Hangzhou General Information

  Hangzhou,the capital of Zhejiang province with the sub-provincial administrative level, is the center of provincial politics, economy, culture, science and education. It covers an area of 16596km2 with a population of 6.60 million. The economic development level of Hangzhou is very high, its economic strength is continuously ranked second among all provincial capitals and its economic general strength is listed in the top ten among all the big-middle cities in China. Hangzhou is not only one of the safest tourist-city, but also one of the best cities of internal securityHangzhou locates close to China east coast, in the lower reaches of the Qiantang River and at the southern end of the Grand Canal (Beijing - Hangzhou). The distance between Hangzhou and Shanghai is 200 kilometers, which is connected by the railway and highway. It only takes less than 2 hours to reach Shanghai; the trip is quite comfortable and efficient. The city tree is Camphor Tree and the city flower is Osmanthus.
As a famous scenic city in China, Hangzhou attracts more than 20 million domestic and foreign tourists every year. Hangzhou is known for its natural beauty of West Lake worldwide. "Above is paradise, below is Suzhou and Hangzhou" expresses people's indeed praise to Hangzhou. In the Yuan Dynasty, the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo described this city as "the finest and most splendid city in the world."