The city of Hangzhou was founded during the Qin Dynasty as Qiantang County . In AD 589 , the city was renamed
"Hangzhou", literally meaning "River-ferrying Prefecture". It was the capital of the Wuyue Kingdom from 907
to 978 during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was one of the three great centers of culture
in southern China during the tenth century, along with Nanjing and Chengdu .Hangzhou was chosen as
the new capital of the Southern Song Dynasty when they regrouped after their defeat at the
hands of the Jin in 1123. It remained the capital from the early 12th century until
the Mongol invasion of 1276, and was known as Lin'an.
Numerous philosophers, politicians, and men of literature, including some
of the most celebrated poets in Chinese history suchas Su Shi, Lu You, and
Xin Qiji came here to live and die. Hangzhou is also the birthplace and final resting
place of the scientist Shen Kuo (1031-1095 AD), his tomb being located in the Yuhang district.
In 1848 during the Qing dynasty, Hangzhou was described as the "stronghold" of Islam in China, the city
containing several mosques with Arabic inscriptions. A Hui from Ningbo also told an Englishman that Hangzhou was
the"Stronghold" of Islam in Zhejiang province, containing multiple mosques, compared to his small congregation of aroudn 30
families in Ningbo for his Mosque.
In 1856 and 1860, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom occupied Hangzhou and caused heavy damage to the city.
Hangzhou was ruled by Republic of China government under the Kuomintang from 1928 to 1949. On May 3, 1949, the People's Liberation Army entered Hangzhou and the city came under Communist control. After Deng Xiaoping's reformist policies began in 1978, Hangzhou took advantage of being situated in the Yangtze River Delta to bolster its development. It is now one of China's most prosperous major cities.