High in the mountains of southwestern Zhejiang, Lishui does not try to look flat or easy. Here, forested slopes, river headwaters and scattered settlements mean distance has shaped habit and habit has shaped character; less polished perhaps, but more distinctive.
中文版本浙江西南的群山深处，这并不是一座试图显得平坦或轻松的城市。这里有林坡、河源和分散的聚落，距离塑造了生活方式，生活方式又塑造了城市性格。这让它没有沿海大城那样光鲜，却更有辨识度。
It is also a city that has learned to turn remoteness into value. In Lishui, the landscape is not just something to admire; it is the main economic argument. Forests, terraces, rivers and clean air are part of the city’s public identity, its tourism pitch and, increasingly, its development logic.
丽水也学会了把“偏远”变成价值。在这里，风景并不只是供人欣赏的对象，而是最重要的经济理由。森林、梯田、河流和清新空气，既是城市形象，也是旅游卖点，也越来越成为发展逻辑的一部分。
According to Chinese reference material on the city, Lishui has a total area of 17,275.2 square kilometres and a 2020 census population of 2,507,396. It is also the only prefecture-level city in Zhejiang whose counties and districts are all revolutionary base areas. That gives it an unusually strong sense of place, even by Zhejiang standards.
根据有关丽水的中文资料，全市总面积为17,275.2平方公里，2020年第七次全国人口普查常住人口为2,507,396人。它还是浙江省唯一一个所有县市区均为革命老区的地级市。即便放在浙江，这种地方感也很强。
Terraces, Rivers and A City Built for the Green
梯田、河流与一座为绿色而生的城市
The best-known natural landmark is Yunhe Terraces, a hillside farming landscape that rises from about 200 to 1,400 metres and is said to contain more than 700 layers in its most dramatic sections. In 2024, it was upgraded to national 5A scenic area status. That matters because Yunhe is not just beautiful; it is a working landscape where farming, ecology and tourism have been made to sit together.
最有名的自然地标当属云和梯田。这片山地农耕景观海拔从约200米延伸到1400米，最壮观的地段可见700多层梯田。2024年，它升格为国家5A级旅游景区。这很重要，因为云和梯田并不只是好看；它还是一处真正的生产性景观，把农业、生态和旅游放在了一起。
Lishui also carries the heads of many major river systems. Chinese reference material notes that the headwaters of the Oujiang, Qiantang, Minjiang, Feiyun and Lingjiang rivers are all in Lishui. That single fact explains much of the city’s green reputation; if a place feeds so many rivers, it has to think carefully about what it does with land and water.
丽水还是多条大江大河的源头所在。中文资料指出，瓯江、钱塘江、闽江、飞云江和灵江的源头都在丽水。这个事实本身就解释了这座城市为什么会有如此强的绿色形象；如果一座城市同时滋养这么多河流，它就必须认真对待土地与水。
That is why the city has built so much of its modern identity around ecological value. In Chinese policy language, Lishui is often treated as a test case for turning good ecology into real income. This is not a decorative idea. It is a practical one, and it has helped the city make tourism, rural renewal and environmental protection part of the same story.
这也是丽水近年把许多现代身份都放在“生态价值”上的原因。在中国的政策语境里，丽水经常被视为把好生态转化为真收入的试验场。这不是一句装饰性的口号，而是实实在在的做法，也让旅游、乡村振兴和生态保护走进了同一个故事里。
古堰画乡, the old weir-and-painting town area on the Oujiang, fits that pattern neatly. It combines a historic water-control project with riverside scenery and an arts-led tourism economy. Lishui does not try to separate nature from culture; it sells them together, and usually with good reason.
古堰画乡正好符合这种逻辑。它把古老的水利工程、江边风景和以艺术为导向的旅游经济结合在一起。丽水并不试图把自然与文化分开来卖；它通常是把两者一起推出，而且理由很充分。
Celadon, Swords and A City Finding its Reach
青瓷、宝剑与一座正在扩大影响力的城市
Lishui’s reach is not limited to scenery. Longquan, the county-level city under Lishui, is famous for celadon and swords, while other counties add tea, bamboo, mushrooms and mountain agriculture to the picture. That gives Lishui a very Zhejiang sort of economy: rooted in local craft, but not locked into one thing.
丽水的影响力也不只来自风景。龙泉作为丽水代管的县级市，以青瓷和宝剑闻名，而其他县区则补上茶叶、竹子、香菇和山地农业。这让丽水拥有很典型的浙江式经济：扎根地方手艺，但绝不困在单一产业里。
Transport has changed the city’s tempo without changing its size. Lishui Station on the Jinhua-Wenzhou railway remains the main rail gateway, while Lishui Airport opened on 18 July 2025, bringing the city a long-awaited air link. Early routes included Beijing Capital and Shanghai Pudong, and an airport bus now connects the terminal to Lishui Station in about 35 minutes.
交通改变了这座城市的节奏，却没有改变它的体量。金温铁路上的丽水站仍是主要铁路门户，而丽水机场已于2025年7月18日通航，为这座城市带来期待已久的航空通道。首批航线包括北京首都和上海浦东，如今机场巴士也可在约35分钟内把航站楼和丽水站连接起来。
That combination suits Lishui because the city has always had to work a little harder for every connection. It is mountain country, not plain country; but it has turned that fact into a strength. Lishui feels less like a place that was left out of the map and more like one that learned how to make distance pay.
这套组合很适合丽水，因为这座城市历来都得为每一次联通多费些力气。它是山地，不是平原；但它把这个事实变成了优势。丽水不像是一座被地图漏掉的城市，更像是一座学会了让距离本身产生价值的城市。
Lishui is served by Lishui Station, Lishui Airport and a growing road network; in a city defined by mountain routes and river sources, that is no small thing. The opening lines may suggest remoteness, but the real impression is different: a city that has turned green terrain into confidence.
丽水由丽水站、丽水机场和不断完善的公路网络共同服务；对于一座由山路和河源定义的城市来说，这绝不是小事。开头也许会让人想到“偏远”，但真正留下的印象却不同：这是一座把绿色地形，变成自信底气的城市。
