A Short History of Hangzhou

Hangzhou is an ancient city with a history of 2,200 years. Here is a timeline in brief.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang, uniter of China a builder of the Great Wall himself, visits Hangzhou and declares the county a part of his empire.

The Grand Canal, originating in Beijing, is extended to Hangzhou, thus linking the city to the most profitable trading route in China. Hangzhou becomes increasingly powerful and prosperous.

Hangzhou's population increases as well as its regional power, serves as the capital for the Wuyue kingdom in the late tenth century.

These years saw Hangzhou's golden age of prosperity as it became the capital city of the Southern Song Dynasty. Local industry flourished and worship of Taoism and Buddhism peaked. Many of the temples seen today were built during this period.

Mongols rule China and Marco Polo visited Hangzhou in 1290. He was so overwhelmed by the beauty of the Xi Hu, or West Lake, that he transcribed, and thus popularized, a famous Chinese saying Shang you tiantang, xia you Suhang, which means in heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Su[zhou] and Hang[zhou]. Chinese now like to call Hangzhou "Paradise on Earth".

Hangzhou continued to grow and prosper from its local industries, especially silk weaving, and became the silk center for all of China.

After the empire crumbled, Hangzhou lost economic status to Shanghai with its foreign stakes in the 1920s. Internal warfare cost Hangzhou hundreds of thousands of people and whole sections of the city were destroyed. Since the opening of China in rhe 20th century, Hangzhou has been on the rebound. Increasing foreign investment and a cluster of some of China's most successful private enterprises have made Hangzhou, once again, one of the most prosperous cities in China.
Source: Hangzhou, by Monique Van Dijk and Alexandra Moss.