Surrounded by hills and tea plantations and sat beside the
mystical Xi Hu (
West Lake), Hangzhou is one of China’s most
cherished cities. A
serene retreat for Emperors and Communist apparatchiks alike, West Lake has
inspired generations of
writers,
painters and
poets and even yielded the city Chinese eulogy: ‘In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Suzhou and Hangzhou.’
Situated 150km (93 miles)
south of Shanghai at the southern end of the ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, Hangzhou’s
natural assets have historically boasted a thriving
tourism industry. In 2006, it hosted the six-month-long World Leisure Expo in the outlying district of Xiaoshan.
West Lake is the focal point of the city, flanked by numerous
parks, pagodas, temples and
bridges - each intrinsically rich in both history and intrigue.
Small wooden boats sail across its waters by day and in the evening elderly locals sing
folk songs and play
traditional instruments in the adjacent parks. The
views across the lake at
sunset and
sunrise are
magnificent.
Hangzhou is also a famous
tea-growing center and tours can be made to the nearby
Dragon Well, which bestowed the name for the city’s
most famous export:
Longjing tea.
Tourism aside, Hangzhou is a
rapidly growing, and
increasingly affluent, commercial city. Its strong economic growth is underpinned by a large concentration of
private enterprises and status as a complementary location to near
neighbor Shanghai for foreign direct investment.
In both 2004 and 2005, Hangzhou was rated by
Forbes China as the nation’s
best city to do business. Tapping into this rising urban affluence are foreign retailers such as Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Hermes, and Adidas, while McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and Haagen Dazs all occupy prime locations.
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Related China Content
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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