Pull a one-yuan note from your change anywhere in China and you are holding a picture of Hangzhou: the three small stone pagodas of Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, set in West Lake, that have framed the same water for centuries. The lake is the reason most people come, but the city behind it was once the capital of an empire and the richest place Marco Polo claimed to have seen. This guide covers West Lake and its famous scenes, the temples and tea hills around it, the tidal wave on the nearby river, and the practical detail of reaching and getting around the city.
West Lake and Its Ten Scenes
West Lake, Xi Hu, is a freshwater lake of about 6.4 square kilometres ringed by hills on three sides and the city on the fourth, listed by UNESCO as a cultural landscape in 2011. Unlike almost every other major sight in China, it is free to enter, having scrapped its admission ticket in 2002, the first big Chinese scenic area to do so.
Two long stone walkways cross the water, the Su Causeway and the Bai Causeway, named after the poets and governors who built them, including Su Dongpo. The classic way to frame the lake is the canon of Ten Scenes, a set of four-character poetic views fixed in the Southern Song and carved on steles by a Qing emperor:
- Spring Dawn at Su Causeway: willows and peach blossom along the long embankment.
- Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge: the bridge where the White Snake legend begins.
- Three Pools Mirroring the Moon: the island and pagodas printed on the one-yuan note.
- Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake: the northern viewing terrace at full moon.
- Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow: the rebuilt pagoda above the southern shore.
- Orioles Singing in the Willows, Viewing Fish at Flower Harbour, Lotus in the Breeze at Quyuan, Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds and the Evening Bell at Nanping Hill complete the set.
Walk the causeways, hire a bike, or take a hand-rowed boat out to the islands. The Leifeng Pagoda on the south shore carries the legend of the White Snake, one of China’s four great folk tales, in which a snake spirit who takes human form is imprisoned beneath it.
After dark in the warmer months, the lake itself becomes a stage for Impression West Lake, a music-and-light show performed by a cast standing on a platform just below the water’s surface, so the dancers appear to move across the lake.
A Capital Twice Over: the Southern Song City
Hangzhou has more than 2,200 years of history and served as a Chinese capital twice. Its golden age came under the Southern Song, when the court fled south in 1138 and renamed the city Lin’an, making it the imperial capital until the Mongol conquest in 1276.
At its peak Lin’an held perhaps a million people and ranked among the largest cities on earth. This is the city Marco Polo described as Kinsay, “the finest and noblest in the world”. Hangzhou also sits at the southern end of the Grand Canal, the 1,700-kilometre waterway from Beijing that is itself a UNESCO site, and the old Gongchen Bridge still arches over its final stretch. For the wider dynastic picture, see our timeline of ancient China.
The lake’s north-west shore holds the Yue Fei Temple, the tomb and shrine of the Song general framed and executed in 1142. Four iron statues of the officials who betrayed him kneel before the grave in permanent disgrace, and for centuries visitors spat on them, a habit the signs now politely discourage.
Lingyin Temple and the Hills
The wooded hills west of the lake hold the city’s great religious sites, an easy half-day from the shore.
Lingyin Temple
The Temple of the Soul’s Retreat, founded in 326 during the Eastern Jin, is one of the largest and wealthiest Buddhist monasteries in China. It backs onto Beigao Peak and faces the Feilai Feng grottoes, whose limestone cliffs are carved with around 340 Buddhist figures from the 10th to 14th centuries.
Six Harmonies Pagoda
Built in 970 on the bank of the Qiantang River, the octagonal Six Harmonies Pagoda was raised in part to calm the river’s famously violent tide. It still stands as one of the finest surviving examples of Song-era timber-and-brick pagoda design.
Longjing: China’s Most Famous Green Tea
The hills southwest of West Lake produce Longjing, or Dragon Well, the best known green tea in the country and a protected-origin product. The leaf is pan-fired by hand into flat blades, and connoisseurs grade it by the slope it grew on.
- The named hills: the classic ranking runs Lion (Shifeng), Dragon (Longjing), Cloud (Yunqi) and Tiger (Hupao), with Meijiawu a fifth famous village.
- Mingqian leaf: tea picked before the Qingming festival in early April, the first and most prized harvest of the year.
- Where to taste: Longjing and Meijiawu villages sit among the tea fields, and the China National Tea Museum nearby is free and explains the whole tradition.
The water locals prize for brewing it comes from the Running Tiger Spring, Hupao, whose mineral-dense water is said to pair with Longjing as the two “wonders” of Hangzhou. Tea runs deep in the city’s life, a thread picked up in our guide to Chinese tea culture.
The Qiantang River Tidal Bore
Hangzhou sits on the Qiantang River, which produces the largest tidal bore in the world. As the incoming tide funnels into the narrowing estuary, it rears up into a wall of water that races upstream, at times several metres high and faster than a person can run.
The spectacle peaks around the eighth lunar month, near the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the prime viewing point is Yanguan in nearby Haining, about an hour from the city. People have gathered to watch the bore for more than two thousand years, and it remains one of the few natural events in China timed and ticketed like a festival.
Old Streets, Silk and Markets
Away from the lake, Hangzhou keeps its trading past in a cluster of old streets and markets best explored on foot.
- Hefang Street: a restored Qing-era pedestrian street of teahouses, snack stalls and craft shops, anchored by the Huqingyu Tang, a working 19th-century traditional-medicine pharmacy and museum.
- China Silk Town: Hangzhou has been the country’s silk capital for over a thousand years, and this market on Tiyuchang Road is the place to buy it by the metre or made up.
- Wushan Night Market: paper fans, silk prints, carvings and souvenirs after dark, off Yan’an Road.
- Bird and Flower Market: an old-school market of plants, songbirds, crickets and ornamental fish that shows the everyday side of the city.
Hangzhou Cuisine
Hangzhou anchors Zhe cuisine, one of China’s eight great regional traditions, known for light, slightly sweet cooking that leans on freshwater fish and the seasons.
- Dongpo pork: cubes of pork belly slow-braised in soy and wine, named after the Song poet and governor Su Dongpo.
- West Lake vinegar fish: grass carp poached and dressed in a sweet-sour sauce, the signature lakeside dish.
- Longjing shrimp: river shrimp stir-fried with the local green tea leaves.
- Beggar’s chicken: a whole chicken wrapped in lotus leaf and clay and baked, cracked open at the table.
The historic Louwailou, founded on the lakeshore in 1848, is the classic address for all of these, with a view of the water to match.
The Cashless, Digital City
Hangzhou is the home of Alibaba and the birthplace of Alipay, and it shows. The city is often called the most cashless place in China, where a phone scan pays for everything from a temple ticket to a bowl of noodles.
Hosting the G20 summit in 2016 and the Asian Games in 2023 pushed a wave of building and bilingual signage, leaving the transport and the sights easier to navigate than in many Chinese cities. Set up a payment app before you arrive, as covered in our wider China travel guide.
Day Trips: Water Towns and Wetlands
Hangzhou makes a good base for the canal towns and green corners of the lower Yangtze.
- Xixi National Wetland Park: on the western edge of the city, a maze of waterways, reed beds and boardwalks, and the only national wetland park inside a Chinese city.
- Wuzhen and Xitang: the best preserved of the Jiangnan water towns, an hour or so out, with stone bridges, canals and night lighting.
- Moganshan: a cool bamboo-covered hill resort that drew Shanghai’s foreign set a century ago.
- Songcheng: a Song-dynasty theme park on the city’s edge, whose long-running stage show, the Romance of the Song Dynasty, recreates Lin’an’s imperial heyday.
- Shanghai: just 50 minutes away by high-speed train, covered in our Shanghai city guide.
Getting There, Around and When to Go
High-speed rail makes Hangzhou one of the easiest cities in China to reach, with trains from Shanghai in about 50 minutes and from Beijing in around four and a half hours. Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport sits about 30 kilometres east with domestic and regional flights.
- Metro: a fast, bilingual network reaches West Lake, the railway stations and the airport.
- On foot and by bike: the lake itself is best walked or cycled, with public bikes and a flat shoreline path.
- When to go: spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, are mildest, with autumn adding the tidal bore. Avoid the National Day week in early October, when the causeways jam.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days do you need in Hangzhou?
Two days cover West Lake, Lingyin Temple and the tea hills at an easy pace. A third day lets you add the Grand Canal, a water town such as Wuzhen, or the Qiantang tidal bore in autumn.
Is West Lake free to visit?
Yes. West Lake dropped its entrance fee in 2002 and the lakeshore, causeways and most viewpoints are free to walk. A few specific gardens, the Leifeng Pagoda lift and the boats to the islands charge a small fee.
When can you see the Qiantang River tidal bore?
The bore is at its strongest around the eighth lunar month, near the Mid-Autumn Festival in September or October. The classic viewing spot is Yanguan in Haining, about an hour from Hangzhou, where the wave is highest.
What tea is Hangzhou famous for?
Longjing, or Dragon Well, a pan-fired green tea grown in the hills around West Lake. The most prized is mingqian leaf, picked before the Qingming festival in early April, and you can taste it in the tea villages of Longjing and Meijiawu.
How do you get from Shanghai to Hangzhou?
High-speed trains link the two cities in about 50 minutes, running very frequently from Shanghai’s Hongqiao station. It makes an easy day trip in either direction, though Hangzhou rewards an overnight stay.
Is West Lake crowded?
Very, on weekends and Chinese holidays, especially the October National Day week. Visit early in the morning on a weekday, or walk the quieter western and southern shores, to escape the crush around the Broken Bridge.
Sources and Further Reading
- West Lake Scenic Area Authority – the official body managing the lake and the Ten Scenes
- UNESCO, West Lake Cultural Landscape – the World Heritage listing and its history
- Lingyin Temple – the official site of the 326 AD monastery
- China National Tea Museum – Longjing tea history, grades and tasting
- Hangzhou Tourism – the official city visitor portal
- UNESCO, the Grand Canal – the waterway whose southern end reaches Hangzhou
