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Voykit pocket guide · China
Hangzhou
杭州
Give Hangzhou 2 nights: one full day for West Lake on foot and by boat, one for Lingyin Temple and the tea hills. Skip it on a 5-day China trip.
Hangzhou is Zhejiang's capital and the Southern Song dynasty's old capital, 45–60 minutes from Shanghai by high-speed rail. West Lake and its UNESCO cultural landscape are the draw, with Lingyin Temple, the Longjing tea terraces and the Grand Canal filling a second day. Two nights covers the core; three lets you add a water town or a tea-hill walk without rushing.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 杭州
- Best months
- Mar–May, Oct–Nov
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (hot, humid, typhoon tail risk), Chinese New Year and the May and October Golden Weeks
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- Daily spend
- Budget ¥250–450 excl. bed · Mid ¥450–900 excl. bed · High ¥900+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or milk tea | ¥15–35 |
| Noodle soup or a rice bowl | ¥20–45 |
| Longjing tea, 50 g | ¥80–400 |
| 5 km (3.1 mi) taxi3.1 mi (5 km) taxi | ¥25–35 |
| West Lake boat (public ferry / small power boat) | ¥35–55 |
| Lingyin Temple entry + Feilai Feng | ¥75 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- HGH · Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
- About 30 km (19 mi) east of the centre; taxi 30–60 min, around ¥90. Shuttle bus to the Wulin Square area, about ¥20, roughly hourly.About 19 mi (30 km) east of the centre; taxi 30–60 min, around ¥90. Shuttle bus to the Wulin Square area, about ¥20, roughly hourly.
- PVG · Shanghai Pudong International Airport
- Direct coach to Hangzhou, about 2–2.5 h, ¥100; or high-speed rail via Shanghai Hongqiao.
- SHA · Shanghai Hongqiao
- Adjacent to Hongqiao Railway Station: high-speed trains to Hangzhou East run frequently, about 45–60 min.
Typical fares
- HGH airport → Wulin Square area, shuttle
- about ¥20, roughly 1 h
- HGH airport → centre, taxi
- about ¥90, 30–60 min
- Hangzhou East → Shanghai Hongqiao, high-speed rail
- from about ¥73, 45–60 min
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The metro (13 lines, 270+ stations) is the fastest way across the city; Line 1 links the East Station, the centre and the lake's east shore. Buses are cheap (¥1–5 by type) but signed in Chinese only. Taxis start at ¥11 and are expensive by Chinese standards; drivers rarely speak English, so show the destination in Chinese characters. Shared bikes (Meituan, HelloBike, Qingju) cost ¥1–2 per ride and are the best way to circle West Lake — Alipay works for most.
See and do
Known for
- West Lake (UNESCO cultural landscape)
- Lingyin Temple and Feilai Feng carvings
- Longjing (Dragon Well) tea hills
- Grand Canal and Hefang Street
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wuzhen water town | Coach from Jiubao Bus Station, about 90 min, ¥50 | 2–2.5 h |
| Shanghai | High-speed rail from Hangzhou East to Shanghai Hongqiao, 45–60 min, from about ¥73 | 1.5–2 h |
| Suzhou | High-speed rail from Hangzhou East, about 1.5–2 h | 2–2.5 h |
| Moganshan | Coach or car to Deqing, then local transport, 2–3 h total | 3 h+ |
Sleep
- Hubin / West Lake east shore
- Walk to the lake in minutes and to Longxiangqiao metro (Line 1); the most convenient base and the priciest.
- Wulin Square / Wulinmen
- Metro Lines 1 and 2, airport shuttle stop on Tiyuchang Road, shopping and food; 15–20 min walk to the lake.
- Hangzhou East Station (Hangzhoudong)
- Best for a one-night rail stop or an early departure; metro Line 1 to the lake, about 25 min.
- Hefang Street / Wushan
- Old-street atmosphere and Southern Song relics; walkable to the lake's south end, noisier at night.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | 你好nǐ hǎo |
| Thank you | 谢谢xièxie |
| How much is it? | 多少钱？duōshao qián |
| Can I pay by Alipay or card? | 可以支付宝或刷卡吗？kěyǐ zhīfùbǎo huò shuākǎ ma |
| Where is the metro station? | 地铁站在哪里？dìtiě zhàn zài nǎlǐ |
| Please take me to this address | 请带我去这个地址qǐng dài wǒ qù zhège dìzhǐ |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Golden Weeks (Chinese New Year, early May, early October) and summer weekends pack West Lake; go before 08:00 or after 17:00.
- Taxi touts at the East Station and at lake entrances: use the marked queue or the metro instead.
- Summer is humid and hot (30°C+ highs); June is the wettest month. Carry water and start early.
- Some lake boats and the Grand Canal water bus stop running in the late afternoon — check the last departure before you commit.
- Cash is rarely needed: set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you arrive, since foreign cards can fail at small vendors.
- Google Maps is unreliable in mainland China; use Amap or Baidu Maps and download an offline city map.
Hangzhou is a safe, low-crime city for tourists; the real risks are summer heat and humidity, pickpockets in Golden Week crowds, unlicensed taxis at stations, and tea-shop or 'silk' sales pressure near West Lake — agree prices before you buy.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Hangzhou yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- West Lake (UNESCO cultural landscape)
- Lingyin Temple and Feilai Feng carvings
- Longjing (Dragon Well) tea hills
- Grand Canal and Hefang Street
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Wikivoyage: Hangzhou, revision 5265453 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5265453
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Hangzhou杭州
请带我去这个地址
Please take me to this address
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
The US and most countries run their China embassies in Beijing and consulates-general in Shanghai; Hangzhou has no major Western consulate — check your own country's list before you travel.
Show drivers the destination in Chinese characters; few speak English.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/hangzhou). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.