The Qiantang River (qián táng jiāng 钱塘江) is a southeast Chinese river that originates in the borders of Anhui (ān huī shěng 安徽省) and Jiangxi provinces (jiāng xī shěng 江西省) and passes through Hangzhou City (háng zhōu shì 杭州市), the capital of Zhejiang province (zhè jiāng shěng 浙江省), before flowing into the East China Sea through Hangzhou Bay (háng zhōu wān 杭州湾). The river is the biggest one in Zhejiang Province, its ancient name is Zhejiang (zhè jiāng 浙江) or Zhijiang (zhī jiāng 之江). Qiantang river was first mentioned in Shan Hai Jing (shān hǎi jīng 山海经) and it is one of the main birthplaces of Yue Culture (yuè wén huà 越文化). Qiantang River is 688,000 meters long and covers an area of 55,600 square kilometers.

Qiantang River plays an important role in the water transportation between the east and the west. It is surrounded by a group of economically booming cities including Shanghai (shàng hǎi 上海), China's leading industrial and commercial center, and Ningbo (宁波), one of China's leading port cities.

The extraordinary surging tide of the Qiantang River is a world-famous natural wonder caused by the gravitational pull of the stars and planets. The centrifugal force produced by the rotation of the earth and by the peculiar bottleneck shape of Hangzhou Bay. Every year, millions of people from both home and abroad get there to watch the magnificent tide on the eighteenth day of the eighth lunar month. When the surging tide comes, the water can reach a height of 30 feet and the noise it generates sounds like thunder, or thousands of horses running. According to local custom, when the tide comes, they will have the watching festival, so various activities will be held to celebrate the annual Tide. The custom of watching the bore tide has happened for more than 2000 years. It first appeared during the first century. Then it became popular in the Tang Dynasty (táng cháo 唐朝). Yangong (yán gōng 盐宫) town in Hai Ning City (hǎi níng shì 海宁市) is the best place to watch the Qiantang River Tide (qián táng jiāng cháo 钱塘江潮). When watching the tide, you should be careful, because sometimes the rushing tide was very dangerous.

Crossing the river is the Qiantang River Bridge (qián táng jiāng qiáo 钱塘江桥). It is located in the south of West Lake (xī hú 西湖). The bridge was designed by the famous Chinese engineer Mao Yisheng (máo yǐ shēng 茅以升), who defied the words spoken by foreigners that it was impossible to construct a bridge in such a spot, and who made a great contribution to the Chinese bridge building industry. As China's first self-designed and self-constructed bridge, the project lasted from April 1934 to September 1937. Qiantang River Bridge stretches over a distance of 1,453 meters. It is also the first modern double - layer bridge in China. The upper layer of the bridge is highway and the layer below is railway. Looking out from the Six Harmonies Pagoda (liù hé tǎ 六和塔), you can get a panoramic view of the mighty Qiantang River, the majestic Qiantang River Bridge, and the surrounding landscape.

Qiantang River
Address: In the south of West Lake, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province
Admission fee: RMB 15 (RMB 50 in Tide Watching Festivals)
Opening hours: all day long
Transportation: No.109 bus

Tips: Don't stand too close to the guardrails, the rushing tide can be life threatening.