Zhejiang is located in the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta on the southeastern coast of China. It borders Fujian to the south, Jiangxi and Anhui to the west, Jiangsu and Shanghai to the north. Qiangtang River, the largest river within the province, is called Zhijiang, or Zhejiang, for the flections of the flow. The province is named after the river and the capital of the province is Hangzhou.
Zhejiang has a sub-tropical monsoonal climate, warm, humid and rainy. It has a mean annual temperature of 15°－18°C, decreasing from south to north, and a mean annual precipitation of 1,200-1,800 mm. "Plum rains" occur between May and June and typhoons between summer and autumn.
Zhejiang is a place with numerous famous scholars and figures in history, many outstanding personalities of philosophy, politics, military, science and culture were from this province. More than one thousands of Zhejiang-born writers have gone down in history since Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) until nowadays, accounting for about one sixth within the country. After the foundation of New China, almost one fifth of the academicians ( members of the Academic Committee ) in the Two Academies are native of Zhejiang. There are 8 rivers in the province namely Qiantang River, Oujiang River, Lingjiang River, Shaoxi River, Yongjiang River, Feiyunjiang River, Aojiang River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal . The famous lakes comprise the West Lake in Hangzhou, the East Lake in Shaoxing, the South Lake in Jiaxing, the Dongqian Lake in Ningbo and the man-made Thousand-Islet Lake.
Zhejiang has a long history and splendid culture. As early as in the Old Stone Age about 50,000 years ago, the primitive man called "the Jiande Man" lived and multiplied in what is now Zhejiang Province. During the New Stone Age, human activities extended to a wider area in this province. Over 100 sites of ruins of this period have been discovered in the province, which respectively belonged to different cultures such as the Hemudu Culture (7,000 years ago), the Majiabang Culture (6,000 years ago) and the Liangzhu Culture (5,000 years ago). During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), the areas of today's Zhejiang were under the jurisdiction of the State of Wu and the State of Yue respectively. During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Guiji (now Shaoxing City) was made a prefecture. During the period of the Three Kingdoms, Sunquan, a Fuyang native, established Wu Kingdom. Then in the Tang Dynasty, Zhejiang was under the jurisdiction of Jiangnandong and Liangzhe successively, taking initial shape of a provincial administration. In the period of Five Dynasties and Ten States, Qianliu, a Linan native established Wuyue Kingdom. During the Yuan Dynasty, Zhejiang belonged to Zhongshu Province.
Zhejiang possesses beautiful mountains and rich human culture. In the province, there are mountain ranges rising and falling, plains criss-crossing, rivers flowing long distance and islands scattering all over like stars in the sky. There are 279 key cultural relic units under provincial protection, 7 natural parks of national level and 20 national forest parks. Natural and human landscape enhance each other¡¯s beauty, making Zhejiang a true paradise for tourists.
The Lingyin Temple and Jingci Temple of Hangzhou, the Dafuo Temple and Nanyan Temple of Xinchang, the Tiantong Temple and Ayuwang Temple of Ningbo, the Guoqing Temple and Longxing Temple of Tiantai, the Puji Temple, Huiji Temple and Fayu Temple are all of rich Buddhism background and bless for happiness of everybody; More than 400 poets of Tang Dynasty such as Libai, Dufu, Liu Changqing, Song Zhiwen, Yuan Zhen, Wangbo, He Zhizhang, Wen Tingyun, Dumu left their trace and about 1000 poems in the West Lake, Shanyin Pass, the 19 Peaks of Chuanyan, the ancient tour way of Xie Lingyun, Tianmushi City and the waterfalls of Shiliang. Linked with Kuochang to the north and the sea to the east, the southern part of Zhejiang is famous in the nation for extraordinary mountains and rivers, waterfalls and fountains.
Many products of Zhejiang occupy important position nationwide, such as tea, silk, aquatic product, citrus and bamboo products. Forestry covers 59.4 percent of the province's total area, being listed among the front ranks in China. Zhejiang has varied vegetation, winning the reputation of "a treasure house of plants in southeast China". Zhejiang possesses various kinds of species of wild animals, among which 123 are under state protection. The province is also rich in non-metallic mineral reserves with reserves of stone coal, alum, pyrophyllite, and tuff (used in cement or building) leading the rest areas of the country and the reserves of fluorite occupying the second place in China. With a sea area of 260,000 square kilometers, the province has the largest number of islands and isles in China, and among them there are 3,061 islands and islets with area of more than 500 square meters , including the 495.4-square-kilometers Zhoushan Island as the fourth largest island of the country. Zhejiang also boasts a coastline totaling 6,486 kilometers, the longest for a single province in the country, in which the continental coastal line totals 2200 kilometers, ranking the fifth in the country. The long coast and deep water makes 290.4 kilometers of deep water coastal line suitable for the construction of berths with accommodation capacity of 10000 tons, accounting for one third of the national total, and 105.8 kilometers of deep water coastal line is suitable for berths of 100000 tons. In addition, rich deposits of oil and natural gas in the continental shelf in the Eastern China Sea are awaiting exploitation. Zhejiang is rich in tourism resources, and has long been considered as land of fish and rice, capital of silk and tea, place of rich cultural relics and paradise for tourists. In the whole province , there are more than 800 geomorphic scenic spots, 200 water scenic spots, 100 biological scenic spots and 100 human culture scenic spots. Natural and human landscape enhance each other¡¯s beauty, with obvious features and high popularity.
A great many famous characters made their mark in the history of Zhejiang. These include philosophers and ideologists such as Wang Chong, Chen Liang, Liu Ji, Song Lian, Wang Yangming, Huang Zongxi and Gong Zizhen; poets such as He Zhizhang, Luo Bingwang, Meng Jiao, Zhu Shuzhen, Zhou Bangyan and Lu You; painters such as Zhao Mengfu, Xu Wei, Ma Yuan, Huang Gongwang, Chen Hongshou, Ren Bonian and Wu Changshuo; calligraphers such as Yu Shinan and Zhu Suiliang; scientists such as Shen Kuo; dramatists such as Li Yu and Hong Sheng; educationists such as Cai Yuanpei and other famous characters such as Zhang Taiyan and Wang Guowei. More than one thousands of Zhejiang-born writers have gone down in history since Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) until nowadays, accounting for about one sixth within the country. Since the May 4th Movement in 1919, great proletarian cultural pioneers including Lu Xun and Mao Dun, famous writers including Rou Shi, Yin Fu, Yu Dafu, Feng Xuefeng, Xia Yan, Shao Quanlin and Ai Qing have come forth. |
