ChinaRegions & prefectures

Zhejiang

West Lake, Longjing tea and the world capital of small trade.

Capital: Hangzhou
Status: Province
Region: East China
Must-see: West Lake in Hangzhou
Local specialty: Longjing tea, West Lake fish, Jinhua ham

Marco Polo described Hangzhou as the finest city in the world; it was the Southern Song capital and is still organised around West Lake, a landscape so codified it served as a model for gardens across Asia. Zhejiang is also the merchants’ province: Wenzhou has spread trading diasporas as far as Europe, Yiwu runs the world’s largest wholesale market for small goods, and Hangzhou hosts Alibaba’s headquarters.

What to see there

Places, dishes and traditions tied to this territory.

Longjing teaChina’s most famous green tea, pressed by hand in a scorching wok.Chinese TeaThe six families of Chinese tea: green, white, yellow, oolong, red (black), and pu-erh (dark).AlibabaThe Chinese e-commerce giant founded by Jack Ma.West LakeNatural site · Zhejiang, China

In the magazine

Articles that cover this topic.