Jiaxing
prefecture-level city in Zhejiang, China
Jiaxing (simplified Chinese: 嘉兴; traditional Chinese: 嘉興; pinyin: Jiāxīng; Wade–Giles: Chia-hsing), alternately romanized as Kashing, is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province, China. Lying on the Grand Canal of China, Jiaxing borders Hangzhou to the southwest, Huzhou to the west, Shanghai to the northeast, and the province of Jiangsu to the north. As of the 2020 census, its population was 5,400,868 and its built-up (or metro) area, made up of 2 urban districts was home to 1,518,654 inhabitants.
Administration
Jiaxing is the birthplace of the Majiabang Culture in the Neolithic Age. The ancestors engaged in farming, animal husbandry, fishing and hunting 7,000 years ago.
The prefecture-level city of Jiaxing administers 7 county-level divisions, including 2 districts, 3 county-level cities and 2 counties.
These are further divided into 75 township-level divisions, including 60 towns, 2 townships and 13 subdistricts.
History
Known as a place
Spring and Autumn period: Jiaxing is known as Zuili (Drunken Plums) and is an important city in the state of Yuè.
Known as a county
210 BC: Qin Shi Huang changed the name of Jiaxing from Changshui District (長水縣) to Youquan (由拳縣).
231: Wild rice (野稻) of Jiaxing informed Sun Quan of the Kingdom of Wu that there was a sign of auspice, so Sun changed Youchuan to Hexing District (禾興縣).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Jiaxing” as prefecture-level city in Zhejiang, China. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as prefecture-level city in Zhejiang, China. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q58178. VIAF identifies the subject as 155979358. The Library of Congress control number is n83172505. Authority coordinates are 30.752, 120.750. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Jiaxing”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Jiaxing primary sources, Jiaxing archive and Jiaxing research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jiaxing”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Jiaxing” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.