Zhejiang is located in the southern part of the Yangtze River Delta on the southeast coast of China. The word Zhejiang (crooked river) was the old name of the QiantangRiver, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital. The name of the province is often abbreviated to "Zhe". It faces the East China Sea on the east and neighbors Fujian on the south. With an extensive hinterland in the rear, it shares borders with Jiangxi and Anhui on the west and Shanghai, the country's largest city, and Jiangsu on the north.

Zhejiang is renowned for its picturesque landscapes. It boasts well-known mountains such as YandangMountain, XuedouMountain, TianmuMountain, TiantaiMountain and XianduMountain, and famous lakes such as the WestLake in Hangzhou, the EastLake in Shaoxing, the SouthLake in Jiaxing, the DongqianLake in Ningbo and the North-SouthLake in Haiyan. The Thousand-IsletLake in Chun’an County of Hangzhou is the largest man-made lake in the country. Major rivers in the province include the QiantangRiver, the OujiangRiver, and the NanxiRiver. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal runs through the northern part of the province, and merges into the QiantangRiver in Hangzhou. There are over three thousand islands along the ragged coastline of Zhejiang. The largest, ZhoushanIsland, is Mainland China's third largest island, after Hainan and Chongming. There are also many bays, HangzhouBay being the largest.

Under subtropical and monsoon conditions, Zhejiang has four distinct seasons, and plentiful sunshine. Zhejiang has long been known as "a region of fish and rice, the home of silk, a paradise for tourists and a land of rich cultural heritage". It has an average annual temperature of 15.3-17.9℃, 230-270 frost-free days and an average annual rainfall of 1000-1900 mm. It has numerous rivers with an average annual surface water runoff of over 90 billion cubic meters.

The province covers a total land area of 101,800 square kilometers. Hills and mountains account for 70.4 percent of the total area in the province. Plains and basins make up 23.2 percent while the rest 6.4 percent is water area composed of rivers and lakes. The number of islands in Zhejiang amounts to 3,061 with a total area of 1,670 square kilometers. It is a province with the most islands in China, among which Zhoushan Archipelago is the largest. Zhejiang also boasts a coastline extending 6,486 kilometers and a total ocean area of 220,000 square kilometers. In addition, the province has a large number of bays with over 60 natural ports of different sizes, constituting a port-cluster among which NingboPort, WenzhouPort, ZhoushanPort, JiaxingPort and TaizhouPort are the most important. The permanent population of the province reached 48.98 million by the end of 2005, an increase of 1.97% over the previous year.

The average water resources of Zhejiang in total 99.03 billion cubic meters ranking the fourth in China per unit area.

Forestry covers 59.4 percent of the province's total area with rich resources of economic forests and bamboo groves. Famous local special products include tea, mulberries, oranges and tangerines. The output of nuts like hickory and Chinese torreya accounts for more than 70 percent of that of the country. The province is also a major producer of Chinese tallow trees, Magnolia officinalis and Fructus Corni. In addition, the output of bamboo is in the front ranks in the country. Zhejiang has varied vegetation, winning it the reputation of "a treasure house of plants in southeast China”. More than fifty species of wild plants such as ginkgo, commonly referred to as a "living fossil", are listed in the Directory of Rare Plants under State Protection. Besides, in Zhejiang there are 1,900 species of wild animals, among which over 120 are under state protection, making up one-third of those in the Directory of Wild Animals under State Protection.

The province is also rich in non-metallic mineral reserves with 12 of them taking the first three places in the country. Its reserves of stone coal, alunite, pyrophyllite, and tuff (used in cement or construction) rank the first in China and the reserves of fluorite rank the second. In addition, rich deposits of oil and natural gas in the continental shelf are awaiting exploitation.

The province is also abundant in fishery resources. Zhoushan Archipelago is the largest base for marine fishery in China.

Zhejiang is blessed with rich cultural heritage. Hemudu Culture, which dates back seven thousand years ago, is one of the cradles of Chinese civilization. Hemudu was the world's origin of paddy rice cultivation. Liangzhu Culture of 4,200-5,300 years ago, situated near the Taihu Lake and the QiantangRiver, was another major peak of proto-Chinese civilization. The inventions of silk and jade carving were Liangzhu man's most important contributions to mankind. In remote antiquity the legendary King Yu braved wind and rain and tamed the flooding rivers. After his death, his remains were buried in Shaoxing. Since Qing Dynasty, the mausoleum and temple of King Yu have become a popular sanctuary for people to worship the legendary hero. In terms of Buddhism, Zhejiang also enjoys high reputation. During the fourth century, DafoTemple in Xinchang, AsokaTemple and TiantongTemple in Ningbo, GuoqingTemple in Tiantai, and LingyinTemple in Hangzhou were very famous. GuoqingTemple later became the cradle of the Tendai Sect, and TiangtongTemple the cradle of the Soto-shu Sect of Japanese Buddhism. Today, more than one millennium later, they remain outstanding representatives of Buddhism culture.

China is home to chinaware. Zhejiang is the origin of celadon (chinaware with a translucent, pale green glaze). During the 11th and 12th centuries, among five major porcelain-making kilns, two—the Longquan Kiln and Hangzhou Official Kiln—were in Zhejiang. It is these famous kilns that propelled the Chinese porcelain-making industry to its pinnacle, making porcelain both practical utensils and works of art, and a major hallmark of ancient Chinese civilization.

Silk, tea and paper-making, too, were so well developed that they endowed the land of Zhejiang with a rich cultural ambience and unique oriental aesthetic flavor. It is also a land of sparkling waters and graceful hills, where talents gather. Great men of past times have filled Zhejiang's history with their deeds, and its land with their renown. The province has always been in the front ranks in education, science and technology, and culture and art. It has been a major influence in Chinese literature, theatre, painting, calligraphy, and arts and crafts. There are five famous historical and cultural cities at national level in Zhejiang, which are Hangzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Quzhou and Linhai. Hangzhou, the capital city, is one of the seven ancient capital cities in China, and also a famous tourist city.

Thanks to her long history, splendid culture, uniquely favorable natural environment, Zhejiang is worthy of compliments such as "a region of fish and rice, the home of silk, a paradise for tourists and a land of rich cultural heritage", which have been lavished upon her since ancient times.