 The Song court returned to Hangzhou in 1133 , and the city was renamed Lin 'an . The imperial ancestral temple was built in Hangzhou later that same year , a sign that the court had in practice established Hangzhou as the Song capital without a formal declaration . It was treated as a temporary capital . Between 1130 and 1137 , the court would sporadically move to Jiankang , and back to Hangzhou . There were proposals to make Jiankang the new capital , but Hangzhou won out because the court considered it a more secure city . The natural barriers that surrounded Hangzhou , including lakes and rice <unk> , made it more difficult for the Jurchen cavalry to breach its fortifications . <unk> to the sea made it easier to retreat from the city . In 1138 , Gaozong officially declared Hangzhou the capital of the dynasty , but the label of temporary capital would still be in place . Hangzhou would remain the capital of the Southern Song for the next 150 years , growing into a major commercial and cultural center . 
