Xiaoshan

Xiaoshan is one of ten urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, East China. Xiaoshan was formerly a city in its own right, separated by the Qiantang River from Hangzhou proper, but the municipality was annexed by its more populous neighbor in 2001. Xiaoshan has a permanent population with residential rights of around 1,511,000 and an additional non-permanent population of about 876,500. Most of the local residents are Han people who speak a local variety of Wu Chinese in addition to Mandarin Chinese. The area's history of human settlement dates back to more than 8000 years ago, as excavations at Xiaoshan's Kuahuqiao archeological site have shown.[1] Xiaoshan's manufacturing-dominated economy has made it one of the most affluent metropolitan districts in China. In 2012 it had a GDP of 161.2 billion CNY, or around $17,000 per capita. Hangzhou's international airport, Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, is located in western Xiaoshan, close to the mouth of Hangzhou Bay. The district is also at the center of one of China's local real estate booms, as the demand for newer, more upscale housing from China's growing middle class has led to an explosion in construction of new high-rise condominiums. In addition, Hangzhou Xiaoshan Sports Centre is also found in Xiaoshan.The local culture is deeply rooted in the area's communist character, and the Chinese Communist Party has a strong local presence and an estimated local membership of 250,000.[2]