Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province in eastern China — a city of 12 million people on the southern shore of West Lake (西湖, Xī Hú — UNESCO World Heritage Site 2011), 180km southwest of Shanghai. Marco Polo, who visited Kublai Khan's China in the 1270s, called Hangzhou 'the most beautiful and magnificent city in the world' and described the West Lake, the silk workshops, the teahouses, and the canal traffic in terms that remain recognisable today. The West Lake (6.5 sq km of freshwater lake inside the city, surrounded by wooded hills, pagodas, causeways, and classical gardens) is the most culturally significant lake in China — it has been painted, poeticised, and landscaped by Chinese artists and scholars for over 1,000 years, and the Su Causeway (a 2.8km tree-lined walkway across the lake, built by the poet-official Su Shi (Su Dongpo) in 1089) is both an engineering achievement and a cultural monument. Longjing Tea (龙井茶, Dragon Well Tea — the most prestigious green tea in China, grown on the terraced hillsides of the Longjing village 5km from the city centre) has been the imperial tea since the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE). Best months: March–May and September–November.
The Su Causeway (苏堤 — 2.8km from south to north across the Western section of West Lake, built by the poet-statesman Su Shi (Su Dongpo) in 1089 using dredged mud to create a walkway; planted with peach (桃, táo) and willow (柳, liǔ) trees that create the classic Hangzhou lakeside image: weeping willows trailing in the water, the Baochu Pagoda on the hill behind, mist lifting off the lake surface in the morning. Six bridges cross the Su Causeway, each with a name from a classic Chinese poem. The causeway is pedestrian and bicycle only, open 24/7, free, at its most beautiful in early morning (before 08:00) when the mist is on the lake and the tourist crowds have not yet arrived. The Broken Bridge (断桥, Duàn Qiáo) at the north end of the lake is the most painted bridge in Chinese art history.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideWest Lake boat trip (wooden rowboat rental from any of the 5 dock points around the lake — pedal boats (₩80/hr), electric boats (₩100/hr), or the traditional wooden rowing boats operated by a boatman (₩150–200 per boat per hour for up to 6 people)). The destination: the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (三潭印月, Sāntán Yìnyuè — three stone pagoda finials rising from the lake surface, placed in 1607 to mark the depths where lotus was prohibited (the lake was being choked by lotus); at mid-autumn festival, candles are lit inside the hollow stone spheres and their light is reflected in the water — the image reproduced on the one-yuan coin). The island in the centre of the three pools (Xiao Yingzhou — Little Yingzhou, a man-made island) is accessible by boat and has traditional gardens.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideWest Lake Vinegar Fish (西湖醋鱼, Xī Hú Cù Yú — the signature dish of Hangzhou: a grass carp (草鱼) caught from West Lake (or its farms), steamed or poached, then glazed with a sweet-sour sauce of dark vinegar (Zhenjiang vinegar), soy, ginger, and Shaoxing wine; the result is a caramelised, dark-glazed fish with a sweet-sour intensity unlike anything in Cantonese or Sichuan cuisine). Zhiweiguan (知味观 — the most famous Hangzhou cuisine restaurant in the city, founded 1913, Jie Fang Road 83A; multiple floors, large menu of Hangzhou specialities, ¥30–60/dish, always crowded; the beggar's chicken (叫化鸡 — whole chicken stuffed with herbs, wrapped in lotus leaf and clay, baked in ashes for 6 hours) and the dongpo pork (东坡肉 — named after Su Dongpo, the same Su who built the causeway; braised pork belly cooked in Shaoxing wine and soy until it trembles) round out a proper Hangzhou meal.
Leifeng Pagoda (雷峰塔 — the red-brick and gilt pagoda on the southern shore of West Lake; the original was built in 975 CE and collapsed in 1924 (it had been a target of salvagers for centuries who believed the bricks had magical properties, until it simply fell down); the current pagoda (2002) is a modern reconstruction in the Song Dynasty style, built above the archaeological remains of the original. The top floor (82m) has the classic West Lake view — the causeway, the Three Pools islands, and the wooded hills behind — that has been the standard composition of every Hangzhou painting for 1,000 years. Entry ¥50. The basement archaeological site (the original pagoda foundations, with a Tang-era bronze casket and gold artefacts discovered during the construction of the new pagoda) is included in the ticket.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideQinghe Fang Historical Street (清河坊历史街区 — a 300-metre reconstructed Song Dynasty commercial street in the southern city, pedestrianised, lined with traditional shop facades selling Hangzhou specialities: Zhangxiaoquan scissors (张小泉 — the most famous scissor brand in China, founded 1663, a Hangzhou product as recognisable as the West Lake itself), Wangxingji fans (王星记 — the traditional folding fans used in Chinese opera and given as gifts, made of bamboo, sandalwood, and silk since 1838), and the street food of Hangzhou: suan mei tang (酸梅汤 — dark plum drink, cold, sweet-sour, ¥8), tanghulu (糖葫芦 — candied haws on a stick, ¥8), and the sesame sauce noodles (芝麻酱面) available at the small traditional noodle stalls (¥15–20).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLongjing Village (龙井村 — 5km southwest of West Lake, 20 minutes by bus (routes 27 or Y3) or 15 minutes by taxi (¥25–30)); the village is in the heart of the Longjing tea growing area (the Shifeng Mountain (狮峰山) and the Meijiawu valley produce the top-grade Longjing — Emperor Qianlong visited in 1751 and designated 18 specific tea bushes as 'imperial tea bushes', still identified by plaques). The village is where the leaves (only the top 2 leaves and the unfurled bud from each shoot are picked) are pan-roasted in woks by hand (the characteristic flat shape of Longjing leaves comes from the pressing motion during roasting). Visitors are invited into the tea farmers' houses for a full ceremony (pour, steep at 80°C not 100°C to preserve the umami, smell the steam before tasting, note the yellow-green colour): ¥30–80 for a full tasting depending on the grade.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe China National Tea Museum (中国茶叶博物馆 — Shuangfeng Road 88, Longjing tea area; the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to tea culture (not just Chinese tea, but the global diffusion of tea culture: the Japanese chado ceremony (茶道), the British high tea tradition, the Tibetan yak butter tea, and the Russian samovar tradition are all documented alongside the Chinese material)). Permanent exhibitions on the 5 categories of Chinese tea (green, white, oolong, black, and pu'er), the history of the Tea Horse Road (the ancient trade route from Yunnan to Tibet), and a working tea garden in the museum grounds where visitors can pick leaves in season (April–May). Adults free (one of the few free major museums in China). The museum teahouse has the full Longjing ceremony for ¥45–120.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideLingyin Temple (灵隐寺, 'Soul's Retreat' — Fayun Lane 1, 5km from West Lake; established 328 CE by the Indian monk Huili (who believed the peak above the temple had 'flown' from India — hence the adjacent Feilai Feng (飞来峰, 'Peak That Flew From Afar')); one of the 10 most important Buddhist temples in China and the most visited in Zhejiang Province. The main hall (Daxiong Baodian) has one of the largest Buddha statues in China (the Shakyamuni Buddha, 24.8m, carved from 24 blocks of camphor wood in the 1950s to replace the Song-era original destroyed by fire). The Feilai Feng cliff carvings (470 stone Buddhist figures carved into the limestone cliff face from the 10th–14th centuries, including the famous laughing Maitreya Buddha (弥勒佛) of the Yuan Dynasty, 1321) are outside the temple and separately accessible. Entry ¥45 temple, ¥45 Feilai Feng.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideOrioles Singing in the Willows (柳浪闻莺, Liǔ Làng Wén Yīng — one of the 'Ten Scenes of West Lake', a 17-hectare public park on the eastern shore, created as an imperial garden in the Song Dynasty and opened to the public after 1949; the park has willow trees (100+ mature willows overhanging the lake shore), grass lawns, and on spring mornings (March–April) the orioles (黄鹂, the Chinese yellow oriole — a brilliant gold-and-black songbird that has been the symbol of the park for 1,000 years) are genuinely audible in the willows above the lakeside path). The park is also where Hangzhou residents practice taiji (tai chi) in the early morning — a consistent and genuine daily spectacle from 06:00–08:00. Free, open 24/7.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Grand Canal (大运河, Dà Yùnhé — UNESCO World Heritage 2014; 1,794km from Beijing to Hangzhou, the longest canal in the world; the section through Hangzhou (the Gongchen Bridge area and the Xiao River confluence at Gongshu District) is where the grain barges from the north arrived at the Qing Dynasty imperial warehouses (now preserved as the Canal Museum district)). The canal in Hangzhou is still operational (barges carry goods, the water traffic is commercial) and the towpath walk (2km from Gongchen Bridge to the Fuyi Street Pier) passes working boatyards, traditional stone warehouses, and the small Hangzhou Museum of History of the Canal. Canal boat tours depart from Fuyi Street Pier: ¥50–100, 1 hour, the only way to see the canal from water level.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideHu Qingyu Tang (胡庆余堂 — Dajing Lane 95, near Qinghe Fang; established 1874 by Hu Xueyan (胡雪岩, the most powerful merchant in Qing-dynasty Hangzhou, known as the 'Red-Top Merchant'); the most architecturally distinguished traditional Chinese pharmacy building still functioning in China: a 3,800 sq m Qing-era compound with carved wooden pharmacy cabinets (the original, containing 400+ herbs in individual labelled drawers), a traditional prescription dispensing counter, and a museum of Hu Xueyan's collection of medicinal artefacts. Medicines are still dispensed here (traditional formulas for modern conditions). The building is a National Cultural Relic — the carved entrance gate and the gilded inscription boards are the finest examples of Qing merchant architecture in Hangzhou. Free to enter the museum section.
The China Silk Museum (中国丝绸博物馆 — Yuhangtan Road 73-1, near West Lake south shore; the only national silk museum in China (1992); Hangzhou (then Linan) was the centre of the silk trade for the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279) when it was the imperial capital and the city that Marco Polo visited; the museum documents the full silk production process from silkworm (桑蚕, sāng cán) to loom to finished textile, with the world's most comprehensive collection of historical silk textiles (Han Dynasty plain silks, Tang Dynasty polychrome brocades, Song Dynasty figured silks, Ming Dynasty Imperial robes)). Adults ¥10 (one of the cheapest museum admissions in China). The museum shop sells Hangzhou silk products at factory prices.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideQinghe Fang in the evening (the Song Dynasty street is most atmospheric from 18:00–22:00, when the lanterns are lit): osmanthus wine (桂花酒 — Hangzhou's signature sweet rice wine flavoured with osmanthus flowers (the city flower of Hangzhou), drunk cold, ¥20–35/small bottle), longjing shrimp (龙井虾仁 — a Hangzhou luxury dish: small fresh river shrimp stir-fried with fresh Longjing tea leaves, the umami of the shrimp meeting the vegetal freshness of the tea; available in the sit-down restaurants around Qinghe Fang, ¥45–80/plate), and the street dessert of Hangzhou: gui hua lian ou (桂花莲藕 — lotus root stuffed with glutinous rice and served with osmanthus honey syrup, cold, sold from street carts, ¥12).
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