Shaoxing

Located in the northern part of Zhejiang Province and south of the Hangzhou Bay, Shaoxing is a famous historical and cultural city with beautiful sceneries of rivers and lakes. The city has a long history which fostered many celebrities. Legend has it that as early as 4,000 years ago, Dayu of the Xia Dynasty went to Shaoxing personally for water-control projects. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), Goujian, King of the Yue State, made Shaoxing the capital and named it "Yuechi". In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), it was renamed "Shaoxing", which went down to the present. Shaoxing is the birthplace of many famous scholars, writers and artists, including Cai Yuanpei, a famous educator, late Premier Zhou Enlai, and Lu Xun, the novelist, as well as Qiu Jin, a heroine.

Shaoxing is world famous for the gorgeous scenes along its waters. The rivers, big and small, span 1,900 kilometers, running vertical and horizontal -- just like streets in northern China -- with various stone bridges as their crossroads. Shaoxing boasts 229 ancient bridges in various forms, which form a site rich in man-made landscape and wins the city the title of "Hometown of Bridges". Residential houses in Shaoxing are of simple style, brilliant color, blue bricks, gray walls and black corridor poles, and typically keep the style of architecture in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Bathed in the bright sunshine, the whole architecture looks light and handy, simple and elegant.

Here in Shaoxing, there are many places worth visiting. You may climb Houshan, visit Dayu's Mausoleum and Censer Hill and Qinwang Mountain in its outskirts, or the Ancestor Residence of Zhou Enlai, Memorial of Lu Xun, Former Residence of Cai Yuanpei, and so on.

The Dayu's Mausoleum, a temple and mausoleum complex to honor the great-grandfather of China, Emperor Yu, took over a century to build. The East Lake is around 6km east of the city center, featuring beautiful, natural rock formations. The Lanting Pavilion, built in 1548, is considered one of Shaoxing's "must see" spots.

Attractions

East Lake is located in the east suburbs of Shaoxing city, three kilometers from the city center. Featuring an elegant landscape of lakes and mountains and fantastic stones, it, together with the West Lake in Hangzhou and Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing, are known as the Three Famous Lakes in Zhejiang Province.

East Lake used to be a huge rocky hill. During the Han Dynasty, stoneman always went there to quarry stone. During the Sui, in order to build the Great Wall, more stone were quarried from the mountain. After thousands of years of excavation, some parts of the mountain were hollowed, forming a unique scene.

The scenic area consists of Taogong Cave, Xiantao Cave, Tingqiu Pavilion and other spots. "Taogong Dong" is located at the food of the hill with cliffs rising 50-60 meters on each side. Riding on the lake in a boat, visitors can fully enjoy the wonderful scene. There are nine bridges on the lake and many pavilions dotted the banks. Visitors are sure to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Orchid Pavilion is located at the foot of Lanzhu Hill, 12.5 km southwest of Shaoxing City. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC), Goujian, the king of the Yue State, planted orchids here and during the Han (206 BC - 220 AD), a post pavilion was built. Hence the name.

In the spring of 353 during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher of the time, invited his friends to come here for a party.

They recited poems while drinking. Wang Xizhi was challenged to compose a preface to record this event. While in high spirits, Wang Xizhi wrote an article called "Prologue to the Orchid pavilion Collection". Eminent and praiseworthy in both calligraphy and literary talent, this article became a masterpiece in these two fields. Wang Xizhi was crowned as the "sage of calligraphers" from then on and this pavilion came to prominence from this event. Now, Orchid Pavilion has been regarded as the Mecca for calligraphers.