Hangzhou is the capital of the Chinese province of Zhejiang, the southernmost city on the Grand Canal, a navigable waterway that dates back to ancient times and begins in Beijing. The city is famous for its West Lake, which has been the subject of poets’ poems and artists’ paintings since the 9th century. Tourists are drawn to the islands on the lake, which can be reached by boat, as well as the temples, pavilions, gardens and arched bridges around it. On the southern bank of West Lake is the five-story Leifeng Pagoda, dating back to 975 and restored after collapsing in the early 20th century.

The capital city of Zhejiang province and its economic, cultural, science and educational center, Hangzhou is one of the central cities in the Yangtze River Delta. A popular City of Scenic Tourism, it also ranks among the first batch of National Historical and Cultural Towns. Located in the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta, western tip of the Hangzhou Bay, it is the crossing point of the extension of“Silk Road Economic Belt”and“2lst Century Maritime Silk Road”and a strategic hub along the“Online Silk Road”. Hangzhou features a perfect blending of hill and water, and lake and town, with rich water resources, and a ubiquitous yet harmonious presence of rivers, canals, lakes, sea, creeks. Such picturesque natural view has earned the fame of “Paradise on Earth” for millenniums. Hangzhou boasts the largest reservoir in China's southern coast-the Xin'an River Reservoir (also known as Qiandao Lake) and the world's longest artifcial canal-the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Traversing the city is Qiantang River, widely known for its spectacular tidal waves.

There are several museums located in Hangzhou including China National Silk Museum, the largest silk museum in the world, China National Tea Museum, and Zhejiang Provincial Museum, which has a collection of integrated human studies, exhibition and research with over 100,000 collected cultural relics.

Many theaters in Hangzhou host opera shows such as Yue opera. There are several big shows themed with the history and culture of Hangzhou like Impression West Lake and the Romance of Song Dynasty. The landscapes in Hangzhou bridges stories of celebrities in Chinese history and feelings of ordinary people visiting Hangzhou with joy and enthusiasm.

Hangzhou is home to the China Academy of Art and prominent painters such as Lin Fengmian and Fang Ganmin.