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    Shaoxing: City of Water

    Written by: You Yi
    Posted on: September 18, 2014 |

    Shaoxing City, China

    Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city in China’s northeastern Zhejiang province (Zhejiang Cuisine). Located on the south bank of the the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou to the southeast, Jinhua to the southwest, and Hangzhou to the west. It is a City of Water, which boasts many honors and awards won at home and abroad.

    Shaoxing: City of Water

    Da Shan Pagoda

    This land has a history of over 7000 years, having existed since the age of the Hemudu Culture (one of the major Neolithic cultures in the Yangtze River region). In 490 BC, the State of Yue built a town here and made it the capital of Yue. From then on, dozens of titles were given to it, such as the Hometown of the Greatest Cursive Calligrapher (Wang Xizhi), the First-class Rice Wine City in China, and so on.

    Shaoxing City is embraced by plains in the North, and mountains and hills in the East and West. Therefore, it lies on a slope tilting downwards from the southwest to the northeast. Inside the city are four mountains, three basins, two rivers and one plain. They are the Kuaiji Mountain, the Siming Mountain, the Tiantai Mountain, the Longmen Mountain, the Zhuji Basin, the Xinsheng Basin, the Sanjie-Zhangzhen Basin, the Puyang River, the Cao’e River and the Shaoyu Plain.

    As a major provincial capital city in China, Shaoxing found its name on the list of National Famous Historic and Cultural Cities of the first group. In addition to that, it has won such accolades as China Excellent Tourism City, China Human Habitat Environment Prize and Best City for Business in China, etc. In 2007, the city climbed from 41st to 33rd place on the list of China’s Top 100 Cities in Comprehensive Strength and was ranked 1st in the comprehensive assessment of the city environmental management in Zhejiang Province.

    Shaoxing: City of Water

    Wupeng (black awning) boat

    As an ancient cultural city, Shaoxing is called the Museum without a Boundary Wall and the Home of Celebrities. Additionally, there are plenty of lakes and a network of canals in the city, so it is also known as a City of Water. More than 30 major lakes are found there, 14 of them covering an area of over 66.67 hectares. The biggest one is the Jinghu Lake, which was built into the Shaoxing Jinghu National Urban Wetland Park. The most prestigious one is Jianhu Lake. It is the earliest water conservancy project and a famous AAAA tourist attraction in Southeast China. In this city, the number of the bridges is 5.5 times more than that in Venice. According to statistics, there are 6.3 bridges every 1000 square meters.

    The city is widely known for its long history, diverse cultural landscape, gorgeous scenic spots, abundant resources, sophisticated customs as well as luminary figures. It is also known as ‘a city full of cultural relics and a land flowing with milk and honey’. Here you can appreciate the beautiful sight of the clear and broad Jianhu Lake, and read about the profound culture and long history of this city.

    Shaoxing is a land of waters, bridges, rice wine, and calligraphy. It has fostered a galaxy of people like Lu You, a poet in Southern Song Dynasty, Cai Yuanpei, a great academic master, Qiu Jin, martyr of the Xinhai Revolution in latter-day times, Lu Xun, a contemporary writer, the late Premier Zhou Enlai, as well as current academic authorities like Fan Wenlan, Ma Yingchu and Zhu Kezhen. Chairman Mao Zedong highly praised Shaoxing as "the home of celebrities".

    Shaoxing: City of Water

    Hometown of Lu Xun

    Lu Xun, a great master of Chinese modern literature, was born and raised in Shaoxing. Many of his works show the distinctive local culture and his love for his homeland, from the Baicao Yuan (Hundred Plant Garden) to the Sanwei Shuwu (Three Tastes Study, which refers to history, poetry, and philosophy), from anise beans of Kong Yiji to Village Opera in the county. Traveling in Shaoxing, you can experience the Lu Xun Culture. Standing on the riverbank, you can see boatmen wearing little felt hats and boys with silver collars. Entering the Xianheng Restaurant, you can try some real anise beans; stepping into villages, you would enjoy the traditional theatrical performance.

    Shaoxing: City of Water

    Orchid Pavilion, with the poem by Wang Xizhi inscribed on the stone tablet displayed

    Shaoxing is a typical water city with distinctive features. 0ver 4000 bridges lie over the ancient track roads while numerous boats traverse clear waters. The arches of bridges and their reflections in the emerald East Lake form numerous circles. The Wuxie waterfall cascades down five giant steps and flows down from the precipice. Its name also means "Five waterfalls".

    The rockscape in Keyan Scenic Area is a masterpiece of nature. The Orchid Pavilion has been regarded as a Mecca for calligraphers. It is famous for the Lantingji Xu (Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion), which is considered the “Best Cursive Calligraphy Work in China”. The original copy was kept in secrecy in Yunmen Temple for hundreds of years. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty liked Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy so much that he ordered a search for the original copy of Langtingji Xu.

    Shaoxing is also home to Shen’s Garden, the private garden of a wealthy businessman in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 AD). Now it is a tourist attraction famous for the tragic love story about Lu You and his cousin Tang Wan.

    Shaoxing: City of Water

    Shenyuan Garden

    In addition, the ancient Track Roads of the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD), the Six Emperors Mausoleums of the Southern Song Dynasty, the old bridges of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368–1912 AD), as well as the distinctive folk culture typified by the Wupeng boat, the black felt hat and Meigan Cai (dried vegetable) all contribute making Shaoxing an extremely popular tourist destination.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021