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Zhejiang Province is located on China's southeast coast, south of the Yangtze River Delta. Adjacent to the north is Shanghai, China's largest city, while a vast hinterland stretches westward. The whole province is noted for its picturesque scenery, and the abundance of its products has made it widely known as a "land of fish and rice." It is also noted for its silk and tea, as well as for its numerous historical and cultural sites of interest to scholars and tourists alike.
Zhejiang covers a total area of 101,800 sq km, of which 70.4 percent is mountainous or hilly. Plains and basins make up 23.2 percent, and rivers and lakes make up the other 6.4 percent. It also occupies a large sea area. Along the coast, there are 3,061 islands each having an area of more than 500 sq m. This brings the total coastline to 6,486 km, the longest in China. Areas under cultivation total 1.613 million ha. Land used by forestry covers 6.397 million ha. there is a combined fresh water surface area of 224,000 ha. and over 100,000 ha. of shallow sea and shoals are suitable for aquaculture. Also there is the Zhoushan fishing ground producing the biggest catches on the coastline of China.
The total population of the province is 44.56 million, over 300,000 of whom belong to 47ethnic minorities. She and Hui are the two biggest minority ethnic groups.
Zhejiang was one of the cradles of ancient Chinese civilization. Zhejiang has a long history and splendid culture. As early as in the Old Stone Age about 50,000 years ago, the primitive man called "the Jiande Man" lived and multiplied in what is now Zhejiang Province. During the New Stone Age, human activities extended to a wider area in this province. Over 100 sites of ruins of this period have been discovered in the province, which respectively belonged to different cultures such as the Hemudu Culture (7,000 years ago), the Majiabang Culture (6,000 years ago) and the Liangzhu Culture (5,000 years ago). During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), the areas of today's Zhejiang were under the jurisdiction of the State of Wu and the State of Yue respectively. During the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), Guiji (now Shaoxing City) was made a prefecture. During the period of the Three Kingdoms, Sunquan, a Fuyang native, established Wu Kingdom. Then in the Tang Dynasty, Zhejiang was under the jurisdiction of Jiangnandong and Liangzhe successively, taking initial shape of a provincial administration. In the period of Five Dynasties and Ten States, Qianliu, a Linan native established Wuyue Kingdom. During the Yuan Dynasty, Zhejiang belonged to Zhongshu Province. In the beginning of Ming Dynasty, the structure was changed to Zhejiang Chengxuan Secretariat, with 11 cities, 1 prefecture and 75 counties under its administration, and the border of the province was basically determined. In the beginning of the Kangxi Era of Qing Dynasty, the name was changed to Zhejiang Province, and the organizational system was determined. Zhejiang is a place with numerous famous scholars and figures in history, many outstanding personalities of philosophy, politics, military, science and culture were from this province. More than one thousands of Zhejiang-born writers have gone down in history since Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) until nowadays, accounting for about one sixth within the country. After the foundation of New China, almost one fifth of the academicians ( members of the Academic Committee ) in the Two Academies are native of Zhejiang.
Following the introduction of the reform and opening-up policies, Zhejiang has made rapid strides in its economic, scientific and technological and social undertakings. At present, it's economic standing ranks fourth in China.
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