Hangzhou History Begins

21st Century BCE – 220 BC

The name Hangzhou began with a legend; some 4,000 years ago, Yu the Great (大禹), who inaugurated dynastic rule in China and who was famed for controlling the flooding of the Yellow River, went by boat through the marshes and wetlands to meet with other tribal leaders on Kuaiji Hill (present day Shaoxing city, 70 kilometers southeast of Hangzhou). He disembarked somewhere in modern day Hangzhou and people later called the spot “Yu Hang”, roughly meaning “Yu’s Ferry”. Of course, modern scholars have varied interpretations of the events. Some say Yu never went there, others that the name was passed down from decedents in the north.Regardless of its mythical beginnings, the character “hang” remains in Hangzhou, a testimony to its watery past. Also, today a northwestern district of Hangzhou is named Yuhang, where you can visit the oldest civilization in the area, the Liangzhu site.

Far from the center of power, Hangzhou fell under the dominion of different states. It wasn’t until the rise of the first emperor in China, Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇), that the city had a name in 222 BCE: Qiantang County (钱唐县). That first emperor, famed for uniting China, even graced Hangzhou himself, following the footsteps of Yu the Great on the way to the Kuaiji Hill to pay his respects. Legend has it that, in order to avoid stormy weather at sea, the emperor moored his boat to a rock, which was later carved into a Buddha statue. As the waterline has gradually receded, a temple was built around this statue, found today on Baoshi Hill (宝石山) north of West Lake.

Hangzhou’s legendary body of water, West Lake, also took form during these long early centuries with sediments of the tide blocking the sea water, forming a lagoon. Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) official Hua Xin (华信) built the first ever dam to protect against the surging tide. Hua’s method of motivating local residents to participate in this civic project was certainly creative. He claimed that anyone who delivered stone and dirt to the site would be paid a considerable amount of money, causing a delivery rush within days. He then swiftly declared that there was no payment for the latecomers. Those late to the party were angry, but what could they do but dump the stone and dirt at the site? In this way, a dam was born. With protection from the might and caprice of the sea, a city began to flourish.