page_title: Hangzhou
section_title: Culture
hierarchical_section_title: Hangzhou / Culture
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 鎏金纯银阿育王塔，雷峰塔遗址出土，现藏浙江省博物馆孤山馆舍。
context_page_description: Hangzhou, also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. It sits at the head of Hangzhou Bay, which separates Shanghai and Ningbo. Hangzhou grew to prominence as the southern terminus of the Grand Canal and has been one of the most renowned and prosperous cities in China for much of the last millennium. The city's West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage site immediately west of the city, is among its best-known attractions. A study conducted by PwC and China Development Research Foundation saw Hangzhou ranked first among "Chinese Cities of Opportunity". Hangzhou is also considered a World City with a "Beta+" classification according to GaWC.
  Hangzhou is classified as a sub-provincial city and forms the core of the Hangzhou metropolitan area, the fourth-largest in China. During the 2010 Chinese census, the metropolitan area held 21.102 million people over an area of 34,585 km². Hangzhou prefecture had a registered population of 10,360,000 in 2019.
  Hangzhou was repeatedly rated as the best commercial city in mainland China by Forbes.
context_section_description: The native residents of Hangzhou, like those of Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu, speak Hangzhou dialect, which is a Wu dialect. However, Wu Chinese varies throughout the area where it is spoken, hence, Hangzhou's dialect differs from regions in southern Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu. As the official language defined by China's central government, Mandarin is the dominant spoken language.
  There are several museums located in Hangzhou with regional and national importance. China National Silk Museum (中国丝绸博物馆), located near the West Lake, is one of the first state-level museums in China and the largest silk museum in the world. China National Tea Museum (中国茶叶博物馆) is a national museum with special subjects as tea and its culture. Zhejiang Provincial Museum (浙江博物馆) features collection of integrated human studies, exhibition and research with its over 100,000 collected cultural relics.
  There are lots of theaters in Hangzhou showing performance of opera shows. Yue opera, originated from Shengzhou, Zhejiang Province, is the second-largest opera form in China. Also, there are several big shows themed with the history and culture of Hangzhou like Impression West Lake and the Romance of Song Dynasty.
  Hangzhou has historically been an important hub for artists and scholars. In modern times, Hangzhou was home to the China Academy of Art and prominent painters such as Lin Fengmian and Fang Ganmin.
  Tea is an important part of Hangzhou's economy and culture. Hangzhou is best known for originating Longjing, a notable variety of green tea, the most notable type being Longjing Tea. Known as the best type of Long Jing tea, Xi Hu Long Jing is grown in Longjing village near West Lake in Hangzhou, hence its name.
  The local government of Hangzhou heavily invests in promoting tourism and the arts, with emphasis placed upon silk production, umbrellas, and Chinese hand-held folding fans.
caption: Gilt silver Hōkyōintō Unearthed from Leifeng Pagoda Site, now in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum
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