Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer, travelled through Hangzhou and promoted it to the world

Hangzhou claimed itself to be an "Eastern Geneva"

Hangzhou set a goal to shape itself into a world-class international tourist city

Hangzhou strived to grow into a highly urban city with a strong economy and culture

Hangzhou placed emphasis on internationalization and has since put more focus on it

Going international was listed one of Hangzhou's six key development strategies

Hangzhou pointed out that internationalization was one of two driving forces behind its development

Hangzhou prioritized internationalization in its 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) and was determined to maintain its leading position among domestic cities on the path toward becoming a world-famous city

Hangzhou rolled out a three-year (2015-17) action plan on the acceleration of internationalization

The 11th G20 Summit was held in Hangzhou on Sept 4-5. It was hence dubbed the 2016 G20 Hangzhou summit

Seven communities in Hangzhou made the list of the city's first international demonstration communities

Hangzhou designated Sept 5 as its International Day and has celebrated five editions of it since then

Hangzhou for the 10th time was recognized as one of the most popular Chinese cities among foreigners

Hangzhou realized its goal of becoming an international city with relatively high global visibility

Hangzhou noted in its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) that it would work to develop itself into a modern socialist international metropolis at a high standard

The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 will be held in the city from Sept 23 to Oct 8, 2023