Quzhou lies in western Zhejiang province and sits on the upper course of the Qiantang River. It borders the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi and Anhui to the south, southwest and northwest respectively. It has three counties (Longyou County, Kaihua County and Changshan County), two districts (Kecheng District and Qujiang District) and one city (Jiangshan City) under its direct jurisdiction. Quzhou covers an area of 8,844 square kilometers with a population of 2.57 million.

As a state-level historic and cultural city, Quzhou City boasts a long history of more than 1,800 years. It had its origin in the 3rd year of the Chuping period of the Eastern Han Dynasty (192 A.D.) and it was upgraded from a county in Jinhua to a prefecture-level city again in 1985. Quzhou is one of the best-preserved ancient prefectural cities in the southern Yangtze River region. The ancient city walls are listed as one of the national protected cultural relic sites and the reconstructed Tianwang Tower and Wenchang Pavilion are symbols of Quzhou’s long history.

Quzhou is home to direct line descendants of Confucius and the family shrine of the southern clan of Confucius is one of the only two family shrines of Confucius in China. Besides, Qingyang Village in Jiangshan is the origin of the Mao family in the southern Yangtze River region and the ancestral homeland of Mao Zedong. As was recorded, Quzhou was so flourishing in Confucianism and talents that there were as many as 8 Zhuangyuan and 1096 Jinshi since Tang Dynasty (Zhuangyuan is the top one candidate and Jinshi is a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). Quzhou is also regarded as the cradle of Chinese go culture as the Lanke Mountain is called “The Celestial Land of Go”.

As the ecological barrier of Zhejiang Province, Quzhou has been awarded as National Ecological Demonstration Area, National Forest City and is listed as one of the country’s nine ecologically best-preserved districts and one of the  twelve most biologically diversified regions in China. The forest coverage is 71.5% and most of the surface water has reached the standard of Level A and Level B drinkable water. Quzhou is listed in “Top 10 Livable Cities” for two consecutive years and ranks fourth at the “National Happiness Ranking”.

Bordering famous tourist attractions such as Mount Huang, Sanqing Mountain, Mount Wuyi, and Qiandao Lake, Quzhou is the first National Leisure Zone in China and has scenic spots like Jianglang Mountain---the only world natural heritage site in Zhejiang Province, East Park of China in Kaihua County, Kaihua Root Carving Garden---a national 5A scenic spot and Longyou Grottoes---a worldwide mystery.