Zhejiang (abbreviation Zhe) is located on the southeast coast of China and in the southern wing of the Yangtze River. It borders the East China Sea to the east, Fujian Province to the south, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces to the west, and Shanghai Municipality and Jiangsu Province to the north. It administers eleven prefecture-level cities, thirty-five municipal districts, twenty county-level cities, thirty-four counties and one autonomous county. With a total area of around 100,000 square kilometers, it was home to 54.43 million people in 2010, from thirty-four ethnic groups, including Han, She, Tujia, Miao, Bouyei, Hui, Zhuang, Dong, Yi, and Manchu. The She ethnic group accounts for 43.2 percent of the total minority population here, and mainly live in the mountainous areas in the south and west parts of Zhejiang. Other ethnic minorities whose population is above one thousand mainly live in cities. Hangzhou is the capital city of the province.
History
As early as in the Neolithic Age, the area was home to a growing population. In the Spring and Autumn period, it was occupied by two states, Wu and Yue. In the Warring States period, it was part of the territory of Chu State. In the Qin dynasty, it was divided into commanderies of Kuaiji and Minzhong, among other commanderies. During the Han dynasty, it belonged to Yangzhou region. Throughout the Three Kingdoms Period, it was part of the territory of the Kingdom of Wu (still belonging to Yangzhou). In the Southern Dynasties, this place belonged to the Yangzhou and East Yangzhou regions. In the first year of the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang dynasty (627 ce), it belonged to the Jiangnan circuit and then belonged to the East Jiangnan circuit starting from the twenty-first year of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty (733 ce). In the first year of the reign of Emperor Suzong of the Tang dynasty (758 ce), under East Jiangnan circuit, the central government established the Zhejiang East circuit and Zhejiang West circuit; Zhejiang was first used as a name for an administrative district. In the Northern Song and Southern Song dynasties, the administrative name “circuit” was replaced by “route.” In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, this area was equal to a province. In the Qing dynasty, it was first officially named Zhejiang Province.
Natural Conditions
Geologically, from northwest to southeast, it sits in the West Zhejiang fold belt of the Yangtze paraplatform, the Huaxia fold belt of the South China fold system, and Southeast China Costal fold system, respectively. The terrain slopes from southwest to northeast. The landform is mainly hill or mountainous land, which covers 70.4 percent of the total land area of the province. Plains account for only 23.2 percent, and rivers together with lakes cover 6.4 percent.
The annual temperature of the province, except for the mountainous areas, is 15℃ to 17℃, and its annual precipitation ranges from 1,200 to 1,800 millimeters. From July to September, there are typhoons and regular rain in the coastal areas. The main rivers are the Qiantang River, Yong River, Ou River, Ling River, Tiaoxi River, Feiyun River, and Ao River, among which the Qiantang River is the largest, with a drainage area covering two-fifths of the province’s total area. In addition, there are man-made rivers such as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the Hangzhou-Ningbo Canal. Lakes are mainly on the North Zhejiang Plain, among which are the famous Thousand-Island Lake (Xin’an River Dam), West Lake in Hangzhou, South Lake in Jiaxing, and Dongqian Lake in Ningbo.
Soil is primarily comprised of yellow and red earth, which covers more than 70 percent of the province’s total area, and is distributed in hills and mountainous regions. Soil in plains, basins, and river valleys is usually paddy soil. There is saline soil and desalting soil in the coastal area. Zhejiang enjoys a natural vegetation of subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest. Its main forest types are evergreen broadleaf forest, evergreen and deciduous broadleaved mixed forest, subtropical coniferous forest, and subtropical bamboo forest. There are also many relic species of the Tertiary period, such as gingko, pseudotaxus, beshanzuensis, pseudolarix, and emmenopterys henryi. Due to the complicated terrain and a variety of distances to the sea, the natural environment in the province varies greatly with three natural divisions:
Economy
With a fast-growing economy, Zhejiang has realized the transformation from an economy centered on traditional agriculture to an economy centered on secondary and tertiary industries. Its industry is featured by the ideas of “taking light industry as the mainstay” and “parallel development of the light industry and heavy industry.”
Textiles are one of the leading industry sectors in Zhejiang and have formed a complete production system which involves cotton, wool, fiber, chemical fiber, knitting, dyeing, clothing, and textile machinery. Zhejiang’s silk textile industry is well-known throughout the country. It also has the highest output of raw silk and pure silk in China. Silk and satin production, as well as that of brocade, is famous both at home and abroad. Zhejiang also has a full range of food industries. Cereal and oil processing industry ranks the first in all its food industries, followed by tea making, wine-making, canning, and cigarette industries. The machinery industry, with a variety of products, is the fastest-developing sector among its heavy industries. Products with local characteristics and competitive advantages include the industrial steam turbine, oxygenator, marine gearbox, universal joint, cottrell, heat recovery boiler, water meter, electricity meter, submerged pump, and small size hydroelectric equipment. Its chemical industry mainly includes chemical mining, basic chemical industry, petrochemical industry, chemical fertilizer, and pesticides. The power industry is developing fast, with large and medium-sized hydropower stations such as Huangtankou, Xin’anjiang, Fuchunjiang, and Wuxijiang. It is home to Xin’an River Hydropower Station which was completed in 1960 and is the first large-scale hydropower station in China with an installed capacity of 662,500 kilowatts. It is also home to Qinshan Nuclear Power Station which was constructed in 1991 in Qinshan, Haiyan County, and is China’s first self-designed nuclear power station. Jiangxia Tidal Power Station in the city of Wenling has an installed capacity of 3,200 kilowatt, the largest of its kind in China and the third largest in the world. Zhejiang is rich in building materials, and has the fifth largest output of cement and of cement products in the country. Handcrafted products are mainly bamboo, timber, sculpted stone, bamboo leaf knitting, lace embroidery, and metal crafts. It is also home to many famous traditional crafts, such as Qintian’s stone carving; Donyang’s wood carving; bamboo weaving in Shengzhou, Dongyang, and Anji; celadon and sword produced in Longquan; Xiaoshan’s lace; Wenzhou’s Ou sculpture and Ou embroidery; Hangzhou’s brocade, silk parasol, scissors and fans; and Ningbo’s straw mats.
With a favorable natural environment, Zhejiang is a high-yield farm produce production area. There are a variety of agricultural and sideline products whose output, commodity rate, intensive farming, and specialization level are all very high. The outputs of silkworm cocoon, moso bamboo, tea, and citrus rank among the top in China. Food crops are an important sector of Zhejiang’s agriculture,taking up 53.2 percent of the total sown area, and its rice grain output accounts for 79.14 percent of the total grain output, followed by sweet potato, beans, and wheat. Cotton, fiber crops, oilseed rape, mulberry, sugar cane, tea trees, and citrus are the main cash crops. The forest coverage of Zhejiang ranks the third among all provinces, with China fir, pine, bamboo, and weed tree being the main timber forest tree species. Chinese torreya, Chinese walnut, oiltea camellia, tung tree, lacquer tree, and Chinese tallow tree are the main cash trees. The breeding industry is based mainly on raising pigs, and cattle, sheep, rabbit, and fowl. Apiculture here is of the largest scale in China. Thanks to the excellent natural conditions for the development of aquaculture, this province has China’s largest fishery—Zhoushan Fishery—and there are hundreds of aquatic products and several major fishing ports, such as Shenjiamen Port, Shengshan Port, and Shipu Port.
An integrated transport network has already taken its initial shape. Railway and sea transportation connect the hubs of central cities and coastal ports: There are five trunk railway lines (Shanghai-Hangzhou double-track line, Hangzhou-Jiangxi double-track line, Xiaoshan-Ningbo line, Xuancheng-Hangzhou line, and Jinhua-Wenzhou line), several feeder lines, and two special lines which run across Zhenhai Port Area and Beilun Port Area of Ningbo, respectively. Hangzhou is the hub in its railway network. With cities such as Hangzhou, Jinhua, Ningbo, and Wenzhou as centers, the national highways, provincial highways, and numerous feeder roads form a network, linking together the inland rivers, railways and ports, connecting Zhejiang with many other provinces. There are more than forty ports of different sizes along the coast, which provide Zhejiang with a convenient transportation to neighbouring provinces and countries overseas. Ningbo, Wenzhou, Zhoushan, Taizhou, and Zapu are the major ports of Zhejiang, among which Ningbo Port is China’s giant deepwater port and undertakes the task of trading and transporting goods between Zhejiang and its neighboring provinces. Inland waterways include more than sixty trunk waterways and 1,095 branch waterways, which are mostly located in the Hangzhou-Jiaxing-Huzhou Plain and the coastal plain. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Hangzhou-Shanghai and Huzhou-Shanghai lines are the main trunk lines leading to neighboring provinces, making up the Yangtze River Delta waterway network. Hangzhou-Ningbo Canal is the main artery of inland water transportation in East Zhejiang. It traverses the central part of the Ningbo-Shaoxing Plain, flowing through ten cities and counties and connecting the Qiantang River, Puyang River, Cao’e River, and Yong River. The civil aviation industry of Zhejiang has developed rapidly since the 1980s. There are civil aviation airports in Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Yiwu, Huangyan, and Quzhou.
Education, Science, and Culture
Higher education in Zhejiang has developed rapidly. It is home to a host of universities, including Zhejiang University, Zhejiang University of Technology, China Academy of Art, and China Jiliang University. It is also the cradle of the famous southern opera (Yueju) which has had a profound impact on the development of China’s folk opera. Zhejiang’s folk operas include Yueju opera, Shaoju opera, Wuju opera, Yong opera, Hu opera, Ou opera, Yao opera, and local operas of Wenzhou and Xinchang yiyangqiang, as well as Kunqu and story-telling and ballad singing in the Suzhou dialect, which are popular in the Hanghou-Jiaxing-Huzhou area.
Places of Interest
Zhejiang has beautiful natural scenery and abundant tourism resources. There are eleven national scenic areas, such as the West Lake of Hangzhou, Fuchun River, Xin’an River, Mount Putuo, and the Yandang Mountains. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the West Lake is adorned by forest and fountains: there are historical sites like Lingyin Monastery (Monastery of the Soul’s Retreat) and Liuhe Pagoda (The Pagoda of Six Harmonies), and places of interest such as Three Pools Mirroring the Moon and Viewing Fish at Flower Harbor. Mount Putuo, a famous Buddhist mountain in China, is known as the Buddhist land between heaven and sea. With enchanting rocks and the Dragon Waterfall, the Yandang Mountains located in Yueqing, a county-level city, are renowned as the most beautiful mountains in China’s southeast. Furthermore, Mount Gua on the bank of the Fuchun River, Yanziling’s Fishing Terrace, Yaolin Cave, and Thousand-Island Lake all have picturesque scenery. The Nanxi River of Yongjia County is famous for its rock waterfalls, trees, fountains, and ancient temples. The Tiantai Mountain is the birthplace of the Buddhist Tiantai Sect, with the well-preserved Monastery of National Purity first built in the Sui dynasty. Shengsi Archipelago is a summer resort by the sea. Other places which offer people charming and inviting scenery include Mogan Mountain, Tianmu Mountain, Jiangxin Island, and Banping Mountain on Dongtou Island. Places of historical significance include the Pavilion of Mist and Rain, Big Buddha Monastery of Xinchang (located in the southern part of Shaoxing city), and the South Confucius Temple in Quzhou (prefecture-level city). Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Linhai, and Quzhou are renowned nationwide as historical and cultural cities.