilometer
- Hotel—Xiaoshan airport: 25 kilometers
- Hotel—train station: 0.5 kilometer
Main Attractions
West Lake, lying to the west of Hangzhou, is the most beautiful of the thirty or more lakes in China which bear the same name. Once a small bay at the mouth of the Qiantang River, it was separated from the sea by river sediment to became a lake. The lake with its islands covers approximately six square kilometers. The charming Solitary Hill Islets (Gushan) rises above the water in the north part of the lake, which is bordered by hills on three sides. The Su Causeway runs roughly north and south and the Bai Causeway east and west. The lake has several segments called the Inner Lake, the Outer Lake, Yue Lake, West Inner Lake, and Small South Lake.
There are three islands in the Outer Lake: Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (Santan Yinyue), Mid-Lake Pavilion (Huxinting), and Lord Ruan$s Mound (Ruangongdun). Dozen$s of historical sites are scattered about some fifty-square-kilometer scenic area around the lake. The wooded hills encircling the lake are studded with pavilions, towers, pagodas, and caves. Springs, steams, and pools are scattered among peaks, rocks, caves, and gullies.
The "ten scenic beauties" of West Lake are generally thought to be as follows: Spring Dawn at the Su Causeway (Suti Chunxiao), Viewing Fish at Flower Harbor (Huagang Guanyu), Autumn Moon on Calm Lake (Pingnhu Qiuyue), Listening to Orioles Singing in the Willows (Liulang Wenying), Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds (Shuangfeng Zhayun), Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (Santan Yinyue), Evening Sunlight at Thunder Peak Pagoda (Leifeng Xizhao), Late Bell at Nanping Hill (Nanping Wanzhong), Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard (Quyuan Fenghe), and Melting Snow at Broken Bridge (Duanqiao Canxue).
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