Quzhou Overview
Basic Information
- Chinese Name: 衢州
- Location: In the west of Zhejiang province and upstream of the Qiantang River
- Area: 884, 4.79 square kilometers
- Population: 2,18 million, Han Chinese is the vast majority nationality group
- Language: Mandarin, Wu Chinese
Administrative Division
With jurisdiction over two districts, three counties, and one county-level city, Taizhou covers a land area of 884, 4.79 square kilometers.
- 2 districts: Kecheng District (柯城区), Qujiang District (衢江区)
- 3 counties: Longyou County (龙游县), Changshan County (常山县), Kaihua County (开化县)
- 1 county-level city: Jiangshan City (江山市)
Geography
Quzhou is located in the west of Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the upper course of the Qiantang River and western part of Jinhua-Quzhou Basin, it borders Hangzhou to the north, Jinhua to the east, Lishui to the southeast, and the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi and Anhui to the south, southwest and northwest respectively.
The terrain there is higher in the west and the east. The territory of Quzhou Municipality is made up of plains (15%), hills (36%), and mountains (49%). In the north is the Qianli Gang mountain range and in the west the Yu Mountains. The highest mountains, Xianxia Ling mountain range, lie in the south. The highest point in the city is at Dalong Gang, which rises to 1,500 m above sea level. 70.7% of the land is covered with forest. The rest is densely irrigated and farmed, producing citrus fruits, tea and mulberry leaves.
Climate
Quzhou belongs to humid subtropical climate so it offers four distinctive seasons, which is characterized by hot, humid summers and chilly, cloudy and dry winters (with occasional snow). The mean annual temperature is 17.4 °C, with monthly daily averages ranging from 5.4°C in January to 28.7°C in July. The city receives an average annual rainfall of 1,705 millimeters and is affected by the plum rains of the Asian monsoon in June, when average relative humidity also peaks. The frost-free period lasts 251–261 days. Winds along the Qiantang River valley are predominantly north-easterly and north-east-easterly. Occasionally typhoons blow in from the Pacific Ocean. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 25% in March to 59% in August, the city receives 1,810 hours of bright sunshine annually.
The Best Time to Go
Spring and late autumn periods are best time for visiting Quzhou. Quzhou is closed to sea so that climate there is impacted by oceanic climate. In summer, it may meet unpleasant weather like intensive fall, rainstorm, hail stone, strong wind, etc. which could influence travel schedules. And in the winter, you may encounter cold weather, so spring and late fall is much agreeable than other time.
Things to Do
Trying local foods in tourist attractions is a pleasant and easy way to be closer to them for food culture in China varies from one another. Thus, it would be good experience for tourists to taste local food. Then, there are a lot of mountainous scenic spots which could offer you to get close to nature. In addition, those who ever visit there say that Quzhou is an agreeable destination to experience slow life. If you are interested, you could see it in person.
Transportation
Quzhou has achieved fairly complete transportation system that could facilitate your tour there. Highway, railway, waterway and airway are all available there. Taking Quzhou as a center, it has joined the economic area which takes Quzhou 2 hours to Hangzhou and 3 hours to Shanghai. For cities around Quzhou like Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui province, tourists can reach all these places within 2 hours owing to convenient transportation there. We just take its airway as an example then you could see its convenience. Quzhou Airport is located in the eastern suburb of the city which offers flights to many major cities in China like Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Wenzhou, etc.
History & Culture
Quzhou is a city with long and profound history. According to the unearthed stone axes, knives and spears in Kecheng District, Qujiang District, Longyou, Jiangshan, Changshan and some other places, the ancestors of Quzhou people lived there and capitalized on abundant natural resources to make a living in the land. The well-documented of Quzhou history could trace back to about 1800 years before.
Except for its long history, Quzhou provided profound cultures. Wu Chinese is one of them. Wu language is the most widely used dialed there, and it varies from one place to another. Meanwhile, owing to its history and complex geography that led to migration, so language there has been enriched. In Jiangshang City, there are 14 dialects. And dialects remain ancient vocabulary which makes it high value of research.
Religion is a significant part of Quzhou culture. It gathered the world’s three major religions including Buddhism, Christianity and Islamism, besides, Taoism impacts there as well. It welcomed diversity culture of religion.
Economy
As the only city that has been listed as a national model of circular economy in Zhejiang province in 2013, Quzhou’s economic development grows in a promising way and comes with far more pleasant growth direction. It witnesses good location which could offer more cooperation chances with nearby areas. Also, its imports and exports contribute to Quzhou greatly.
Tourism
Quzhou enjoys plentiful tourist resources and is known as “the miracle landscape, the famous city Quzhou”, which makes it a splendid tourist destination. There are four national key cultural relic protection units so that tourists are provided with unique cultural sites there. Besides, Quzhou provides one national 5A tourist sites, seven national 4A tourist attractions, five national forest parks, one world heritage site, etc. Therefore, its abundant tourist resources lead to its agreeable development of tourism.
Festivals
Although there are some ethnic groups in Quzhou, Han people are the main nationality there and they mix well with each other. Therefore, their festivals are mixed different culture. The main great festivals are traditional Chinese festivals, and the differences from other places are their own elements and customs. Take Chinese New Year as an example, in addition to prepare decent family reunion dinner on the New Year’s Eve, they would eat Niangao in Chinese(made of glutinous rice flour), fermented rice cake, eight-treasure pickles, Jiangshan cake, Suomian(a kind of noodles), Zongzi, etc.
Dining
Quzhou belongs to Zhejiang province, but its dishes differ from other areas there. People say that Quzhou dishes mix the characteristics of the dishes from Sichuan, Hunan, Guangdong and Hangzhou. Spicy is one of its features, which is less common in the dishes of other areas in Zhejiang province. Also, it borders to many places around, so its dishes could be enriched better and then formed unique styles.
