Zhejiang · the lake, the tea and the water towns
Most of the best of it is free — the lake, the temple, the tea hills, the old quarter. What Hangzhou costs you is time, and the real decision is how much of it you spend beside the water before heading out to the towns. Here is where each of our 29 Hangzhou guides fits.
China for TravelersWest Lake — a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Free does not mean walk-in: Lingyin needs a timed reservation released seven days ahead, and it is the one booking that actually catches people out.
First time here?
Hangzhou sits an hour from Shanghai and is organised around one lake you can walk round in a day. Two days covers the lake and the temple; a third buys a water town. Almost none of it sits behind a ticket barrier — which is why the planning question here is what to leave out rather than what to pay for.
4-10 h · Free
West Lake is not a sight you enter but a district you walk, ride or row across. It is the reason the city exists as a destination, and it costs nothing — the only real choice is which causeway and what time of day.
Plan the lake
2-4 h · Free · tea hills Free
Behind the lake, one of the oldest Chan temples in China and the carved cliffs of Feilai Feng — then the Longjing tea villages directly above them. Both free; the temple needs a timed reservation booked a week ahead.
Temple and tea
4-10 h · from ¥150
The canal towns are the third day, and Wuzhen is the one worth building it around — reachable by direct coach from the airport or the city, and a different place entirely once the day-trippers have gone.
Compare the towns
West LakeWest LakeLingyin TempleLingyinLongjing tea villagesLongjingLeifeng PagodaLeifengQinghefangQinghefangXixi WetlandXixiGongchen BridgeGongchenHangzhou EastHZ EastHangzhou WestHZ WestWhere everything sits
24 km acrossHow long
Coming from Shanghai for the day? That version has its own page. Everything below assumes you are sleeping here.
Day 1
West Lake and the causeways. Leifeng Pagoda only if the White Snake legend means something to you.
Day 2
Lingyin and Feilai Feng, then the Longjing villages — they sit on the same side of the city, which is the whole reason to pair them.
Day 3
Wuzhen as a full day by direct coach, or Xixi Wetland plus the Grand Canal if you would rather not leave.
HangzhouHangzhouShanghaiShanghaiWuzhenWuzhenNanxunNanxunHengdianHengdianQiandao LakeQiandaoMount PutuoMt PutuoTongxiang stnTongxiangQiandaohu stnQiandaohuNingboNingboThe five trips out of the city
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Where to sleep
Measured against our own attraction coordinates, three of the areas normally listed separately — Hubin, Wulin Square and Hefang Street — score within 0.7 km of each other for reaching the city’s sights. They are one answer with three addresses. What genuinely differs is the two below them.
| Area | Right for | To the lake | To Hangzhou East | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The West Lake side湖滨 · 武林广场 · 河坊街 | Most first trips — you came for the lake | Walk, or one stop | ~10–18 min · Line 1 | Three addresses in one area, not three decisions. Priced accordingly. |
| Qianjiang New City钱江新城 | Newer rooms, lower rates, nearest the airport line | 6.3 km · metro change | ~12 min · Line 4 | Nothing to walk to at night. Right for work, wrong for a short holiday. |
| Beside a station杭州东站 · 杭州西站 | A dawn train, or a waypoint stop on a longer rail trip | 8.2 km east · 17.7 km west | On it (East) | ⚠️ Two stations, 22 km apart. Hangzhou West is not a central address. |
Everything we have
Sights carry our verdict — must see, worth it, or skip if you are tight — and each group is ordered by it rather than alphabetically. Transport and practical pages do not: “must see” answers whether to go somewhere, and a railway station has no such question.
West LakeMust seeFree, and not one sight but a whole district — which causeway, which boat, and when the light is worth it.Lingyin Temple & Feilai FengNow freeMust seeFree since December 2025 — most English pages still quote ¥75. You do still need a timed reservation.
Qinghefang & Hefang StreetWorth itThe old quarter under Wushan hill: free to wander, best at dusk, and which snack stalls to walk past.
Leifeng PagodaWorth itWorth the ticket only if you carry the White Snake legend — otherwise the view of it is free from across the water.
The Grand Canal & Gongchen BridgeSkip if tightA UNESCO waterway with four free museums and a ¥3 water bus — lovely, and the first thing to cut.WuzhenMust seeFour gates, not two. The ticket admits you once a day — which is exactly why staying inside changes the trip.
NanxunWorth itFree to enter since 2023 and far quieter than Wuzhen — with the arithmetic of the ¥85 combined ticket done for you.
Qiandao LakeWorth itA thousand islands, and a boarding cut-off that strands people — the last sailing is not the last ticket.
Mount PutuoWorth itA Buddhist island reached by ferry — not a day trip from Hangzhou, and the return ticket stops selling at 15:30.
Hengdian World StudiosWorth itChina's film city, two to three hours out. Genuinely an overnight trip, and the page says so rather than selling it.
The Longjing tea villagesWorth itFree to walk, no metro, and the roadside shops sell repackaged out-of-province leaf.
Xixi WetlandWorth itMuch of the park is free — the opposite of what most guides say — and the hand-rowed boats sell out by mid-afternoon.
Hangzhou museumsSix of them close on TUESDAY, not Monday. The closing-day and reservation matrix in one table.
Hangzhou silkThe label you want is not the one you would guess. How to read it, and where to buy without being sold polyester.
Xiaoshan Airport (HGH)All international flights use T4 — T1 and T2 have been shut since 2022. And it is not a Shanghai airport.
Hangzhou East StationThe default arrival, on four metro lines. Line 1 reaches the lakefront in about 16 minutes.
Hangzhou West StationNewThe 2022 station out in Yuhang, for the Wenzhou and Quzhou lines. Read the ticket: 杭州西 is not 杭州东.Shanghai → Hangzhou45-60 minutes, several trains an hour — the reason nobody flies between the two cities.
Hangzhou → ShanghaiThe same line back, with which station to pick at each end and how to reach the Bund on arrival.
Suzhou → HangzhouThe gardens-to-lake hop — but read the station, because many services arrive at Hangzhou West.
Hong Kong → HangzhouFly, or take the daytime through train to Hangzhou West — or the overnight sleeper to the more central East.Getting around HangzhouThe metro does not reach the best of it. The near-free bikes, the ¥3 canal boat, and the causeways you may not cycle.
The metro, and how to payA foreign card linked to Alipay works at the gate. Line 1 is the spine; Line 19 is the airport express.Where to stayThree answers, not five — plus which of the two high-speed stations your trip actually uses.
What to eatSubtle, sweet and seasonal — Dongpo pork, vinegar fish, Longjing shrimp, and where each is done properly.Things to do in HangzhouThe ten-sight roundup with honest priority calls — the short version of this whole directory.The Grand Canal, end to endNo boat runs Beijing to Hangzhou. The five stretches you can actually travel, and what each costs.Long Jing tea itselfGrades, harvest dates and what the price actually buys — read it before anyone offers you "pre-Qingming".On the ground
For medical emergencies dial 120 (ambulance). The major hospitals listed below are large, well-equipped, and most likely to have English-speaking staff. For non-emergency visits, ask your travel insurance for in-network options.
Public Security Bureau Exit-Entry offices handle lost-passport reports, visa extensions, and foreigner residency registration. Use the most central municipal office for a standard lost-passport report; provincial or city-level offices handle complex cases such as visa-category changes.