Hangzhou

杭州

VERIFIED 2026.09.29

West Lake, tea hills, and China at its most poetic.

The lake-and-tea city Chinese poems are about. One of the few places where 'just walk around' is the actual itinerary: West Lake's causeways at dawn, Longjing tea villages on the hills above.

Arriving

HGH — metro 1/19 to West Lake area, ~50 min.

Getting around

Good; but the lake is for walking, not transit.

Sleep here

West of West Lake (Beishan / Longjing side) for quiet; east side for nightlife.

The five that matter

01West Lake loop at sunrise
02Longjing tea village + tasting
03Lingyin Temple
04Bicycling the causeways
05Xixi wetlands park

Day trips

Moganshan (bamboo mountain, 1.5h); Wuzhen water town; Shanghai is 45 min by rail.

Skip it

West Lake on weekends/holidays (locals descend); boat rides at midday heat.