Hangzhou (Hangchow), the capital town of the province of Zhejiang, lies at the southmost finish of China's celebrated Grand Canal - a UN agency WORLD Heritage website and, at 1,776-kilometers, the world's longest canal - that connects town to national capital. due to the canal and therefore the city's location at the foot of a picturesque chain of mountains, Hangzhou is additionally one in all the country's hottest traveler destinations and makes for an excellent jumping off purpose for travelers seeking a style of japanese China's made cultural heritage. thought-about additional tranquil than several of China's alternative huge cities, town center is constructed up round the lovely West Lake with its many aged shrines and temples, romantic bridges, and pleasant vistas. Hangzhou was splendidly delineated by Marco Polo because the most lovely town within the world and is additionally referred to as the Silk town for its long tradition of producing the fabric - a practice that lives on in its several silk mills and markets. Today, town is additionally well-liked for its celebrated Dragon Well tea (lóngjǐng chá), hand picked doubly a year and celebrated, like its silk production, in a very style of splendid attractions.
West Lake
The focus of a visit to Hangzhou is gorgeous West Lake around that a lot of of the oldest a part of town is targeted. enclosed by hills and recent temples, this huge lake covers a district of nearly six sq. kilometers and is split into 5 sections by the Su and Baidi Causeways: the Outer Lake (Wai Hu), the North Inner Lake (Beili Hu), the West Inner Lake (Xili Hu), the South Lake (Xiaonan Hu), and Lake Yue (Yue Hu). The nearly three-kilometer-long Su Causeway was inbuilt 1089 and is itself one in all West Lake's most vital attractions, linking its north and south banks and enormously well-liked for strolls, notably in spring once its flowerbeds and peach trees square measure in bloom. it is also home to several fine recent bridges, most notably the Broken Bridge (Duanqiao) linking the Baidi Causeway with the shore. alternative highlights square measure the collapsible shelter of the time of year Moon (Pinghu Qiuyue) from 1699, and therefore the collapsible shelter of the Cranes designed around 1300 in honor of author sculpturer Hejing WHO died in 1028 and whose grave lies close to the collapsible shelter. conjointly price visiting square measure the islet of Capitol Hill of Solitude (Gushan) with its fine views and museums; very little Paradise Island with its four mini-lakes joined by the zigzagging Bridge of the 9 Arches and celebrated for its lotus blossoms, water lilies, pavilions, and terraces; and therefore the Bay of Flowers (Huagang), a 50-acre park geological dating back to the twelfth century.
