Huzhou is located in the north of Zhejiang Province, the southern bank of Taihu Lake. At the center of Yangtze River Delta Shanghai Economic Circle, the city neighbors Shanghai to the east with 150 km from it and Hangzhou to the south with 86 km from it, covering a total area of 5,817

km2. It roughly features a terrain that slants from the southwest to the northeast with many hills in the west. 

The highest peak of the undulating mountains is the 1,578-meter Longwang Mountain that is considered the origin of the Huangpu River. With an average altitude of only 3 meters, the eastern part of Huzhou features a plain scene with a network of rivers and lakes. Now there are two districts Wuxing and Nanxun, and three counties Deqing, Changxing, and Anji under the jurisdiction of Huzhou Municipality. Among the cities in the Taihu Lake territory, Huzhou is the only one that is named after the water of the lake.

Huzhou has been praised with such superlatives as Home of Silks, Land of Abundance, and State of Cultural Heritage. The leading industries in Huzhou are textile, machinery, light industry, electronics, building material, pharmaceutical, and specific chemicals. It is one of the fifteen major cities which were designated by the State Council to echo the development of Shanghai Pudong by the policies of planning and development with priorities.

The folk customs in Huzhou are unadulterated and people in Huzhou believe in education. The sceneries in Huzhou are peerless and the city order is neat. It has been awarded the titles of the National Hygiene City, China landscape garden City, China Environmental Protection Model City, China Excellent Tourist City, CCTV 2006 Chinese Charming City, and Zhejiang Provincial Civilization City. Huzhou has successfully hosted eight National Extreme Sports Competitions and four International Huzhou Writing Brush Festivals. Huzhou is now called “the Capital of Extreme Sports” and “City of Writing Brushes” in China. 

Huzhou boasts the largest number of “jin shi”, people who ranked first-class in the imperial examination of ancient China. Nanxun boasts a large number of high-rank officials. No other place in China has ever produced more calligraphers and painters than Huzhou in the history of China. In the art circles of China, half of the greatest calligraphers and painters in China came from Huzhou.

(Edited by Ye Ke)