Hang Prefecture
Hangzhou or Hang Prefecture (589–1129) was a zhou (prefecture) in imperial China located in modern northern Zhejiang, China, around modern Hangzhou. The prefecture was called Yuhang Commandery from 607 to 621 and from 742 to 758. Hang Prefecture was the capital of the Wuyue kingdom (907–978), inside which it was known as Xi Prefecture (Western Prefecture), and during its last years of the kingdom, as Qiantang Prefecture.
| Hang Prefecture | |
|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 杭州 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Háng Zhōu |
| |
| Simplified Chinese | 餘杭郡 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Yúháng Jùn |
| |
| Simplified Chinese | 西府 |
| Literal meaning | Western Prefecture |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xī Fǔ |
| |
| Traditional Chinese | 錢塘府 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Qiántáng Fǔ |
| Population | |
| • 740s or 750s | 585,963 |
| • 980 | ~0.9 million |
| • 1085 | ~1 million |
| • 1102 | ~1 million |
| History | |
| • Preceded by | Qiantang Commandery (錢唐郡) |
| • Created |
|
| • Abolished | 1129 (Song dynasty) |
| • Succeeded by | Lin'an Prefecture |
| • HQ | Qiantang (錢唐 or 錢塘) |
| Contained within | |
| • Circuit (Tang dynasty) |
|
| • Kingdom | Wuyue (907–978) |
| • Circuit (Song dynasty) | Liangzhe Circuit |
Hang Prefecture sat at the head of the Hangzhou Bay, which opens to the East China Sea. It was also the southern terminus of the Grand Canal and the eastern terminus of the Qiantang River. During the Northern Song (960–1127) it was the capital of Liangzhe Circuit. In 1129 it became Lin'an Prefecture, which would become the capital of the Southern Song (1127–1279) in 1138.