Hangzhou Metro Guide for Foreigners 2026: Pay, Lines

This guide is written by an editorial team based in Chongqing — the editor has lived in mainland China since 2018 (8 years on the ground) and uses the Alipay QR-code metro system regularly. The QR-payment mechanism described below is the same nationwide system the editor has verified first-hand on the Beijing and Shanghai metros in 2025-2026; line and station detail is aggregated from 2024-2026 r/travelchina, r/chinalife and r/Hangzhou threads, Trip.com listings, and 2026-05-22 Amap (高德地图) routing. Line configurations, service patterns and the fare bands were re-checked on 5 August 2026 against network reference data, the published Hangzhou Metro fare rules, and the walking distances measured for our individual Hangzhou attraction guides. Corrections from Hangzhou residents are welcomed (see about page).

Buying tickets — pay with your phone

The Hangzhou Metro (杭州地铁) opened in 2012 and is now a large, modern network — 12 lines and about 516 km in 2026, plus airport and intercity links — but a foreign visitor never needs a paper ticket. The standard 2026 method:

1. Set up Alipay before you fly — install it, add a foreign Visa or Mastercard, and complete passport verification. Doing this at home (it can take a day or two to verify) means you land ready to ride. See the Alipay setup guide.
2. Open the transit ride-code. In Alipay, find the transit / 乘车码 (ride-code) feature and select Hangzhou Metro. It generates a QR code on screen.
3. Scan in and out. Hold the QR to the reader at the gate when you enter, and again when you exit — the system charges the correct distance-based fare automatically to your linked card.

WeChat Pay has the same ride-code feature if you prefer it. The cash backup is a physical Hangzhou transit card, sold and topped up at station service counters and machines.

Don't assume you can tap your own bank card here — this is being rolled out city by city, not nationally. Beijing opened contactless foreign-card entry in September 2024, Shanghai in June 2025, Chengdu in July 2025 and Guangzhou in October 2025, so a traveller arriving from any of those reasonably expects it to work everywhere. As of our August 2026 check we could find no announcement that Hangzhou has switched it on, and Zhejiang's own payment-convenience reporting talks about airports, hotels and duty-free shops rather than metro gates. Plan on the Alipay ride-code — which does work, and which Alipay has extended to overseas phone numbers with passport verification — and treat a working card tap as a bonus if you find one. We re-check this monthly.

Fares are distance-based, and the bands are published: ¥2 for the first 4 km, then ¥1 per 4 km up to 12 km, ¥1 per 6 km up to 24 km, and ¥1 per 8 km beyond that. Most central tourist trips — between the HSR station, downtown, West Lake and the old town — cost ¥2-5, and even the ~50 km end-to-end run from Xianghu to the airport works out near ¥10. There is no need to calculate anything yourself; the gate does it when you scan out.

The network also sells 1-day and 3-day unlimited passes (and 5- and 7-day versions). They are worth knowing about and, for most visitors, worth skipping: at ¥2-5 a ride you would need an unusually heavy metro day to reach the break-even, and the pass is one more thing to buy at a counter when the QR in your phone already works.

The lines that matter for visitors

Twelve lines is far more than any visitor needs. These are the ones that connect the sights and the gateways.

Line 1 — the line every visitor uses

Line 1, the original 2012 spine, is the single most useful line for a tourist. It runs from Xianghu (湘湖) in the southwest across the city to the northeast, and on its central stretch it strings together almost everything a first-time visitor needs:

• Hangzhou East Railway Station (火车东站) — the main high-speed-rail hub, where most visitors arrive.
• Wulin Square (武林广场) — the downtown shopping and dining core.
• Fengqi Road (凤起路) — a short walk in toward the lake.
• Longxiangqiao (龙翔桥) — the West Lake lakefront station, the closest stop to the northeast shore, Hubin and the Broken Bridge.
• Ding'anlu (定安路) — within walking distance of Hefang Street (河坊街), the old-town pedestrian quarter, though Line 7's Wushan Square is closer to it.
• Chengzhan (城站, also Line 5) — for Hangzhou Station (杭州站), the older central railway station.
• Xiaoshan Airport (萧山机场) — the far end of the line, beyond Xiasha. Line 1 is the only no-transfer ride between HGH and the lakefront, and also the slow one: 23 stops and about 65 minutes, against 53 with a change onto Line 19. Knowing it exists mostly saves you from boarding it by accident.

So Line 1 alone links the airport, the main HSR station, downtown and the lake — for many short Hangzhou trips it is the only line you will touch. One thing to watch: not every Line 1 train runs the whole line. Line 1 no longer forks — the old Linping branch was spun off as Line 9 in July 2021 — but roughly every other train short-turns at Xiasha Jiangbin (下沙江滨) rather than carrying on to Xiaoshan Airport. So a train can be a Line 1 train, on the right platform, in the right direction, and still not be going to the airport. Check the destination on the train's front and side displays and on the platform indicator before you board. Heading out to HGH with a flight to catch, the express Line 19 is the faster choice anyway.

Line 19 — the express airport line

Line 19 is the fast airport connector, built to link the two HSR stations and the airport at up to 120 km/h with few stops. From Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) it reaches Hangzhou East Railway Station in about 26 minutes (five stops, ¥7) and Hangzhou West in about 57. For the lake, do not change at Hangzhou East: stay on to West Lake Cultural Square (西湖文化广场), seven stops from the airport, and change to Line 1 there for three stops to Longxiangqiao — about 53 minutes door to door for ¥7.

Two things the map does not tell you. The airport is not Line 19's terminus — trains run one stop beyond it to Yongsheng Road (永盛路), and the other way to Tiaoxi (苕溪) via Hangzhou West — so check which direction you want, because those are the two names that appear on the destination sign. And at Hangzhou East, Line 19 boards from a separate station on the East Plaza (火车东站东广场): it is not connected to the Line 1/4 concourse inside the paid area, so you exit and walk. See the Xiaoshan Airport guide for the full arrivals walk-through.

Line 7 — the old-town airport line

Line 7 gets written off as the slow way to the airport, and as an airport run that is fair — it stops everywhere, against Line 19's express. But look at the other end of it: Line 7 terminates at Wushan Square (吴山广场), and that is the closest station to Hefang Street and the Qinghefang old town — the street runs east from the exit, about 6 minutes on foot, against about 13 from Line 1's Ding'anlu. It also puts you at the southeast corner of West Lake below Wushan hill. If your day is the old town and the south end of the lake, Line 7 is the line you want, airport or no airport.

Lines 2, 3, 4, 5 — and Line 19 away from the airport

A handful of other lines are occasionally useful:

• Line 2 and Line 4 serve Qianjiang New City — the modern riverfront district with the “moon” convention towers and the riverside light show — and both reach Hangzhou East.
• Line 3 runs out to Hangzhou West Railway Station and the northwest of the city, and stops at Huanglong Sports Center (黄龙体育中心, transfer to Line 10) — the nearest metro to the lake's northwest and the Lingyin side. Note that Line 3 is the line with a branch these days: it forks beyond Xixi Wetland South, with the branch running to Shima (石马), so check the destination sign here too.
• Line 5 is the one for the Grand Canal — the 大运河 station is about 11 minutes' walk from the Qiaoxi historic district — and it also serves Chengzhan. At Guniangqiao it meets the Shaoxing Metro, which is how you reach Shaoxing on urban rail.
• Line 19 is not only the airport express: it is also the line for Xixi Wetland North, the best arrival for the wetland's free zone.

One gap to know about, and it shapes a Hangzhou itinerary: the metro does not reach West Lake's western hills. There is no station at Lingyin Temple, none at the Longjing tea villages, and none at the door of Leifeng Pagoda on the south shore. Longxiangqiao is the closest station to the lake itself; Huanglong Sports Center (Lines 3 and 10) is the closest to the northwest side and the usual metro-plus-bus start for Lingyin. Either way the last stretch is on foot, by bus or by taxi — build it into your timings rather than assuming a station at the end. The Lingyin Temple guide has the road detail, including the weekend car ban.

Which line for which sight

Station-to-sight mapping from Amap (高德地图) routing, 2026-05-22, and re-aligned 2026-08-05 to the walk distances measured on our individual attraction guides — Wushan Square to Hefang Street, the two Xixi Wetland stations, and the Grand Canal station for Qiaoxi. Longxiangqiao is the closest metro station to West Lake's northeast shore; there is no station at the lake's western hills, at Lingyin Temple or at the Longjing tea villages, so plan to walk, bus or taxi the last stretch.

Reading the signage and the gates

English support on the Hangzhou Metro is good. Station names appear in Chinese and English on maps, platform signage and in-car displays; announcements are made in Mandarin and English; and ticket machines have an English mode. A first-time visitor can navigate the whole network comfortably in English.

The flow at the gate is the same every time: open the Alipay ride-code, hold the QR flat to the scanner panel on the gate, the barrier opens, walk through. Repeat at your destination to exit. If the gate rejects the code, it is almost always because the screen dimmed or the app timed out — re-open the ride-code and try again. Keep your phone charged; the QR is your ticket.

Practical tips

• Security. Every station entrance has an airport-style X-ray bag scanner — standard across mainland China. Put bags through; it adds a minute or two at busy stations. The metro is not real-name — no passport needed to ride, the gate reads your fare QR.
• Not every Line 1 train goes the whole way. About half of Line 1's trains short-turn at Xiasha Jiangbin instead of continuing to Xiaoshan Airport, which bites hardest on the airport run. Always read the destination sign. (Line 3 does genuinely fork, beyond Xixi Wetland South — same habit applies.)
• Peak hours. Roughly 7:30-9:30am and 5:30-7:30pm are genuinely crowded, especially on Line 1 around Wulin Square and the HSR station. Sightsee around them where you can.
• The last walk to West Lake and Lingyin. The metro gets you to Longxiangqiao on the lake's northeast edge; the rest of the lake, the western hills and Lingyin Temple are a lakeshore walk or a bus ride. Build that into your timing.
• Last trains. Service runs roughly 6:00am to about 23:00; last-train times vary by line. If you are out late around the lake, check your line's last train or plan a DiDi.

The airport and HSR-station connections

The metro ties Hangzhou's two main gateways straight into the city:

• From Xiaoshan Airport (HGH): three lines from one station. Line 19 is the default — about 26 minutes to Hangzhou East, or ~53 minutes to the lake changing onto Line 1 at West Lake Cultural Square. Line 1 runs through to the lakefront with no change at all and takes ~65 minutes doing it, so the no-transfer version is the slower one. Line 7 is worth a look only if you are headed for the old town, since it ends at Wushan Square. Full detail in the Xiaoshan Airport guide.
• From Hangzhou East Railway Station: Line 1, Line 4 and Line 19 all serve the station — Line 1 runs direct to downtown and West Lake, and Line 19 boards from the East Plaza building outside the Line 1/4 concourse. See the Hangzhou East Railway Station guide.

Because Line 1 connects Hangzhou East, Wulin Square and Longxiangqiao in one ride, a hotel near a central Line 1 station puts the lake, the downtown and the HSR station within an easy metro trip — a useful filter when choosing where to base yourself. If the old town is what you are here for, Line 7's Wushan Square is the closer base.

Browse central Hangzhou hotels near West Lake on Trip.com →

Frequently asked questions

Related Hangzhou guides

• Tapping a foreign card on China's metros — which cities take a contactless Visa or Mastercard at the gate.
• Hangzhou city guide — things to do, getting in and out, getting around, what to eat, and practical essentials.
• Alipay setup for foreigners — the payment app you need for the metro; set it up before you fly.
• Hangzhou East Railway Station guide and Xiaoshan Airport guide — Line 1 serves the HSR hub, Line 19 the airport.
• West Lake guide and Where to stay in Hangzhou — the lake itself, and how to base yourself on a Line 1 station.

Sources: editorial team based in Chongqing (8-year mainland-China resident, regular Alipay-QR metro user — the QR-payment mechanism is verified first-hand on the Beijing and Shanghai metros 2025-2026), editor's about page, Amap (高德地图) routing queried 2026-05-22, and aggregated r/travelchina, r/chinalife and r/Hangzhou threads 2024-2026. Network facts re-checked 2026-08-05: line configurations, the July 2021 Line 9 split, the December 2020 Line 1 and Line 7 airport openings and the September 2022 Line 19 opening from network reference data; the fare bands (¥2 / 4 km, then ¥1 per 4 km, per 6 km, per 8 km) and the existence of 1-, 3-, 5- and 7-day passes from the published Hangzhou Metro fare rules; walk distances from our own Qinghefang, Xixi Wetland, Grand Canal, Leifeng Pagoda and Lingyin Temple guides. Fares, service patterns and operating hours change — check current details before you ride.