Hangzhou, Living Poetry

“The mountain is called Tianzhu where lush forests dominate; the river is named Qiantang where emerald-green water flows.” Hangzhou is the misty, rainy Jiangnan mentioned repeatedly in poems. It was in Hangzhou that Bai Juyi lay back against a pillow in a county pavilion to watch the tidal bore of Qiantang River; it was in Hangzhou that Lu You spent the night listening to the spring rain all night in a small building in a deep alley; it was the West Lake’s glistening waters and its misty surrounding mountains that came to the eyes of Su Shi, drowsy from drink; it was the sight of a lilac-like girl walking down an alley in Hangzhou with an oil-paper umbrella that imprinted itself in Dai Wangshu’s memory ...

Hangzhou is the widely-known birthplace of legends. The White Snake and Xu Xian met for the first time on the Broken Bridge, and wrote the final chapter of the legend at Leifeng Pagoda; Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, the Butterfly Lovers, studied together for three years in Wansong Academy and bid each other an unwilling farewell on the Long Bridge; Emperor Qianlong, of his six inspection trips to the south, visited Hangzhou four times when he bestowed Longjing Tea the title of “Imperial Tea”, wrote the inscriptions of “Feng Yue Wu Bian (literal meaning: The wonders of natural beauty are boundless)” and “Yunlin Zen Temple”...

Hangzhou is an open and inclusive city of oriental culture in a global context. The Italian traveler Marco Polo came to Hangzhou following the course of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and marveled that it was the most magnificent city of heaven in the world; the American diplomat John Leighton Stuart considered Hangzhou to be one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in China, and well-known in Chinese literature and art. According to French historian Jacques Gernet, the Song Dynasty was the Chinese equivalent of the Renaissance, and Hangzhou was the Florence of its day. The American writer Eric Weiner pointed out in "The Geography of Genius" that the beautiful natural landscape of West Lake in Hangzhou provided innovative inspiration for many geniuses.

From building seawalls to "harmony between man and nature", from "poetic and pictorial splendors" to landscape gardens, from the Huizhou-Hangzhou Ancient Path to the intelligent Internet of Things, history and reality meet and blend here, classicality and modernity coexist harmoniously here, and the Chinese people's vision for urban and rural prosperity, and a happy home for all is made real in Hangzhou. Hangzhou, one of the seven ancient capitals of China, is where the history of five thousand years of Chinese civilization has been demonstrated. In Hangzhou, Wuyue Culture and Southern Song Dynasty Culture complement each other. It boasts a galaxy of talents from different dynasties and a long-standing cultural context. It is home to three world cultural heritages: West Lake, the Grand Canal (Hangzhou Section), and the Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu Ancient City. It demonstrates and carries forward the sub-items of five UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, which are the Art of Chinese Seal Engraving (Xiling Seal-Engravers’ Society Seal Engraving), the Sericulture and Silk Craftsmanship of China (Hangzhou Leno Manufacturing Craftsmanship, Yuhang Rinsing Silk Wadding Manufacturing Craftsmanship), Guqin and Its Music (Guqin Art of Zhe School), the Twenty-Four Solar Terms (“The Start of Summer” Folk Customs in Banshan Area), Traditional Tea Processing Techniques and Associated Social Practices in China (West Lake Longjing Tea Processing Techniques, Jingshan Tea Ceremony). Hangzhou has always maintained its innovative vigor. It has a complete modern cultural and tourism service system such as mobile payment, Hangzhou city brain, Asian Games Pass · Cultural and Tourism All-in-One Code, and Hangzhou Study. In Hangzhou, there are endless blue sea markets for the culture and tourism industry including “Three Rivers and Two Banks”, Future Villages, Digital Cultural Innovations, etc.

Meet Hangzhou and you will meet as many splendors as you could ever hope for!