is a
prefecture-level city on the southern shore of
Hangzhou Bay in northeastern
Zhejiang province, China. It was formerly known as
Kuaiji and
Shanyin and
abbreviated in Chinese as (
Yuè) from the area's
former inhabitants. Located on the south bank of the
Qiantang River estuary, it borders
Ningbo to the east,
Taizhou to the southeast,
Jinhua to the southwest, and
Hangzhou to the west. The city itself is lined with numerous canals and waterways, giving it a classic
Jiangnan style scenery though more mountainous than is typical for Jiangnan. At the 2010 census, its population was 4,912,339 inhabitants whom 1,914,683 (Keqiao and Yuecheng districts) lived in the built-up area of Hangzhou-Shaoxing, with 8,156,154 inhabitants.