Zhejiang

Coastal province of southeast China, bounded to the north by Jiangsu, to the east by the East China Sea, to the south by Fujian, and to the west by Jiangxi and Anhui; area 101,800 sq km/39,300 sq mi; population (2000 est) 46,770,000. The capital is Hangzhou. There are silk, chemical fibre, canning, tea-processing, and handicrafts industries. Rice, cotton, sugar, jute, maize, and timber are grown; silkworms are farmed and there is fishing. Zhejiang is the second smallest of the Chinese provinces, and densely populated.

History
Zhejiang was the base of the Song dynasty during the 12th and 13th centuries. It was at that time the most prosperous part of China, and even into the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Hangzhou was reputed to be China's largest and richest city. In the late 19th century, Zhejiang was a centre for opposition to the dynasty, and in the early 20th century it built China's first successful privately-financed railway between Shanghai and Hangzhou. The south of the province was less wealthy than the north, and in the early 20th century many people from the area emigrated to Europe.