Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang province. It is on the Fuchun River at the head of Hangzhou Bay and handles river traffic through its port. It is also a rail hub with important links to Shanghai. Long a famous silk-producing center, Hangzhou has recently been developed into a major industrial complex. Manufactures include silk and cotton textiles, iron and steel products, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals, cement, rubber, paper and bamboo products, chemicals, machine tools, electronic equipment, and processed tea. Hangzhou's charming natural setting on the shore of scenic Xihu (West Lake) amid high, wooded hills attracts many tourists. Many Chinese officials have vacation homes on the lake.

Hangzhou, known as "paradise on earth," has a humid climate, fresh air, a clean, well-ordered environment, and the West Lake as its back garden. The land around Hangzhou City is one of "fish and rice" as well as a production base for silk. Each person encountered on its streets radiates contentment. An increasing number of people are purchasing villas in the area, and real estate prices have consequently increased.

Hangzhou is a famous tourist city. Although not big, it has a concentration of more than 40 scenic spots, which would take at least a week to visit. The 6-square-kilometer West Lake is the pride of this provincial capital city, and most sites of interest are around it. Unlike the man-made lakes of other cities, where earth is dug and piled up to make hills, the West Lake is natural, and its sights are delightful, no matter what the season. Scholars and poets have left a legacy of rhapsodic poetry and prose after visits to the lake, and some settled, or stayed on to live a hermit's life here. There are so many scenic spots around the West Lake that the view changes at every step. It was once said that its scenery is poetic, picturesque and ethereal. A picture taken from any angle resembles a beautiful landscape painting.

City Flower——Sweet Osmanthus
Hangzhou is the hometown of sweet osmanthus, the West Lake is one of the five biggest sweet osmanthus watch places in China. First class flower; sweet osmanthus is one of the ten biggest precious flowers in China. In the golden autumn, the pavilion bund cassia-bark-tree with its flowers blooming ten thousandes yellow spots. The cassia bud falls from the moon, the fragrance flutters out of clouds. The light yellowish sweet osmanthus, has exaggerated Hangzhou with the deep inside story of two big cultures, Wu and Yue, and has exaggerated the happiness of Hangzhou's person.

City Tree ---- Camphor tree
Hangzhou, elusive rusticity and optimal moisture, is rich of scented camphor trees. The ancient camphor trees are elegant in groups; thousands of leaf layers, falling their shade everywhere. At the cusp of spring and summer，the green small flowers split the full branches. The light breeze delivers the fragrance and gladdens the heart. That tranquilness, that warmth and that smooth have sublimated this gentle cultural old city. That intensity, that fearless and that share thrive have revealed this fast moving cultural old city as well.

China tours inclusive of visiting Hangzhou