\[ **BT: [[China]]** ] --- # Zhejiang province Zhejiang is a coastal province in East [[China]]. Its capital and largest city is [[Hangzhou]], with other notable cities including [[#Ningbo]] and [[#Wenzhou]].[^1] Bordered by Jiangsu and Shanghai to the north, Anhui to the northwest, Jiangxi to the west and Fujian to the south. To the east is the East China Sea, beyond which lies the Ryukyu Islands.[^2] The population of Zhejiang is approximately 64.6 million, the 8th largest in China. It has been called ‘the backbone of China’ because it is a major driving force in the Chinese economy.[^3] --- ## Zhejiang administrative districts ### Hanghzou - [[Hangzhou]] ### Ningbo ### Wenzhou ### Jiaxing #### Tongxiang Tongxiang City (桐乡, Tóngxiāng) is a county-level city, part of Jiaxing, in northern Zhejiang. The scenic town of [[#Wuzhen]] is part of Tongxiang.[^4] ##### Wuzhen Wuzhen (乌镇; Wūzhèn) (lit. ‘Wu Town’) is a historic scenic town, part of [[#Tongxiang]], located in the north of Zhejiang Province. It was primarily built in the 7th century during the [[history--China#Tang dynasty (618–690 CE; 705–907 CE)|Tang dynasty]].[^5] Wuzhen is the location of one of the [[education--China#Communication University of Zhejiang|Communication University of Zhejiang]]’s two campuses.[^6] ### Huzhou ### Shaoxing Birthplace of revolutionary feminist writer [[Qiu Jin]].[^7] ### Jinhua ### Quzhou ### Zhoushan ### Taizhou ### Lishui --- ## climate and geography ### climate Zhejiang has a humid subtropical climate with four distinct seasons. Spring starts in March and is rainy with changeable weather. Summer, from June to September is long, hot, rainy and humid. Autumn is generally dry, warm and sunny. Winters are short but cold except in the far south.[^8] Average annual temperature is around 15 to 19 °C, average January temperature is around 2 to 8 °C and average July temperature is around 27 to 30 °C.[^8] Annual precipitation is about 1,000 to 1,900 mm (39 to 75 in). There is plenty of rainfall in early summer and by late summer Zhejiang is directly threatened by typhoons forming in the Pacific.[^8] ### geography There are over three thousand islands along the rugged coastline of Zhejiang. The largest, Zhoushan Island, is mainland China’s third largest island, after Hainan and Chongming. There are also many bays, of which Hangzhou Bay is the largest.[^9] --- ## history and prehistory of Zhejiang Kuahuqiao culture was an early [[Neolithic#Neolithic cultures in China|Neolithic]] settlement in the [[Hangzhou]] area extant in 6000–5000 BCE.[^10] Zhejiang was the site of the [[Neolithic#Neolithic cultures in China|Neolithic]] cultures of the Hemudu (starting in 5500 BC) and Liangzhu (starting in 3400 BCE).[^11] ## endnotes [^1]: ‘Zhejiang’, Wikipedia, last edited 20 March 2026, 10:59 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang. [^2]: ‘Zhejiang’, Wikipedia, last edited 20 March 2026, 10:59 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang. [^3]: ‘Zhejiang’, Wikipedia, last edited 20 March 2026, 10:59 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang. [^4]: ‘Tongxiang’, Wikipedia, last edited 25 December 2025, 05:29 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongxiang. [^5]: ‘Wuzhen’, Wikipedia, last edited 19 February 2026, 07:42 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuzhen. [^6]: ‘Communication University of Zhejiang’, Wikipedia, last edited 16 March 2026, 04:21 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_University_of_Zhejiang. [^7]: Amy Qin, ‘[[Qin, ‘Qiu Jin’, 2018|Qiu Jin]]’ in ‘Overlooked’, *New York Times* (online), ed. Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett, 8 March 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/obituaries/overlooked.html. [^8]: ‘Zhejiang’, Wikipedia, last edited 20 March 2026, 10:59 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang. [^9]: ‘Zhejiang’, Wikipedia, last edited 20 March 2026, 10:59 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang. [^10]: ‘Zhejiang’, Wikipedia, last edited 20 March 2026, 10:59 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang. [^11]: ‘Zhejiang’, Wikipedia, last edited 20 March 2026, 10:59 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhejiang.