Brief Introduction To Zhejiang Province

    General Introduction: Zhejiang Province in East China has a landmass of 101,800 sq km. At the end of 1993, it had a population of 43.35 million. Hangzhou is the provincial capital. 

    Climate: Zhejiang has a sub-tropical monsoonal climate, warm, humid and rainy. It has a mean annual temperature of 15¡ã£­18¡ãC, 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.

    Topography: Hills and mountains make up 70.4 percent of Zhejiang's total area, plains, 23.2 percent and rivers and lakes 6.4, percent. Sloping from southwest to northeast, it covers

The West Lake

two topographical zones: one is the northern part consists of the Hangjia Plain north of Hangzhou Bay and the Ningshao Plain south of it. With low, flat terrain, numerous waterways and fertile soil, this area produces grain and silk. The other involves the hills and mountains in the west and south making up the greater part of the province. The Tianmu and Longmen mountains in the west are an important bamboo and tea growing region, while the Guiji, Siming and Tiantai mountains in the east with their many small basins are a grain-producing region. The scenic, tree-covered Xianxia, Dongong, Yandang and Kuocang mountains in the south are interspersed with the small Huangyan and Wenzhou plains. The central part of the province consists of the Jinhua, Quxian, Dongyang and Pujiang basins,  which are drained by the middle-upper Qiantang River and its tributaries and have a large concentration of farmland. Zhejiang is the province with the largest number of offshore islands. Of the 2,000 islands, the best-known is the Zhoushan Islands.

    Tourist resources: Zhejiiang is a favored tourist destination. It has 11 state-level scenic areas, including the West Lake, Fuchun River¡ªXin¡¯an River¡ªThousand-islet Lake, Mount Yandang, Nanxi River, Mount Putuo, the Shengsi Islands, Mount Tiantai, Mount Mognan, Mount Xuedou, Twin-Dragon Cave and Mount Xiandu, in addition to its 35 province-level scenic spots. The Hangzhou Rive is a national holiday resort, and 10 other resorts, including Xianghu Lake in Xiaoshan, Oujiang River in Wenzhou and Mount Huiji in Shaoxing, are of provincial level. The Surging Qiantang Tides, a unique natural view, attracts numerous visitors from both home and abroad each year.