Friends World Program of Long Island University

Zhejiang Province

Geography

Zhejiang (also spelled Chekiang) is one of the smallest but most economically successful provinces in China today. Its name is derived from the ancient toponym of its chief waterway, the Qiantang River, which flows into the East China Sea just below the provincial capital of Hangzhou (also spelled Hangchow). Here some four-hundred islands, large and small, make up the Zhoushan Archipelago, of which Putuo Island, one of the four major sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism, is the most famous.

Click to enlarge close up of Qiantang Tidal BoreIt is at this confluence of river and sea in the characteristic funnel shaped Hangzhou Bay that a rare and seasonal tidal bore occurs. Every year around the vernal and autumnal equinox a huge wave front from the ocean flows upriver at an average speed of 40 kilometers per hour and with crests reaching up to nine meters at its banks, bringing with it a thunderous roar to the delight of spectators. Observing this awesome phenomenon has been a local tradition in Hangzhou since at least the Tang dynasty and was an event commemorated by festivities at the Southern Song capital during the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the waves are especially large. The largest recorded tidal bore in the world occurred here in 1993 and since then the so-called “Silver Dragon” of Hangzhou has been an object of fascination for international tourists and researchers alike, not to mention a new frontier for extreme surfers. Some years the tidal bore is as small as to be barely noticeable, but other years the crests are so high they flow over the embankments of the river and have been known to sweep away spectators and even vehicles. In fact the waves can reach such heights that some less scrupulous news outlets have allegedly passed off images of the September 2002 Qiantang Tidal Bore in Hangzhou as those depicting the destructive tsunami that struck the coastline of the Indian Ocean in December, 2004.

For the date of this year’s major Qiantang Tidal Bore, please see the corresponding entry in the Chinese Lunar Festival Calendar.

The landscape of Zhejiang province is varied. Hills and mountains make up two thirds of the province, while offshore islands number over 2,000. Pine and spruce clothe some mountain slopes, tea and bamboo cover others. Most Chinese, however, imagine a green and fertile land webbed with lakes and canals upon hearing the name "Zhejiang." Northwest Zhejiang, often called "the water country," is the epitome of this landscape. It lies in the fertile Yangzi delta and adjoins China's richest province, Jiangsu.

Last updated on Sep 27, 2005

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