Hangzhou: A City You Don't Want to Leave 杭州：一个你来了就不想离开的城市

Today my friend told me that @kpine introduced himself recently and put out a contest for steemians(25-40) to make a write about their country and why he should visit them. I looked at my grade and found it has grown to 44, a little bit over qualified. I hesitated for a while, and finally I decide to write this article, cuz I wanna more and more people know my hometown---Hangzhou.

今天我朋友告诉我@kpine发了篇文章介绍他自己，并且针对25-40级用户发起一场介绍自己城市的写作比赛，他想根据这篇介绍决定自己后面去哪里旅行。我看了眼自己的等级，发现已经44级了，不那么符合要求。我犹豫了会儿，最后还是决定写这篇文章，因为我想更多的人了解我的家乡进而喜欢她。

Hangzhou is the capital city of Zhejiang Province which located in the southeast coast of China. It is one of the seven capitals of ancient China and sited in the southern end of the Beijing---Hangzhou Grand Canal, the longest canal ever built all over the world.

杭州坐落于中国的东南沿海地区是浙江省的省会城市。她是七大古都之一，位于全球最长的运河---京杭大运河的最南端。

The history of Hangzhou can be dated back to 2,200 years ago during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), while the ancient Liangzhu people settled down in this area more than 5,000 years ago. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-979 AD), the city was selected by the emperor as capital of the Wuyue Kingdom and later became the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 AD) .

杭州的历史可以追溯到2200年前的秦代(221-206 BC)，而良渚人早在5000年前就在这块区域定居了。在五代十国时期(907-979 AD)，吴越国的皇帝选择杭州作为都城。后来，南宋也以杭州作为首都，称之为临安府（取自临时定都的意思，但最终也没能再打回北方去）。

There're many ancient legends in Hangzhou. Among them, the Madam White Snake is the most famous one.

杭州有很多美丽的神话传说，其中以白蛇传最受欢迎。

Let me tell you the story.

让我来给你们讲讲这个故事吧。

There was a young man named Xu Xian saved a white snake who was actually a spirit named Bai Suzhen. Many years later, XuXian met a fair lady at the "Broken Bridge" by the West Lake. It was raining heavily and he did not have an umbrella, so the lady lent him hers and left.

有个叫许仙的年轻人救了一条有千年修行的小蛇，名叫白素贞。很多年以后，许仙在断桥上遇到一位美丽的姑娘。那天下着很大的雨，他没有带伞。于是，姑娘就把她的借给许仙，和自己姐妹同撑一把伞离开了。

This beautiful lady was the spirit of snake which XuXian saved many years ago. She wanted to return his favor by helping him in any cases. They fell in love with each other deeply and got married. Several years later, Bai Suzhen gave birth to a boy named Xu Shilin.

这个美丽的姑娘就是许仙多年前救的那条小白蛇幻化成的人形。她想要尽可能的帮助许仙，以报答他当年的救命之恩。他们深深地爱上了彼此，终于结为夫妇。几年后，白素贞生下了个儿子，名叫许仕林。

However, their marriage was against heaven laws. A monk named Fa Hai who had magical powers forced Bai to reveal her true form in the hope that Xu Xian would leave her. The plan was failed as the couple genuinely loved each other and finally Fa Hai imprisoned Bai Suzhen in the Lei Feng Pagoda for all eternity. In some versions, the legend got a tragic ending as the lovers are still separated .

然而，他们的结合触犯了天条。一个有法力的叫法海的和尚，通过让白素贞喝下雄黄酒而现出原形。他希望许仙看到自己妻子的原形后会悔不当初，进而离开她。他的如意算盘落空了，因为二人深爱对方。走投无路的法海只得将白素贞关进雷峰塔，且永生永世不得出塔。在某些版本中，这是一个悲剧，一家三口至今还天各一方。

（A Chinese TV drama named The Legend of White Snake is recomposition by this legend. From the left to right: Xu Xian, Bai Suzhen/Madam White Snake, Xiao Qing）

有部知名的国产电视剧就是根据这个故事改编的，于1992年首播，名叫《新白娘子传奇》。图片上从左到右的是：许仙、白素贞和小青。

The most significant landmark of Hangzhou is the West Lake which was named as it was formed in the west of the city. It has beautiful sceneries among the four seasons.

在杭州，最著名的地标就属西湖。她以四季不同的美征服了一波又一波来杭州旅游的游客们的心。

Spring

Summer

Autum

Winter

Hangzhou has delicious food, such as Stir-Fried Bean Curd Rolls Stuffed with Minced Tenderloin, West Lake Water Shield Soup, West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce, Beggar's Chicken, Fried Shelled Shrimps with Dragon Well Tea, Dongpo Pork, Sister Song's Fish Broth, Cat-ear Shaped Pasta, etc.

杭州的美食也远近闻名，比如干炸响铃、西湖莼菜汤、西湖醋鱼、叫化童子鸡、龙井虾仁、东坡肉、东坡肉、宋嫂鱼羹、猫耳朵等等。

Fried Shelled Shrimps with Dragon Well Tea

West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce

Hangzhou also produces many specialities, such as Hangzhou silk, West Lake silk umbrella, Zhang Xiaoquan scissors, Wangxingji fans, West Lake Longjing Tea, West Lake lotus root powder, etc.

杭州同样出产很多特产，比如杭州丝绸、西湖绸伞、张小泉剪刀、王星记扇子、西湖藕粉等等。

West Lake silk umbrella

Hangzhou silk

West Lake Longjing Tea

For limitation of length, I cannot give you a detailed introduction of Hangzhou. In the following days, I will slowly bring the various aspects of the city I love to you from the aspects of history, legend, food, natural landscape and human landscape. So, please follow me @nostalgic1212 and you won't regret for doing that.

因为篇幅的关系，我没法在这里对杭州做个全面的介绍。我打算在未来的日子里，从历史、传说/故事、美食、自然景观以及人文景观等方面细细向大家呈现这座我深爱的城市。所以请关注我吧，我想我不会让你们失望滴～

P.s For the time is limited, I cannot take all the pictures by myself, so I pick some of them from Google. If it violates the rules, please contact with me. In that case, I'll replace or delete them.

另：因为时间有限，一部分照片是我自己拍摄的，另一部分是从Google上选取了未标明版权的图片，如果这违规了，请和我联系，我会对它们进行替换或者删除。

Thank you for reading my articles. If you like me, plz follow @nostalgic1212, or upvote me and leave your comments on steemit. Thx a looooooot~

谢谢来阅读我的文章，如果你们喜欢的话，请关注我，给我点赞、留言或是转发，再次谢谢大家～