Hangzhou

Japanese: 杭州 - こうしゅう

A sub-provincial city (a prefecture-level city that has been granted the same degree of autonomy as a province) in the northern part of Zhejiang Province, China. It is the capital of the province and became a city in 1927. Its former names were Lin'an and Qiantang. It is counted among the six great ancient capitals along with Beijing and Xian. It is located in the lower reaches of the Qiantang River, at the southern end of the Grand Canal, and has jurisdiction over 10 city districts and 2 counties, including Yuhang and Fuyang, and acts as the administrative agent for Jiande City (as of 2018). Population: 7.539 million, city district population: 6.152 million (2017).

The average annual temperature is 17.0℃, and the annual precipitation is 1100-1600mm. It has sister city ties with Sayama City, Ageo City, Fukui City, Hamamatsu City, Gifu City, Muko City, and Matsue City. In 2004, it established a friendship bridge partnership with Iwakuni City, due to the historic bridge of the same name.

[Jun Zhou March 19, 2018]

history

It appeared as Qiantang County in the Qin and Han dynasties, but was originally just a regional city. When the Sui dynasty opened the Grand Canal and made it its terminus, it suddenly became a regional city called Hangzhou. From Hangzhou, the Shangtang River and the Xiatang River canals lead north to Suzhou, and via the Qiantang River to Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian, and by traveling east along the Zhejiang East River to the seaport of Ningbo, which was connected by ocean ships to Japan, Korea, the southeast coast, and Southeast Asia. The Southern Song dynasty established Hangzhou as its national capital, Lin'an, and its population exceeded one million, producing silk textiles, lacquerware, and ceramics. The prosperity of urban life and culture was recorded by the Japanese monk Jojin, Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and others, and Polo praised it as the most elegant city in the world in "The Travels of Marco Polo." The West Lake on the outskirts of the city was built by local officials such as Bai Juyi (Bai Juyi) and Su Dongpo (Su Shi), and is rich in scenic beauty.

It was a large city during the Yuan dynasty, and was a provincial capital during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and prospered through silk weaving. However, as Shanghai grew rapidly, its commerce declined, and it only became an open port after the Treaty of Shimonoseki.

[Yoshinobu Shiba March 19, 2018]

Industry and Transportation

In the past, the city's economy declined due to the development of Shanghai and it was a consumer city, but after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the silk weaving industry developed rapidly, and various industries such as metallurgy, chemicals, rubber, electronics, precision machinery, and papermaking also emerged. Since the reform and opening up, the economy has grown significantly, mainly in light industry, electronic parts, and finance. To attract foreign investment, the Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, Xiaoshan Economic and Technological Development Zone, Yuhang Economic and Technological Development Zone, and Fuyang Economic and Technological Development Zone were established, which offer preferential treatment, and many Japanese companies, including Panasonic, have set up operations in the city. It is also famous as the home of the major e-commerce company Alibaba. Traditional industries include brocade weaving, silk umbrellas, sandalwood fans, and scissors. In addition to rice, the surrounding rural areas produce a lot of vegetables, jute, and tea, and sericulture is also thriving, with Longjing tea being particularly famous worldwide.

In addition to the Shanghai-Kunming Line (Shanghai-Kunming), Hangzhou-Ningbo Line, and Xuanhang Line (Xuancheng-Hangzhou), high-speed railways such as the Shanghai-Hangzhou High Speed Railway (Shanghai-Hangzhou), Ningbo High Speed Railway (Nanjing-Hangzhou), Hangzhou-Yong High Speed Railway, and Hangzhou-Changsha Passenger Line (Hangzhou-Changsha) have also opened. A subway opened in 2012, and public bicycle rental stations are also being developed. The port is shallow, so ocean-going merchant ships cannot dock there, and only small steamships that travel along the coast, rivers, and canals call at the port. Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, which opened in 2000, is located near the city, and is connected to major cities in China as well as Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, and Singapore.

[Kazuo Hayashi, Editorial Department, March 19, 2018]

Culture and Tourism

West Lake, located in the west of the city, was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2011 as the "Hangzhou West Lake Cultural Landscape", and is one of China's most popular scenic spots, attracting many tourists from both inside and outside the country. The Kintai Bridge spans the bank on the north bank, and on the south bank is the famous Leifeng Pagoda, the setting of the folk legend "The Legend of the White Snake". The mountains to the west of West Lake were formerly known as the Wulin Mountains, so Hangzhou is also called Wulin. At the foot of the mountains are Lingyin Temple and Jingci Temple, two of the Five Mountains of Zen Buddhism. It is said that Kukai once visited Lingyin Temple, and a statue of Kukai was erected in 2002 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China. On the outskirts of the city is Jingshan Temple, one of the Five Mountains of Zen Buddhism, known for its Jingshan Temple miso.

[Shun Zhou March 19, 2018]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

中国、浙江(せっこう)省北部にある副省級市（省と同程度の自主権を与えられた地級市）。同省の省都で、1927年に市となった。旧称は臨安(りんあん)、銭塘(せんとう)。北京(ペキン)、西安(せいあん)などと並んで六大古都に数えられる。銭塘江の下流域、大運河の南端に位置し、余杭(よこう)、富陽(ふよう)など10市轄区と2県を管轄し、建徳(けんとく)市の管轄代行を行う（2018年時点）。人口753万9000、市轄区人口615万2000（2017）。

　年平均気温は17.0℃、年降水量は1100～1600ミリメートル。狭山(さやま)市、上尾市、福井市、浜松市、岐阜市、向日(むこう)市、松江市と姉妹都市提携を結ぶ。また岩国市とは、同名の歴史的な橋があることから、2004年に錦帯橋(きんたいきょう)友好橋提携を結んだ。

［周　俊　2018年3月19日］

歴史

秦(しん)、漢以来銭塘県として登場するが、初めは地方都市にすぎなかった。隋(ずい)が大運河を開いてその終点となり、一躍杭州という地域都市になった。杭州から北は上塘河、下塘河という運河で蘇州(そしゅう)方面に達し、銭塘江を経て南は浙江、江西(こうせい)、福建(ふっけん)に通じ、浙東河(せっとうが)を東進すれば海港寧波(ニンポー)で海洋船により日本、朝鮮、東南海岸、東南アジアと結ばれた。南宋(なんそう)は杭州を国都臨安（行在(あんざい)）と定め、人口は100万を超え、絹織物、漆器、陶磁器を産した。都市生活や文化の繁栄は日本僧の成尋(じょうじん)やマルコ・ポーロ、イブン・バットゥータなどが記録し、ポーロは『東方見聞録』で世界でもっとも優美な都市と絶賛している。郊外の西湖(せいこ)は白楽天(はくらくてん)（白居易(はくきょい)）、蘇東坡(そとうば)（蘇軾(そしょく)）らの地方官が堤をつくったもので景勝に富む。

　元代でも大都会であり、明(みん)、清(しん)では省都であり、絹織物で栄えたが、上海(シャンハイ)が急成長して商業は衰え、開港場となったのは下関(しものせき)条約以後である。

［斯波義信　2018年3月19日］

産業・交通

かつては上海の発展により経済は衰退し消費都市であったが、中華人民共和国成立後、絹織物工業が急速に発展し、冶金、化学、ゴム、電子、精密機械、製紙など各種工業も新たにおこった。改革開放以降は、軽工業や電子部品、金融などの産業を中心に経済成長が著しい。外資誘致のため、優遇措置を受けられる杭州経済技術開発区、蕭山(しょうざん)経済技術開発区、余杭経済技術開発区、富陽経済技術開発区などが設置され、パナソニックなど、日本企業も数多く進出している。電子商取引大手アリババの本拠地としても有名。伝統工業としては錦織(にしきおり)、絹張り傘、白檀扇子(びゃくだんせんす)、鋏(はさみ)などが知られる。周囲の農村では水稲のほか、野菜、ジュート（コウマ）、茶の生産が多く、養蚕業も盛んで、とくに竜井(ロンチン)茶は世界的に有名である。

　滬昆(ここん)線（上海―昆明(こんめい)）、杭甬(こうよう)線（杭州―寧波）、宣杭線（宣城(せんじょう)―杭州）などが通じるほか、滬杭高速鉄道（上海―杭州）、寧杭高速鉄道（南京(ナンキン)―杭州）、杭甬高速鉄道、杭長旅客専用線（杭州―長沙(ちょうさ)）などの高速鉄道も開通した。2012年には地下鉄が開業し、公共のレンタサイクル拠点の整備も進んでいる。港は水深が浅いため外航商船は停泊できず、沿岸や河川、運河を通う小汽船が寄港するにすぎない。市街近郊には2000年開港の杭州蕭山国際空港があり、国内主要都市のほか、東京、大阪、ソウル、シンガポールなどとも結ばれる。

［林　和生・編集部　2018年3月19日］

文化・観光

市西部にある西湖は、2011年に「杭州西湖の文化的景観」として世界遺産の文化遺産（世界文化遺産）に登録され、中国有数の景勝地として内外の観光客でにぎわう。北岸の堤には錦帯橋が架かり、南岸には、民間伝説『白蛇伝』の舞台として著名な雷峰塔がある。西湖の西に広がる山々は以前武林山と総称されていたので、杭州は武林ともよばれる。その山麓には、禅宗五山の霊隠寺(りんにんじ)、浄慈寺(じんずじ)がある。霊隠寺は、かつて空海(くうかい)が参拝したと伝えられ、2002年日中国交正常化30周年を記念して空海の像が建立された。市郊外には、径山寺(きんざんじ)みそで知られる禅宗五山の径山寺がある。

［周　俊　2018年3月19日］