Lying to the south of the Yangtze Delta and in the north of the centrally located Zhejiang Province, Shaoxing, like a pearl with simple but elegant light, stands in the line between Hangzhou and Ningbo. Covering an area of 8256 square kilometers (3187.7 square miles), Shaoxing has a population of 4,340,000. The city proper is 339 square kilometers (131 square miles) with a population of 640,000. Two counties, three county-level cities and a district compose the whole of Shaoxing prefecture.

It borders Shangyu Municipality on the east and Shengzhou Municipality and Zhuji Municipalities respectively on the southeast and southwest. The county’s west and northwestern neighbor is Xiaoshan Municipality. The north is the sea. Yuecheng District extends in the center of the county. Situated at 29°42'02" to 30°19'15" at north latitude and 120°46'39" in the east longitude, the county stretches 46.6 kilometers from west to east and 68.5 kilometers from north to south. The total length of the county boarder is 356.59 kilometers and the total area used to be 1,392 square kilometers before July 2000. In July 2000, five townships, namely, Dongpu, Jianhu, Gaobu, Mashan and Doumen, were cut off like a circle and went under the jurisdiction of Yuecheng District. This move reduced the county’s total area to 1,152.3 square kilometers.

Shaoxing is one of the famous historical cities in China. Numerous accomplished scholars or figures were born or lived here such as Yu the Great in the far ancient China and the famous writer Lu Xun in modern times. This city thus boasts the title of 'City of Personages.' It was also the seat of the ancient Yue Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC) and quite prosperous during that time. Owing to its long history, this old city reveals less vanity and tinsel than some modern metropolis. What's commonly seen and felt here is a kind of leisurely and peaceful ambience. 

Although the city appears quite simple and peaceful, the economy here has been developing rapidly, especially with regards to the textile industry. Thanks to the advanced silkworm rearing over thousands of years, silk products from Shaoxing are famous all over China for their high quality as well as a large quantity. Every year, there are various textile exhibitions and fairs featuring silk goods production. The China Light & Textile Industrial City in Keqiao Town of Shaoxing City is one of the largest professional marketers of light and textile products and the largest marketers of cloth in Asia.