绍兴地区具有一个山水参半的自然环境。南部是一片不高的会稽山地,包括属于曹娥江水系的稽南丘陵和属于三江水系的稽北丘陵,面积约占全县的53%;北部则是一片广阔的冲积平原——山会平原,面积约占全县的47%。

Ancient Shaoshing had a physical surrounding of rich forest cover. The landscape of its southern part-the Kweichi Hills was a wide subtropical original forest where grew various kinds of Conifers and broad-leaf trees. Its northern part-the Shankwei Plain was a large swamp where grasses grew profusely. In addition to trees and grasses, bamboos grew densely both in the south and the north. Because of human activities, the natural forest of ancient Shaoshing was gradually reduced since the Chunchou(春秋)period. Owing to the increase of population in the East Chin Dynasty(东晋)，the Shankwei Plain was wholly cultivated. Paddy fields appeared everywhere instead of the original grass. At the same time, the Hweichi Hills were also rapidly reclaimed. Tea began to be planted on the hillsides in the Tang Dynasty(唐).Then, mellet, bean, and potato were卜lamed one after another in the Sung(宋)and Ming(明)Dynasty. At last, the forest of the Kweichi Hills was wholly destroyed. The destroying of the natural forest cover had both positive and negative influence on agriculture. On the one hand the people gained cultivated lands and developed the cultivation of this region; on the other hand they destroyed simultaneously the forestry, hunting, livestock breeding and some handicrafts which depended on the forest for raw materials and fuel supply. The worst influence on agriculture was soil erosion. This was the important cause why the flood and drought became more severe since the South Sung Dynasty(南宋).