Qiantang Tide Watching Festival Hangzhou

China is known for many rivers, some of them so powerful and mighty that they have part of the Chinese folklore. Qiantang River is one such powerful river that originated from Anhui and Jiangxi borders (provinces in China). It passes through the capital city of Zhejiang province and flows down to the East China Sea. This river is prominent for another reason, it has spectacular tidal bore. And the famous Qiantang Tide Watching Festival, Hangzhou is a celebration of this unique feature. A tidal bore is a natural occurrence in which the edge of the tide forms waves and moves against the current and is a true tidal wave. Tidal bores do not occur in all rivers and can be of different shapes or forms.

Qiantang River plays an important role in the water transportation system in Zhejiang. The river encircles some of the greatest cities of the world which are also amongst the most economically advanced. They include Shanghai and China’s leading port city, Ningbo. The tidal bore of this river is a spectacular sight. It is caused by the gravitational pull of cosmic forces (stars & planets). Hangzhou Bay is bottleneck shaped and therefore with the centrifugal force of Earth’s rotation, the tide easily enters the bay but it becomes difficult to ebb. The tide is most spectacular on the eighteenth day of the eighth lunar month. The tide on this day is of magnificent proportions and the water can rise up to a height of thirty feet, the sound of the tide is deafening.

Qiantang Tide Watching Festival, Hangzhou, is celebrated by both the local people and the visitors from other countries. Yanguan in Haining is the best place to watch the swelling tidal wave. Some of the activities in which people take part are a temple fair, folk song and dances performances, operas and lantern competition.