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.