Zhejiang (Chinese: 浙江; pinyin: Zhèjiāng) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang (crooked river) was the old name of the Qiantang River,[1] which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital. The name of the province is often abbreviated to "Zhe" (浙). Zhejiang borders Jiangsu province and Shanghai municipality to the north, Anhui province to the northwest, Jiangxi province to the west, and Fujian province to the south; to the east is the East China Sea, beyond which lie the Ryukyu Islands of Japan.