Listed with the first group of national scenic spots ever adopted, the city of Jiande is described as a bright pearl along the golden tourist route from Zhejiang province to neighboring Anhui.

Its picturesque mountains and waters are among the top sites on the circuit that includes the West Lake in Hangzhou, the Fuchun and Xin'an rivers, the Thousand-Island Lake and the Huangshan Mountain.

Under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou, Jiande covers 2,321 sq km and has a population of half a million. It is renowned for its mountains, crystal-clear rivers and abundant historical sites.

Three tourist routes in the area start from Jiande along the Xin'an River. On the eastern route, many admire the scenery by looking at its crystal reflection in the river.

Lingqi Caverns, Daci cliff, gardens and villages are the major scenic spots on the southern route. In the west, the Xin'an River hydropower station and Thousand-Island Lake are the top attractions.

Tree-shaped Thousand Island Lake in Chun'an county, about 129 km from downtown Hangzhou, is named for its 1,078 small islands.

Known as Qiandaohu in Chinese, the lake covers 573 sq km and is visited by about 5 million tourists annually. It was honored as one of the three-best tourism areas on the mainland by Taiwanese travelers, following the capital Beijing and the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.

Another attraction is a town along the Xin'an River famed for its refreshing breeze, mists and crystal-clear water.

Jiande is easily accessible and offers 15 travel agencies, more than 60 hotels - 11 of them star-rated and designed to accommodate foreign visitors - and about 100 tourist buses and pleasure boats.

Major waterway

The Xin'an River attracts thousands of visitors from both home and abroad every year. Linking Huangshan Mountain at its headwaters and Thousand-Island Lake at its lower reaches, the river winds among high mountains.

Due to its splendid landscapes, the river is renowned as a gallery where water meets mountains.

Xin'an River is famous for its clear water - in summer or winter, its riverbed can be clearly seen.

With its source at Shuaishan in Anhui province and running through northwest Zhejiang province, the river is a tributary of the Qiantang River. Its many scenic spots include White Sand Bridge, Red Pond, Phoenix Hill, Plum City and Double Pagodas Piercing the Clouds.

Xin'an River is also a major waterway of vital importance to the local economy, carrying out timber and local agricultural products and shipping in salt and manufactured goods.

Tunxi in Yuliang town and Shendu in Shexian county along the river were bustling river ports in the old days. Yuliang town still has a 1 km long old street that was a marketplace in centuries past.

In Tunxi and Shexian county, the river flows past ancient pavilions and bridges as well as lakes.

There are numerous scenic spots along the Xin'an River. Further down one can see the busy rural and urban scenes. Its lower reaches feed into the Thousand-Island Lake.

Hangzhou China Travel Service: 0086-571-88398499; 0086-13588476467(24H)