For images of Theresa May in Hangzhou, please follow link: bit.ly/2cqnJHL .

From 4 – 5 September 2016, Theresa May enjoyed the very best in Chinese cuisine and hospitality when she visited Hangzhou on China's east coast for the G20 Summit. Following in Marco Polo's footsteps, May explored the city's famously beautiful sites and was able to fully understand why he described it as “greater than any other city in the world”. A carefully-designed menu for the welcoming banquet showcased Hangzhou's traditional cuisine (including roe crab meat stuffed in an orange, as attached) and it clearly whet the prime minister's appetite as she was later seen dining at Gui Yu ShanFang GaoJi Restaurant in Hangzhou, and was more than happy to pose with staff there.

The G20 Summit was hosted in the Hangzhou International Expo Center, conveniently located south of Qiantang River and near to the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center, in an ideal place to discover the modern city's unique style and character. But, staying at the five star Hyatt Regency Hangzhou Hotel, located on the banks of West Lake, Theresa May was in a prime location for visiting Hangzhou's UNESCO World Heritage sites: West Lake and the Grand Canal.

The G20 Summit has spurred Hangzhou's tourism industry, with travel agent bookings increasing 110% on 5 & 6 September, compared to the same time last year, according to one of China's top online tourism service websites. According to Xu Xiaolei, a spokesman for the China Youth Travel Service, "The travel orders on Hangzhou has skyrocketed after the G20, making the eastern city become one of the two most popular destinations in the country besides Southwest China's Yunnan province." To meet the increasing demand, China Railway has taken provisional measures, including opening new trains and adding carriages.

Hangzhou Essentials:    
West Lake          
The beautiful West Lake has been attracting visitors for centuries, and thus no trip to Hangzhou would be complete without a visit to one of China's most famous tourist sites. West Lake's temples, pagodas and botanical gardens with colourful lotus flowers showcase its romantic beauty in daylight, and the regular performances of Impression West Lake Show invite visitors to enjoy a touching love story at night, as they bring striking visual impact and emotional resonance with mesmerizing lighting effects. On 4 September, delegates were treated to a very special spectacle, a magical welcoming show featuring classic Chinese music, folk dance, traditional songs and ballet performances, all against a natural backdrop of the majestic West Lake. The 45-minute visual extravaganza, Most Memorable Is Hangzhou, was directed by famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou and was staged, through a remarkable feat of engineering, just centimetres below the surface of the water, so that performers seemed to be dancing on water.

The Grand Canal             
The iconic Grand Canal, built in the Sui Dynasty (AD 581 – 618), perfectly showcases Hangzhou's ancient culture. The oldest and longest man-made waterway in the world, the Grand Canal stretches an astonishing 1,200 miles to Beijing. Along its banks in Hangzhou, visitors can discover the landmark Gongchen Bridge, the Qiaoxi HistoricBlock and the Workshop Demonstration Pavilion. Folk arts and crafts are the essence of Hangzhou's rich heritage and the Workshop Demonstration Pavilion offers unique charms of local intangible cultural heritages, such as bamboo craftsmanship, ancient style knives, umbrellas and fans.

Other sites Hangzhou is famed for include Longjing Village, home to the tea plantations which produce Longjing tea, one of China's most highly regarded teas. Here visitors can enjoy bathing in tea fragrances and sampling the local produce. Xixi National Wetland Park covers more than 2,471 acres and offers an idyllic location where tourists can immerse themselves in its lush, green natural beauty and tranquility.

Fast Facts About Hangzhou

• Hangzhou is located on the east coast of China and is the capital of Zhejiang province
• Hangzhou is connected to Shanghai via bullet train and it can take as little as 52 minutes to travel between the two cities
• Hangzhou boasts two World Heritage Sites – West Lake and the Grand Canal, which is approximately 1,200 miles in length and is the longest man-made waterway in the world
• Hangzhou is home to three big museums showcasing Chinese tea culture, traditional medicine, and the history of silk and the Silk Road
• Locals and visitors can enjoy one hour of free cycling each day on the city's public bikes, which are used by hundreds of thousands of people, especially during rush hour and for visiting the famous West Lake
• A free wi-fi service called i-hangzhou is offered across the city
• Since 30th January 2016, a 144-hour visa-free transit policy has been carried out in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to facilitate international travellers. This policy allows passengers from 51 countries or regions to transit in Hangzhou for no more than 144 hours (six days) without holding a visa. During the layover period, passengers can move around the three regions but are not permitted to visit other cities of China

For more information visit: https://www.facebook.com/Hangzhou.China.

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Notes to Editors:
Image Captions (from left to right):
Image 1: Dishes such as roe crab meat stuffed in an orange showcased Hangzhou's traditional cuisine. Image courtesy of Hangzhou Tourism.
Image 2: Theresa May enjoyed the very best in Chinese hospitality when she visited Hangzhou on the east coast for the G20 Summit. Image courtesy of Hangzhou, China facebook page.
Image 3: On 4 September, delegates were treated to a very special performance on the majestic West Lake. Image courtesy of Hangzhou Tourism.

For more information, please contact:
McCluskey International
Fiona Anderson / Libby Hughes 
hangzhou@mccluskey.co.uk
0208 747 2170