Zhejiang

For the former Chekiang province of the Republic of China, see Chekiang Province, Republic of China. For the river historically known as Zhejiang, see Qiantang River.

Not to be confused with Jiangzhe.

Zhejiang 浙江 Chekiang
Province
Province of Zhejiang
Name transcription(s)
• Chinese	浙江省 (Zhèjiāng Shěng)
• Abbreviation	ZJ / 浙 (pinyin :Zhè)
•  Wu	Tsehkaon San
Views of Yandang Mountains
Map showing the location of Zhejiang Province
Coordinates: 29°12′N120°30′E / 29.2°N 120.5°E / 29.2; 120.5
Country	China
Annexation by the Qin dynasty	222 BC
Jiangnandong Circuit	626
Liangzhe Circuit	997
Zhejiang Province formed	1368
Republican Period	1 January 1912
Division of territory	7 January 1949
Conquest of Yijiangshan	20 January 1955
Named for	Old name of Qiantang River
Capital and largest city	Hangzhou
Divisions  - Prefecture-level  - County-level  - Township- level	11 prefectures 90 counties 1364 towns and subdistricts
Government
• Type	Province
• Body	Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress
•  Party Secretary	Wang Hao
•  Congress Director	Chen Jinbiao (Acting)
•  Governor	Liu Jie (Acting)
• Provincial CPPCC Chairperson	Lian Yimin
•  National People's Congress Representation	99 deputies
Area
• Total	101,800 km2 (39,300 sq mi)
• Rank	26th
Highest elevation (Huangmaojian)	1,929 m (6,329 ft)
Population  (2020) [1]
• Total	64,567,588
• Rank	8th
• Density	630/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
• Rank	8th
Demographics
• Ethnic composition	Han: 99.2% She: 0.4%
• Languages and dialects	Wu, Huizhou, Jianghuai Mandarin, Southern Min (in Cangnan County and Pingyang County)
GDP (2023) [2]
• Total	CN¥ 8.255 trillion US$ 1.172 trillion (4th)
• Per capita	CN¥ 125,043 US$ 17,745 (5th)
ISO 3166 code	CN-ZJ
HDI (2022)	0.814 [3] (4th) – very high
Website	www.zj.gov.cn (in Chinese) English version

Wu Chinese pronunciation: ['t͡səʔ'kɑ̃]

Zhejiang
"Zhejiang" in Chinese characters
Postal	Chekiang
Literal meaning	"Zhe River"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhèjiāng Bopomofo ㄓㄜˋ   ㄐㄧㄤ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Jehjiang Wade–Giles Chê4-chiang1 IPA [ʈʂɤ̂.tɕjáŋ] ⓘ Wu Romanization Tseh-kaon Wu Chinese pronunciation: ['t͡səʔ'kɑ̃] Hakka Romanization Tset-kông Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jit-gōng Jyutping Zit3-gong1 IPA [tsit̚˧.kɔŋ˥] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Chiat-kang Tâi-lô Tsiat-kang Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Ciék-gŏng

Zhejiang in 1936

View of the West Lake in Hangzhou

West Lake at night

Zhejiang consists mostly of hills, which account for about 70% of its total area. ^[22] Altitudes tend to be the highest to the south and west and the highest peak of the province, Huangmaojian Peak (1,929 meters or 6,329 feet), is located there. Other prominent mountains include Mounts Yandang, Tianmu, Tiantai and Mogan, which reach altitudes of 700 to 1,500 meters (2,300 to 4,900 ft).

Valleys and plains are found along the coastline and rivers. The north of the province lies just south of the Yangtze Delta and consists of plains around the cities of Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou, where the Grand Canal of China enters from the northern border to end at Hangzhou. Another relatively flat area is found along the Qu River around the cities of Quzhou and Jinhua. Major rivers include the Qiangtang and Ou Rivers. Most rivers carve out valleys in the highlands, with plenty of rapids and other features associated with such topography. Well-known lakes include the West Lake of Hangzhou and the South Lake of Jiaxing.

There are over three thousand islands along the rugged coastline of Zhejiang. The largest, Zhoushan Island, is mainland China's third largest island, after Hainan and Chongming. There are also many bays, of which Hangzhou Bay is the largest. Zhejiang has a humid subtropical climate with four distinct seasons. Spring starts in March and is rainy with changeable weather. Summer, from June to September is long, hot, rainy and humid. Fall is generally dry, warm and sunny. Winters are short but cold except in the far south. Average annual temperature is around 15 to 19 °C (59 to 66 °F), average January temperature is around 2 to 8 °C (36 to 46 °F) and average July temperature is around 27 to 30 °C (81 to 86 °F). Annual precipitation is about 1,000 to 1,900 mm (39 to 75 in). There is plenty of rainfall in early summer and by late summer Zhejiang is directly threatened by typhoons forming in the Pacific.

Administrative divisions

Main articles: List of administrative divisions of Zhejiang and List of township-level divisions of Zhejiang

Zhejiang is divided into eleven prefecture-level divisions: all prefecture-level cities (including two sub-provincial cities):

Administrative divisions of Zhejiang
Hangzhou Ningbo Wenzhou Jiaxing Huzhou Shaoxing Jinhua Quzhou Zhoushan Taizhou Lishui
Division code [23]	Division	Area in km2 [24]	Population 2020 [25]	Seat	Divisions [26]
					Districts	Counties	Aut. counties	CL cities
330000	Zhejiang Province	101,800.00	64,567,588	Hangzhou city	37	32	1	20
330100	Hangzhou city	16,840.75	11,936,010	Shangcheng District	10	2		1
330200	Ningbo city	9,816.23	9,404,283	Yinzhou District	6	2		2
330300	Wenzhou city	12,255.77	9,572,903	Lucheng District	4	5		3
330400	Jiaxing city	4,008.75	5,400,868	Nanhu District	2	2		3
330500	Huzhou city	5,818.44	3,367,579	Wuxing District	2	3
330600	Shaoxing city	8,279.08	5,270,977	Yuecheng District	3	1		2
330700	Jinhua city	10,926.16	7,050,683	Wucheng District	2	3		4
330800	Quzhou city	8,841.12	2,276,184	Kecheng District	2	3		1
330900	Zhoushan city	1,378.00	1,157,817	Dinghai District	2	2
331000	Taizhou city	10,083.39	6,622,888	Jiaojiang District	3	3		3
331100	Lishui city	17,298.00	2,507,396	Liandu District	1	6	1	1
Sub-provincial cities

Administrative divisions in Chinese and varieties of romanizations
English	Chinese	Pinyin	Wu Romanization
Zhejiang Province	浙江省	Zhèjiāng Shěng	tseh koan san
Hangzhou city	杭州市	Hángzhōu Shì	ghaon tseu zy
Ningbo city	宁波市	Níngbō Shì	nyin bo zy
Wenzhou city	温州市	Wēnzhōu Shì	uen tseu zy
Jiaxing city	嘉兴市	Jiāxīng Shì	ka shin zy
Huzhou city	湖州市	Húzhōu Shì	ghou tseu zy
Shaoxing city	绍兴市	Shàoxīng Shì	zau shin zy
Jinhua city	金华市	Jīnhuá Shì	cin gho zy
Quzhou city	衢州市	Qúzhōu Shì	jiu tseu zy
Zhoushan city	舟山市	Zhōushān Shì	tseu se zy
Taizhou city	台州市	Tāizhōu Shì	de tseu zy
Lishui city	丽水市	Líshuǐ Shì	li syu zy

The eleven prefecture-level divisions of Zhejiang are subdivided into 90 county-level divisions (37 districts, 20 county-level cities, 32 counties, and one autonomous county). Those are in turn divided into 1,364 township-level divisions (618 towns, 488 townships, and 258 subdistricts). ^[2] Hengdian belongs to Jinhua, which is the largest base of shooting films and TV dramas in China. Hengdian World Studios is called "China's Hollywood." At the year end of 2021, the total population was 65.40 million. ^[2]

Urban areas

Population by urban areas of prefecture & county cities
#	Cities	2020 Urban area [27]	2010 Urban area [28]	2020 City proper
1	Hangzhou	9,236,032	5,162,093 [b]	11,936,010
2	Ningbo	4,077,815	2,583,073 [c]	9,404,283
3	Wenzhou	2,412,402	2,686,825 [d]	9,572,903
4	Shaoxing	2,333,080	643,199 [e]	5270977
5	Taizhou	1,485,502	1,189,276	6,622,888
6	Yiwu	1,481,384	878,903	see Jinhua
7	Cixi	1,457,510	1,059,942	see Ningbo
8	Jiaxing	1,188,321	762,643	5,400,868
9	Huzhou	1,083,953	748,471	3,367,579
10	Jinhua	1,040,948	710,597	7,050,683
11	Yuyao	1,013,866	672,909	see Ningbo
12	Rui'an	1,012,731	927,383	see Wenzhou
13	Yueqing	949,585	725,972	see Wenzhou
14	Wenling	920,913	749,013	see Taizhou
15	Zhuji	762,917	606,683	see Shaoxing
16	Haining	752,775	397,690	see Jiaxing
17	Dongyang	738,721	455,912	see Jinhua
18	Tongxiang	690,641	400,417	see Jiaxing
19	Zhoushan	645,653	542,190	1,157,817
20	Yongkang	638,563	376,246	see Jinhua
21	Quzhou	576,688	422,688	2,276,184
22	Linhai	551,458	503,377	see Taizhou
23	Yuhuan	468,554	[f]	see Taizhou
24	Longgang	450,286	[g]	see Wenzhou
25	Pinghu	449,636	346,892	see Jiaxing
26	Lishui	429,633	293,968	2,507,396
27	Shengzhou	386,087	345,674	see Shaoxing
28	Lanxi	318,165	208,272	see Jinhua
29	Jiangshan	289,269	200,341	see Quzhou
30	Jiande	233,658	183,518	see Hangzhou
31	Longquan	165,567	117,239	see Lishui
—	Fuyang	see Hangzhou	416,195 [b]	see Hangzhou
—	Shangyu	see Shaoxing	391,558 [e]	see Shaoxing
—	Lin'an	see Hangzhou	271,249 [b]	see Hangzhou
—	Fenghua	see Ningbo	239,992 [c]	see Ningbo

1. UK: /ˌdʒɜːdʒiˈæŋ/ ^[4] or /dʒɛˈdʒæŋ/ , ^[5] US: /ˌdʒʌdʒiˈɑːŋ/ ^[4] or /dʒʌˈdʒjɑːŋ/ ; ^[6] 浙江, also romanized as Chekiang
2. New districts established after 2010 census: Fuyang (Fuyang CLC), Lin'an (Lin'an CLC). These new districts not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
3. New district established after 2010 census: Fenghua (Fenghua CLC). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
4. New district established after 2010 census: Dongtou (Dongtou County). The new district not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
5. New districts established after 2010 census: Keqiao (Shaoxing County), Shangyu (Shangyu CLC). These new districts not included in the urban area count of the pre-expanded city.
6. Yuhuan County is currently known as Yuhuan CLC after 2010 census.
7. Longgang Town was under Cangnan County jurisdiction. Longgang CLC was established after 2010 census.

Most populous cities in Zhejiang Source: China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2018 Urban Population and Urban Temporary Population [29]
	Rank		Pop.	Rank		Pop.
Hangzhou Ningbo	1	Hangzhou	6,504,900	11	Yueqing	534,700	Wenzhou Shaoxing
	2	Ningbo	3,685,100	12	Cixi	530,300
	3	Wenzhou	2,216,500	13	Yuyao	458,500
	4	Shaoxing	1,512,600	14	Zhuji	438,200
	5	Taizhou	1,050,600	15	Dongyang	421,700
	6	Huzhou	951,000	16	Lishui	372,000
	7	Yiwu	934,300	17	Tongxiang	363,400
	8	Jinhua	817,300	18	Quzhou	356,700
	9	Jiaxing	797,000	19	Pinghu	349,500
	10	Zhoushan	612,400	20	Linhai	317,900

Politics

Main articles: Politics of Zhejiang and List of current Chinese provincial leaders

The politics of Zhejiang is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China. The Governor of Zhejiang is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Zhejiang. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor is subordinate to the secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, colloquially termed the "Zhejiang CCP Party Chief."

Several political figures who served as Zhejiang's top political office of Communist Party Secretary have played key roles in various events in PRC history. Tan Zhenlin (term 1949–1952), the inaugural Party Secretary, was one of the leading voices against Mao's Cultural Revolution during the so-called February Countercurrent of 1967. Jiang Hua (term 1956–1968), was the "chief justice" on the Special Court in the case against the Gang of Four in 1980. Three provincial Party Secretaries since the 1990s have gone onto prominence at the national level. They include CPC General Secretary and President Xi Jinping (term 2002–2007), National People's Congress Chairman and former Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang (term 1998–2002), and Zhao Hongzhu (term 2007–2012), the Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, China's top anti-corruption body. Of Zhejiang's fourteen Party Secretaries since 1949, none were native to the province.

Zhejiang was home to Chiang Kai-shek and many high-ranking officials in the Kuomintang, who fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Civil War.

Economy

Harvesting tea leaves, Zhejiang province, May 1987

Yu'ao, a fishing village on Dayu Bay in South Zhejiang (Cangnan County)

Zhejiang is one of the richest and most developed provinces in China. As of 2022 ^[update] , its nominal GDP was US$1.15 trillion (CN¥ 7.77 trilion), about 6.42% of the country's GDP and ranked 4th among province-level administrative units; the province's primary, secondary and tertiary industries were worth CN¥232.48 billion (US$34.56 billion), CN¥3.3205 trillion (US$493.67 billion) and CN¥4.2185 trillion (US$627.18 billion) respectively. ^[2] Its nominal GDP per capita was US$17,617 (CN¥118,496) and ranked the 6th in the country. The private sector in the province has been playing an increasingly important role in boosting the regional economy since Economic Reform in 1978. ^[2] Zhejiang is generally regarded as having one of the strongest private sectors among Chinese provinces and its local governments typically adopt permissive business policies. ^{[30] : 186}

Zhejiang's main manufacturing sectors are electromechanical industries, textiles, chemical industries, food and construction materials. In recent years Zhejiang has followed its own development model, dubbed the "Zhejiang model", which is based on prioritizing and encouraging entrepreneurship, an emphasis on small businesses responsive to the whims of the market, large public investments into infrastructure, and the production of low-cost goods in bulk for both domestic consumption and export. As a result, Zhejiang has made itself one of the richest provinces and the "Zhejiang spirit" has become something of a legend within China. However, some economists now worry that this model is not sustainable, in that it is inefficient and places unreasonable demands on raw materials and public utilities, and also a dead end, in that the myriad small businesses in Zhejiang producing cheap goods in bulk are unable to move to more sophisticated or technologically more advanced industries. ^[31] The economic heart of Zhejiang is moving from North Zhejiang, centered on Hangzhou, southeastward to the region centered on Wenzhou and Taizhou. ^[7] The per capita disposable income of urbanites in Zhejiang reached 55,574 yuan (US$8,398) in 2018, an annual real growth of 8.4%. The per capita disposable income of rural residents stood at 27,302 yuan (US$4,126), a real growth of 9.4%. ^[32]

Historical GDP of Zhejiang Province for 1978–present [2] (purchasing power parity of Chinese Yuan, as Int'l. dollar based on IMF WEO April 2023 [33] )
year	GDP				GDP per capita (GDPpc) based on mid-year population			Reference index
	GDP in millions			real growth (%)	GDPpc			exchange rate 1 foreign currency to CNY
	CNY	USD	PPP (Int'l$.)		CNY	USD	PPP (Int'l$.)	USD 1	Int'l$. 1 (PPP)
2022	7,771.54	1,115,543	1,925,555	3.1	118,496	17,617	29,360	6.7261	4.036
2021	7,404.08	1,114,765	1,772,583	8.7	113,839	17,645	27,254	6.4515	4.177
2020	6,468.91	937,717	1,526,046	3.6	100,738	14,605	23,765	6.8976	4.239
2019	6,246.20	900,544	1,472,813	6.8	98,770	14,318	23,289	6.8985	4.241
2018	5,800.28	876,520	1,371,873	7.1	93,230	14,089	22,051	6.6174	4.228
2017	5,240.31	776,135	1,252,461	7.8	85,612	12,680	20,462	6.7518	4.184
2016	4,725.40	711,410	1,184,608	7.5	78,384	11,801	19,650	6.6423	3.989
2015	4,350.77	698,537	1,123,940	8.0	73,276	11,765	18,929	6.2284	3.871
2014	4,002.35	651,551	1,064,738	7.7	68,569	11,162	18,241	6.1428	3.759
2013	3,733.46	602,283	1,018,957	8.3	65,105	10,512	17,769	6.1932	3.664
2012	3,438.24	544,672	965,527	8.1	61,097	9,679	17,157	6.3125	3.561
2011	3,185.48	493,200	903,939	9.0	57,828	8,953	16,410	6.4588	3.524
2010	2,739.99	404,755	823,809	11.9	51,110	7,550	15,367	6.7695	3.326
2005	1,302.83	159,043	454,264	12.9	26,277	3,208	9,162	8.1917	2.868
2000	616.48	74,468	225,896	11.0	13,467	1,627	4,935	8.2784	2.729
1995	356.39	42,676	129,927	16.8	8,144	975	2,969	8.3510	2.743
1990	90.46	18,914	53,136	3.9	2,138	447	1,256	4.7832	1.712
1985	42.91	14,614	30,617	21.7	1,067	363	761	2.9366	1.404
1980	17.99	12,007	12,031	16.4	471	314	315	1.4984	1.500
1978	12.37	7,349		21.9	331	197		1.6836

Zhejiang was the first province to pilot a common prosperity pilot program. ^{[34] : 166}

Traditionally, the province is known as the "Land of Fish and Rice." True to its name, rice is the main crop, followed by wheat; north Zhejiang is also a center of aquaculture in China, and the Zhoushan fishery is the largest fishery in the country. The main cash crops include jute and cotton and the province also leads the provinces of China in tea production. (The renowned Longjing tea is a product of Hangzhou.) Zhejiang's towns have been known for handicraft production of goods such as silk, for which it is ranked second among the provinces. Its many market towns connect the cities with the countryside.

In 1832, the province was exporting silk, paper, fans, pencils, wine, dates, tea and "golden-flowered" hams. ^[35]

Zhejiang has been leading the digital economy development in China, in recent years, the provincial economy has been boosted by the economic surge brought by internet corporations such as Alibaba and NetEase. ^{[36] [37]}

See also: Pearl farming in China

Ningbo, Wenzhou, Taizhou and Zhoushan are important commercial ports. The Hangzhou Bay Bridge between Haiyan County and Cixi, is the longest bridge over a continuous body of sea water in the world.

Economic and Technological Development Zones

• Huzhou Economic Development Zone
• Dinghai Industrial Park
• Hangzhou Economic & Technological Developing Area
• Hangzhou New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
• Hangzhou Export Processing Zone
• Hangzhou Zhijiang National Tourist Holiday Resort
• Jiaxing Export Processing Zone
• Ningbo Economic and Technical Development Zone
• Ningbo Daxie Island Development Zone
• Ningbo Free Trade Zone
• Ningbo Export Processing Zone
• Quzhou Industrial Park
• Shenjia Economic and Technological Development Zone
• Wenzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone
• Xiaoshan Economic and Technological Development Zone
• Zhejiang Quzhou Hi-Tech Park
• Zhejiang Zhoushan Economic Development Zone
• Zhejiang Donggang Economic Development Zone
• Zhejiang Yuhuan Economic Development Zone

Economic and technological development concerns

Waste disposal

On Thursday, September 15, 2011, more than 500 people from Hongxiao Village protested over the large-scale death of fish in a nearby river. Angry protesters stormed the Zhejiang Jinko Solar Company factory compound, overturned eight company vehicles, and destroyed the offices before police came to disperse the crowd. Protests continued on the two following nights with reports of scuffles, officials said. Chen Hongming, a deputy head of Haining's environmental protection bureau, said the factory's waste disposal had failed pollution tests since April. The environmental watchdog had warned the factory, but it had not effectively controlled the pollution, Chen added. ^[38]

Demographics

She ethnic county, townships and towns in Zhejiang

Han Chinese make up the vast majority of the population and the largest Han subgroup are the speakers of Wu varieties of Chinese. There are also 400,000 members of ethnic minorities, including approximately 200,000 She people and approximately 20,000 Hui Chinese. ^[39] Jingning She Autonomous County in Lishui is the only She autonomous county in China. ^[40]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 1912 [41] 21,440,000 —     1928 [42] 20,643,000 −3.7% 1936-37 [43] 21,231,000 +2.8% 1947 [44] 19,959,000 −6.0% 1954 [45] 22,865,747 +14.6% 1964 [46] 28,318,573 +23.8%

Year Pop. ±% 1982 [47] 38,884,603 +37.3% 1990 [48] 41,445,930 +6.6% 2000 [49] 45,930,651 +10.8% 2010 [50] 54,426,891 +18.5% 2020 [51] 64,567,588 +18.6%

Religion

Religion in Zhejiang ^{[52] [note 1]}

  Not religious / Chinese folk religion / Buddhism / Taoism / Confucianism / folk sects ^{[note 2]} (74.36%)

   Chinese ancestral religion (23.02%)

   Christianity (2.62%)

The predominant religions in Zhejiang are Chinese folk religions, Taoist traditions and Chinese Buddhism. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 23.02% of the population believes and is involved in ancestor veneration, while 2.62% of the population identifies as Christian, decreasing from 3.92% in 2004. ^[52] The reports did not give figures for other types of religion; 74.36% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, folk religious sects. As of the mid-2010s, Zhejiang has 34,880 registered folk religious temples greater than 20 sqm and 10,000 registered places of worship of the five doctrines (Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam). ^{[53] [54] [55] : 35}

In mid-2015 the government of Zhejiang recognised folk religion as "civil religion" beginning the formal registration of the province's folk religious temples under the aegis of the provincial Bureau of Folk Faith. ^[56] Buddhism has an important presence since its arrival in Zhejiang 1,800 years ago. ^[57]

Catholicism arrived 400 years ago in the province and Protestantism 150 years ago. ^[57] Zhejiang is one of the provinces of China with the largest concentrations of Protestants, especially notable in the city of Wenzhou. ^[58] In 1999, Zhejiang's Protestant population comprised 2.8% of the provincial population, a small percentage but higher than the national average. ^[59]

The rapid development of religions in Zhejiang has driven the local committee of ethnic and religious affairs to enact policies to rationalise them ^[60] in 2014, variously named "Three Remodelings and One Demolition" operations or "Special Treatment Work on Illegally Constructed Sites of Religious and Folk Religion Activities" according to the locality. ^[61] These regulations have led to cases of demolition of churches and folk religion temples or the removal of crosses from churches' roofs and spires. ^[62] An exemplary case was that of the Sanjiang Church. ^[63] Despite English-language media focused on Christian churches, only 2.3% of the buildings affected by the regulations were Christian churches; most of them were folk religious temples. ^{[55] : 36}

Islam arrived 1,400 years ago in Zhejiang. Today Islam is practiced by a small number of people including virtually all the Hui Chinese living in Zhejiang. ^[57] In 2020, there are 117,000 Muslims in Zhejiang. ^[64] Another religion present in the province is She shamanism (practiced by She ethnic minority).

Temple of All-Heaven (都天廟Dōutiānmiào) in Longgang, Cangnan, Wenzhou Temple of the Chenghuangshen (City God) of Hangzhou, by night, in Wushan, Xihu Temple of Bao Gong in Ouhai, Wenzhou Buddha altar in the Puji Temple of Mount Putuo Jusheng Temple in Wuma, Lucheng, Wenzhou Temple of the King of Heaven of the Little Putuo Buddhist Monastery in Yinzhou, Ningbo Temple of Yue Fei in Hangzhou Church in Aojiang, Pingyang, Wenzhou Catholic Cathedral of Hangzhou, Hangzhou

Media

The Zhejiang Radio & Television Group, Hangzhou Radio & Television Group, Ningbo Radio & Television Group are the local broadcasters in Zhejiang Province.

Culture

Main article: Wuyue culture

See also: Major national historical and cultural sites (Zhejiang)

A boat on one of Shaoxing's waterways, near the city center. North Zhejiang, known as the "Land of Fish and Rice", is characterized by its canals and waterways.

Languages

Zhejiang is mountainous and has therefore fostered the development of many distinct local cultures. Linguistically speaking, Zhejiang is extremely diverse. Most inhabitants of Zhejiang speak varieties of Wu, but those Wu dialects are very diverse, especially in the south, where one valley may speak a dialect completely unintelligible to the next valley a few kilometers away. Other varieties of Chinese are spoken as well, mostly along the borders; Mandarin and Huizhou dialects are spoken on the border with Anhui, while Min dialects are spoken on the border with Fujian. (See Hangzhou dialect, Shaoxing dialect, Ningbo dialect, Wenzhou dialect, Taizhou dialect, Jinhua dialect and Quzhou dialect for more information)

Throughout history there have been a series of lingua francas in the area to allow for better communication. The dialects spoken in Hangzhou, Shaoxing and Ningbo have taken on this role historically. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Mandarin, which is not mutually intelligible with any of the Wu dialects, has been promoted as the standard language of communication throughout China. As a result, most of the population now can, to some degree, speak and comprehend Mandarin and can code-switch when necessary. A majority of the population educated since 1978 can speak some Mandarin. Urban residents tend to be more fluent in Mandarin than rural people. Nevertheless, a Zhejiang accent is detectable in almost everyone from the area communicating in Mandarin and the home dialect remains an important part of the everyday lives and cultural identities of most Zhejiang residents.

Music

Zhejiang is the home of Yue opera, one of the most prominent forms of Chinese opera. Yueju originated in Shengzhou and is traditionally performed by actresses only, in both male and female roles. Other important opera traditions include Yongju (of Ningbo), Shao opera (of Shaoxing), Ouju (of Wenzhou), Wuju (of Jinhua), Taizhou Luantan (of Taizhou) and Zhuji Luantan (of Zhuji).

Cuisine

Fish being dried dockside in Pacao Harbor, Cangnan County

Longjing tea (also called dragon well tea), originating in Hangzhou, is one of the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious Chinese tea. Hangzhou is also renowned for its silk umbrellas and hand fans. Zhejiang cuisine (itself subdivided into many traditions, including Hangzhou cuisine) is one of the eight great traditions of Chinese cuisine.

Place names

Since ancient times, north Zhejiang and neighboring south Jiangsu have been famed for their prosperity and opulence^{[ citation needed ]} and simply inserting north Zhejiang place names (Hangzhou, Jiaxing, etc.) into poetry gave an effect of dreaminess, a practice followed by many noted poets. In particular, the fame of Hangzhou (as well as Suzhou in neighboring Jiangsu province) has led to the popular saying: "Above there is heaven; below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou" (上有天堂，下有苏杭), a saying that continues to be a source of pride for the people of these two still prosperous cities.

Tourism

The Hall of Five Hundred Arhats at Guoqing Temple

Tourist destinations in Zhejiang include:

• Baoguo Temple, one of the oldest intact wooden structures in Southern China, 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) north of Ningbo.
• Mount Putuo, one of the most noted Buddhist mountains in China. Chinese Buddhists associate it with Guan Yin.
• Qita Temple, Ningbo.
• Shaoxing, site of the Tomb of Yu the Great, Wuzhen and other waterway towns.
• The ancient capital of Hangzhou.
• Mount Tiantai, a mountain important to Zen Buddhism.
• West Lake, in Hangzhou.
• Yandangshan, a mountainous scenic area near Wenzhou.
• Qiandao Lake, lit. Thousand-island lake.
• Guoqing Temple, founded in the Sui dynasty, the founding location of Tiantai Buddhism
• Mount Mogan, a scenic mountain an hour from Hangzhou with many pre-World War II villas built by foreigners, along with one of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang compounds
• Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, in Hangzhou.
• Taizhou Museum, in Taizhou.

Sports

Professional sports teams based in Zhejiang include:

• Chinese Basketball Association
  • Zhejiang Golden Bulls
  • Bayi Rockets (in Ningbo)
• Chinese Super League
  • Zhejiang Professional F.C.

Education and research

Zhejiang is one of China's leading provinces in research and education. As of 2024 ^[update] , two major cities in Zhejiang ranked in the world's top 200 cities (Hangzhou 13th and Ningbo 123rd) by scientific research output, as tracked by Nature Index. ^[9]

Colleges and universities

For a more comprehensive list, see List of universities and colleges in Zhejiang.

• Zhejiang University (浙江大学; Hangzhou)
• Zhejiang Sci-Tech University (浙江理工大学; Hangzhou)
• China Academy of Art (中国美术学院; Hangzhou)
• Hangzhou Dianzi University (杭州电子科技大学; Hangzhou)
• China Jiliang University (中国计量大学; Hangzhou)
• Hangzhou Normal University (杭州师范大学; Hangzhou)
• Ningbo University (宁波大学; Ningbo)
• University of Nottingham Ningbo China (诺丁汉大学宁波校区; Ningbo)
• Zhejiang A & F University (浙江农林大学; Hangzhou)
• Zhejiang University of Technology (浙江工业大学; Hangzhou)
• Zhejiang Medical University
• Zhejiang Normal University (浙江师范大学; Jinhua)
• Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics (浙江财经大学; Hangzhou)
• Zhejiang Gongshang University (浙江工商大学; Hangzhou)
• Shaoxing University (绍兴文理学院; Shaoxing)
• Wenzhou Medical University (温州医科大学; Wenzhou)
• Wenzhou Teachers College
• Wenzhou-Kean University
• Shaoxing College of Arts and Science
• Zhejiang Institute of Education
• Hangzhou Institute of Electronic Engineering
• Hangzhou University of Commerce
• Hangzhou Institute of Financial Managers

Notable people

Main category: People from Zhejiang

• Wang Yangming: Ming dynasty philosopher
• Su Shi: Poet and writer from the Song era, also known as a government official who contributed to the maintenance of West Lake.

See also

• List of railway stations in Zhejiang
• Archives of Yuhuan

Notes

1. The data was collected by the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) of 2009 and by the Chinese Spiritual Life Survey (CSLS) of 2007, reported and assembled by Xiuhua Wang (2015) ^[52] in order to confront the proportion of people identifying with two similar social structures: ① Christian churches, and ② the traditional Chinese religion of the lineage (i.e. people believing and worshipping ancestral deities often organised into lineage "churches" and ancestral shrines). Data for other religions with a significant presence in China (deity cults, Buddhism, Taoism, folk religious sects, Islam, et al.) was not reported by Wang.
2. May also include a tiny number of Muslims.

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Sources

• Economic profile of Zhejiang at HKTDC

External links

• (in English and Chinese) Complete Map of the Seven Coastal Provinces from 1821 to 1850
• Geographic data related to Zhejiang at OpenStreetMap