By rail
Hangzhou East, ~1 h from Shanghai by high-speed rail
East Asia · China
Hangzhou, China
West Lake's willows and tea hills
Getting there
By air
Hangzhou Xiaoshan (HGH), ~30 km
Best time to visit
March to May and September to November — mild
Don't miss
West Lake
Lingyin Temple
Leifeng Pagoda
The Longjing tea fields
Things to do
Cycling around West Lake
Tea tasting at Longjing village
Lingyin Temple
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Louisa Salazar · CC BY-SA 3.0
What to pack
Comfortable shoes, an umbrella
A quieter corner
The Nine Creeks and Eighteen Gullies walk through the tea hills
Questions travellers ask
How long does it take to reach Hangzhou from Shanghai?
About 1 hour by high-speed rail to Hangzhou East. Hangzhou Xiaoshan airport (HGH) is roughly 30 km out.
What should I do in Hangzhou?
Cycle around West Lake, taste tea at Longjing village and visit Lingyin Temple. Comfortable shoes and an umbrella will help.
What local dishes should I order in Hangzhou?
Dongpo pork and West Lake fish in vinegar sauce.
Is there a walk through Hangzhou's tea hills?
Yes — the Nine Creeks and Eighteen Gullies walk winds through them.
About Hangzhou
- Lakeside
Where it is
Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province in eastern China, lies on the Qiantang River near Hangzhou Bay, with West Lake and its tea-covered hills on the city's western edge, south-west of Shanghai.
History
Hangzhou grew rich at the southern end of the Grand Canal, completed in the early 7th century, and in the 12th century it became the capital of the Southern Song dynasty, when it was among the largest cities in the world. Marco Polo's account of his travels described it as a city of great splendour, and the cultural landscape of West Lake became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
People
Hangzhou's people speak Mandarin and the Hangzhou dialect, a Wu Chinese variety, and the city has long lived from tea and silk, and more recently from technology. Local dishes include West Lake fish in vinegar sauce, Dongpo pork and river shrimp cooked with Longjing tea leaves.
Known for
- West Lake and its causeways
- Longjing green tea
- Lingyin Temple and its rock carvings
- The Qiantang River tidal bore
- Hangzhou silk
Did you know?
Each autumn, around the eighteenth day of the eighth lunar month, crowds gather to watch the tidal bore on the Qiantang River send a wall of water racing upstream.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.