Yuhang District 余杭区

Setting and landscape

The East Tiaoxi River (东苕溪) roughly divides Yuhang into two parts. To the west are hills and river valleys, and to the east is a plain of waterways and tidal flats. The highest peak is Yaotou Mountain (窑头山, 1,095 metres), and Mount Jing (径山) rises to 616 metres. In 2021 Linping (临平) and six other subdistricts, with Tangqi town (塘栖), were moved into the new Linping District (临平区), and the district government moved to Cangqian (仓前).

History

In the name Yuhang, "Hang" is a place name, and "Yu" may be an ancient Yue word for salt or a syllable with no meaning. In 222 BCE, after Qin conquered Chu, it set up the counties of Qiantang (钱唐) and Yuhang under Kuaiji Commandery (会稽郡). When the Sui created Hangzhou prefecture in 589, its seat was first at Yuhang, moving to Qiantang the next year.

What to see

The Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City (良渚古城遗址), dated to 5,300 to 4,300 years ago, were the centre of power and belief of the Liangzhu culture. They were inscribed on the World Heritage List on 6 July 2019. The Hangzhou culture and tourism bureau describes the ruins park at Pingyao (瓶窑) as covering 14.33 square kilometres in its plan. The walled-city area has city gates and walls, the Mojiaoshan palace (莫角山宫殿) and the Fanshan royal tombs (反山王陵). The Yaoshan site park (瑶山遗址公园), an altar with a group of high-ranking graves, opened in 2021. The Liangzhu Museum (良渚博物院), also in Yuhang, is an archaeological site museum devoted to the Liangzhu culture.

Jingshan Temple (径山寺), in full Jingshan Wanshou Chan Temple (径山万寿禅寺), stands at the top of Mount Jing in Jingshan town. The Chan master Faqin (法钦) founded it in 745, and in 768 Emperor Daizong of Tang ordered a monastery built there. Under the Southern Song it ranked first among the Five Mountains and Ten Temples (五山十刹). It is one of the ancestral temples of Japanese Zen.

Food and local products

The Jingshan tea feast (径山茶宴) is the formal tea gathering that Jingshan Temple holds for honoured guests in its Mingyue Hall (明月堂). It began in the mid-Tang, flourished under the Song and Yuan, and spread to Japan, where it became a source of the tea ceremony. It entered the national intangible-heritage list in 2011. Local produce includes bayberries, spring bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and yellow ginger.

Highlights

• Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City 良渚古城遗址: Centre of the Liangzhu culture, 5,300–4,300 years ago; on the World Heritage List since 6 July 2019.
• Liangzhu Museum 良渚博物院: Archaeological site museum for the Liangzhu culture.
• Jingshan Temple 径山寺: Founded in 745 on the summit of Mount Jing; first of the Five Mountains under the Southern Song.
• Jingshan tea feast 径山茶宴: The temple's formal tea gathering, a source of the Japanese tea ceremony; national intangible heritage since 2011.