Shaoxing, city, northeastern Zhejiang sheng (province), eastern China. It is situated in the centre of the eastern half of the coastal plain south of Hangzhou Bay. Shaoxing lies along the Hang-Yong Canal (the local section is also called the Zhedong Canal)—which joins Ningbo to the east with Xiaoshan on the estuary of the Qiantang River to the west—and it is also located on the Ningbo-Hangzhou railway, which follows the same route.
Shaoxing is an ancient city; in the 7th century bce it was the capital of the state of Yue, which was later annexed by the state of Chu. In 221 bce it became a part of the Qin empire and was under the commandery of Kuaiji. The seat of this commandery was transferred to Shaoxing in 129 ce. With the reunification of China (589) by the Sui dynasty (581–618), it became the seat of Yue prefecture (605), which name it retained until 1131, when, after the fall of the Bei (Northern) Song dynasty in 1127, it became the superior prefecture of Shaoxing, using the reign title of the Nan (Southern) Song emperor Gaozong (reigned 1127–62) as its place name.
Apart from being an administrative centre of medium rank, Shaoxing is the commercial hub of a rich and productive agricultural area that was drained and irrigated from very early times. Much of the area yields two crops of rice per year. Cotton, jute, and rapeseed are also widely cultivated. The hilly Pingshui area south of the city is an old established tea-growing district producing high-quality green tea, the history of which can be traced at least to the 7th century. Another traditional industry is wine making. The chief wine-making centre is some 8 miles (13 km) west of the city at Keqiao.
Before World War II, Shaoxing had minor industries, producing cotton, silk, lacquer, paper, and tinfoil, all on a comparatively small scale. In the mid-1950s these handicraft industries were modernized. Wine making is now carried on in large modern wineries. Modern tea-curing, oil-extracting, rice-polishing, and flour-milling plants were also built. Beginning in the 1980s, the local economy expanded quickly, and Shaoxing developed into one of the country’s main textile-manufacturing centres. Other industries that developed there included food processing and machinery making. Railways, expressways, and waterways provide the city with convenient transportation.
Shaoxing is listed by the national government as one of China’s historical and cultural cities. The area is rich in relics of the past, with innumerable burial sites and with many other sites connected with famous figures from the city’s past. It also has a museum devoted to the writer Lu Xun (1881–1936), who was a native of the city. Pop. (2002 est.) 347,342.