At a glance

China Daily | Updated: 2010-05-01 08:00

Location

Located in the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta on the southeast coast of China, Zhejiang lies between 2712' and 3131' latitude and 11800and 12300'longitude.

Climate

Zhejiang has an average annual temperature of 15.3-17.9, 230-270 frost-free days and an average annual rainfall of 1000-1900 mm.

Administration

There are 11 cities under the direct jurisdiction of the Zhejiang provincial government, including Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua, Quzhou, Zhoushan, Taizhou and Lishui, under which there are 36 counties, 22 town-level cities and 30 county-level districts. The provincial capital is Hangzhou.

Population

The permanent population of the province reached 48.98 million at the end of 2005, an increase of 1.97 percentover the previous year.

Natural resources

The average water resources of Zhejiang total 99.03 billion cu m, ranked fourth in Chinaper unit area.

Forests cover 59.4 percent of the province's total area with rich resources of economic forests and bamboo groves. The province is also rich in non-metallic mineral reserves with 12 of them taking the first three places in the country.

History

Zhejiang is blessed with a rich cultural heritage. Hemudu Culture,which datesbackseven thousand years, is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization.

Thanks to its long history, splendid culture, and uniquely favorablenatural environment, Zhejiang has won many compliments.

Culture and Arts

As one of the major genres of Chinese opera, Yue Opera came into being in the early 20th century. It is characterized by beautifulmelodies and lyrical plots. With a fine tradition of dramas, Zhejiang is also the birthplace of the ancient South Opera.