Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River,which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital.

Zhejiang borders Jiangsu province and Shanghai municipality to the north, Anhui province to the northwest, Jiangxi province to the west, and Fujian province to the south; to the east is the East China Sea.

Tourism and Landscape in Zhejiang

Tourism Resources

Blessed with a wealth of varied landscapes well known throughout China, Zhejiang attracts tourists with over 800 scenic spots on land, over 200 on water, more than 100 ecological scenic spots, and over 100 sites of cultural and historical interest. Boasting the largest number of national scenic areas in the country, Zhejiang has 14 national scenic areas, namely the West Lake, "Two Rivers and One Lake" (namely the Fuchun River, the Xin'an River and the Thousand-Islet Lake), Mount Yandang, the Nanxi River, Mount Putuo, Shengsi Islands, Mount Tiantai, Mount Mogan, Mount Xuedou, Twin-Dragon Cave and Mount Xiandu. There are also 42 provincial scenic areas, 13 provincial tourist holiday resorts, such as the Xianghu Lake in Xiaoshan, the Oujiang River in Wenzhou and the Guiji Hill in Shaoxing, in addition to one national tourist holiday resort - the Hangzhou Zhijiang National Tourist Holiday Resort.Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province and one of the seven ancient capitals in China, is also a famous tourist city in China, renowned for the natural beauty and charm of the West Lake.

Festivities

Year 2003 is the Year of Chinese Cuisine Tours. To promote this tourism program, Zhejiang stages a series of activities, including the following: January, Chinese New Year Festival in the ancient town of Anchang in Shaoxing; March, Dragon Well Tea Festival and Hangzhou Tea Beverage and Snacks Expositions; April, Azalea Festival in Tiantai; May, China Stone Culture Tourist Festival in Wenling; July, International Sand Sculpture Festival in Zhoushan; August, Fairy Love Folk Customs Festival; September, China International Writing Brush Festival in Huzhou, China International Qiantang River Tidal Bore Festival; October, West Lake Expo, the Sixth International Fashion Ningbo, China She Minority Folk , and the West Lake Firework Show in Hangzhou; November, China Farmer Tourist Festival. Hangzhou will host the World Leisure Expo in 2006.

Tourist Services

Tourism facilities and tourist safety have been improving with each passing day in Zhejiang, along with the development of the tourism industry, visibly increasing the province's capacity of hosting tourists. The province is now served by 742 star-rated hotels, which is the second largest number in a single province in the entire nation. Among them, seven are five-star, 46 four-star and nearly 192 three-star hotels. The province operates 46 international and 601 domestic travel agencies. In 2002 they together hosted 2.04 million overseas tourists , showing an increase of 39 percent , and bringing foreign exchange earnings of US $930 million.

Zhejiang Cuisine

One of the major eight schools of cooking in China, Zhejiang cuisine offers combined flavors of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Wenzhou. Each of the three sub-cuisine traditions is noted for its special flavor and taste, but they are all characterized by the careful selection of ingredients, emphasizing minute preparation, and unique, fresh and tender tastes. Zhejiang cuisine specializes in quick-frying, stir-frying, deep-frying, simmering and steaming, obtaining the natural flavor and taste. Special care is taken in the cooking process to make the food fresh and tender. Thanks to exquisite preparation, the dishes are not only delicious in taste and but also extremely elegant in appearance. Zhejiang cuisine is best represented by Hangzhou dishes, including Hangzhou Roast Chicken (commonly known as the Beggar's Chicken, which is especially delicious with a pleasant aroma of lotus leaves), Dongpo Pork, West Lake Vinegar Fish, Sistern Song's Shredded Fish Soup.

Tourism Mementoes

There is a wide range of tourism mementoes which originated in Zhejiang, mainly including Zhejiang silk, Hangzhou brocade, Quzhou Oriental magic mirrors, Hangzhou Wangxingji fans, Qingtian jade engraving , Zhang Xiaoquan scissors, Dongyang wood carvings, boxwood carvings, Shengzhou bamboo woven wares, Longquan celadon wares, Longquan swords, Ou embroidery (Wenzhou), Xiaoshan laces, Yueqing paper-cuts, Ou sculpture (Wenzhou), Huzhou Chinese writing brushes, celadonwares in imitation of those produced in the Southern Song Dynasty Imperial Kiln, West Lake silk parasols, and Shuanglin satin from Huzhou.