Hangzhou History

Hangzhou has a long history. As early as 4,700 years ago, mankind began to live there. Hangzhou is the financial and administrative center in Zhejiang Province. As national key tourist city and historical and cultural city, Hangzhou is one of the seven ancient Chinese cities and is one of the top ten cities. Many attractions in Hangzhou are listed in the world record of China, creating a number of the top of the world.
 

Prehistoric Society

As early as 5,000 years ago, the ancient human had lived here. Besides, Hangzhou is also the center area of Liangzhu Culture. About four or five thousand years ago, the ancestors of Hangzhou people lived on this piece of land. At that time, people mainly engaged in the original agricultural production and animal husbandry, hunting and gathering. The agricultural production had entered the ploughing stage. In the aspects of jade article, pottery and silk, the techniques all had reached a high level.
 

In Ancient China

In Sui Dynasty (581-618) Emperor Yang of Sui ordered people to dig the river from Jingkou (Zhenjiang in Jiangsu nowadays) to Hangzhou about 800 kilometers long and 33 meters wide, which could pass the dragon boat and became the terminal point of the Grand Canal. Since then, Hangzhou gradually became the communications center of the land and water, which laid the foundation for Hangzhou to become the metropolitan. In 923, Qianliu built State of Wuyue and established the capital in Hangzhou which firstly became the capital for local regime. Hangzhou had become a center of the politics, culture and economy for Zhejiang and the places around it. The famous stone pagodas such as Leifeng Pagoda, Baochu Pagoda were built in this period. After 1129, Hangzhou became the center of politics, economy and culture in Southern Dynasty (1127-1279). The handicrafts were developed quickly in Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasty. After 1894, Hangzhou gradually entered into the semi-colonial and semi-feudal situation.
  

The Period of the Republic of China

After the establishing of the Republic of China and in 1927, the Hangzhou City was formally built. Since then, Hangzhou has been the capital for Zhejiang Province. In this period, Hangzhou had been the tangled warfare of warlord. In 1937, Qiantang River Bridge was completed, but in December of the same year, in order to prevent the invasion of Japan, the bridge was blown up under the lead of Mao Yisheng (a very famous bridge expert in China).
 

In Modern Times

In 1949, May, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army stepped into Hangzhou city, which made Hangzhou enter a new period. After the Reform and Open Politics, Hangzhou as well as other cities in China began to develop rapidly with large number of the introduction of foreign investment. In 1981, Hangzhou became a key national scenic tourist city and a national historical and cultural city. The Qiantang River, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and West Lake are the most famous attractions.