Jinhua Travel Guide

 

Since ancient times, Jinhua has been a place of exquisite culture and excellent etiquette. It was also the heartland of the ancient Yue State. In the period of the Three Kingdoms, this area had been called Dongyang County, and later Jinhua, Wuzhou (婺州) and so on. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the Jinhua School and Jinhua Literature had been flourished throughout China. They spread their great knowledge with schools built everywhere. From then on, famous cultural celebrities, academic scholars and national heroes came out. Nowadays, by inherited this good tradition, Jinhua is well done in children's, higher and adult education.

Jinhua is also a place of majestic landscape and beautiful scenery. By making use these invaluable tourism resources, the National Scenic Area of Shuanglong Cave (Cave of Double Dragon) opened and well-known around the world. Yongkang Fangyan (永康方岩) is a Zhejiang provincial level attraction that is also being known as "The Wonderland on Earth". The Long Underground River in Lanxi's Liudongshan (兰溪六洞山地下长河) is really an overwhelming view. Historical relics are spread out everywhere in Jinhua. The Imperial Palace of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Tianning Temple of the Song Dynasty, The House of Eight-Chanting, Zhuge Bagua Village (诸葛八卦村) and many, many more. Known as Oriental Hollywood, Hengdian Movie City is in Jinhua too. This grand studio provides lots of scenes from very ancient China to modern day's Hong Kong.

The traditional products in Jinhua are

Jinhua Ham

,

Dongyang Wood Carving

,

Yiwu Southern Dates

and so on, sometimes in the past they were used as loyal tributes to the imperial court and had been awarded in international expositions.

 

 

According to an official census in 2001, the total population in Jinhua is about 4,480,000 of which around 910,000 are living in urban areas. Vast majority of people are Han Chinese, apart from foreign businessmen and investors, who many of them are concentrated in Yiwu, a town that is famous in foreign trade.

 
In terms of geography and natural resources, Jinhua has traditionally been an important place where many past dynasties set up administrative eparchy here. It is located at the eastern part of Jinhua-Quzhou Basin (金衢盆地) of Zhejiang Province, higher altitudes are in the south and north, while lower in the middle. If you enter Jinhua from Hangzhou in a tour coach, you will see that the area is quite mountainous, though not so high, the landscape is truly majestic. Dapanshan Mountain (大盘山) is a great divide of Qiantang River (钱塘江), Cao'e Jiang River (曹娥江), Jiaojiang River (椒江) and Oujiang River (瓯江). The highest point is 1245 meters above sea level. Jinhuajiang River (金华江) is the upper reach of Qiantang River. It is traditionally an important water traffic way for the region. Up to now, there are 56 sorts of mineral found, of which 32 can be used and most of them are non-metal substances. Fluorite resource is abundant that Jinhua is being one of the main mining areas in China.

 
With four distinctive seasons, Jinhua belongs to sub-tropical monsoon climate. The weather is generally comfortable except mid-summer and some miserable days in winter. The annual average temperature is 17 to 18 degrees Celsius. With abundant sunshine and rainfall, agriculture is good in Jinhua.

 
Because the rustic atmosphere in Jinhua, traditional customs are still maintained, Lantern Festivals are held on the fifteenth day of first month of Lunar Calendar, Mid-autumn Festival and Double Ninth Festival (ninth day of ninth month). Lanterns, for the Chinese people, mean to expel evil spirits and bad lucks, and to bless for harvest and peace. The beautiful lanterns are being hung on tree branches or lamp posts, they are colorful and eye-catching.

 
Temple Fair is usually held before the Mid-autumn Festival. Pious Buddhist worshipers will burn incenses to get blessing from the Buddha. It is also a commercial bazaar, businessmen make use this crowded festival as an opportunity to sell their commodities. Chinese dramas and traditional acrobats are performed too.

 

Shexi (社戏, folk drama) is a played on the birthday of a local land god. It will be sometimes performed during a party or a birthday of an old man.