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Voykit pocket guide · China
Moganshan
莫干山
Go for 2 nights midweek, May–Jun or Sep–Oct: a hill village at 700 m, about 5 °C cooler than Shanghai, walkable in a day. Winter is quiet and half price.
Moganshan is a mountain resort above Deqing, about 60 km north of Hangzhou and 2.5–3 h by road from Shanghai. The point is the cool air, bamboo trails and stone-house village on the ridge, not a checklist of sights. Two nights covers the summit park, the waterfalls and one long walk; one night is a rushed weekend. Entry to the scenic area is ticketed, and most guesthouses sit outside the gate in the surrounding villages.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 莫干山
- Best months
- May–Jun, Sep–Oct
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug weekends (crowded, peak rates)
- 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 ¥300–600 excl. bed · Mid ¥600–1,200 excl. bed · High ¥1,200+ 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 |
|---|---|
| Scenic-area entry ticket | ¥130 (about ¥120 online; half price in winter) |
| Coffee or tea in a village café | ¥30–60 |
| Local meal (bamboo, free-range chicken, tofu) | ¥60–120 |
| Moganshan beer, bottle | ¥15–30 |
| Taxi or van, Deqing → mountain | About ¥100 |
| Hangzhou North Bus Station → Wukang (Deqing), bus K588 | ¥12 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- HGH · Hangzhou Xiaoshan
- About 1.5–2 h by road to Deqing or the mountain; check transfers.
- PVG · Shanghai Pudong
- About 3–3.5 h by road; the long way round for a short stay. Check.
- SHA · Shanghai Hongqiao
- About 2.5–3 h by road. Check.
Typical fares
- Deqing station → Moganshan, taxi or van
- about ¥100, 30–40 min (check)
- Hangzhou North Bus Station → Wukang (Deqing), bus K588
- ¥12 exact change, about every 30 min, 07:00–19:30 (check)¥12 exact change, about every 30 min, 7:00 AM–7:30 PM (check)
- Scenic-area entry ticket
- about ¥130, online about ¥120, half price in winter (check)
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
No metro and no useful local bus network on the mountain. High-speed rail reaches Deqing station (about 20 km (12 mi) away), then taxi or bus 113; from Hangzhou North Bus Station bus K588 runs to Wukang/Deqing about every 30 min, 07:00–19:30, ¥12 exact change, then a van or taxi (about ¥100) up — check the schedule and fare before you rely on them. On the mountain you walk the footpaths or use a hotel car; the ridge is small and the lanes are steep.No metro and no useful local bus network on the mountain. High-speed rail reaches Deqing station (about 20 km (12 mi) away), then taxi or bus 113; from Hangzhou North Bus Station bus K588 runs to Wukang/Deqing about every 30 min, 7:00 AM–7:30 PM, ¥12 exact change, then a van or taxi (about ¥100) up — check the schedule and fare before you rely on them. On the mountain you walk the footpaths or use a hotel car; the ridge is small and the lanes are steep.No metro and no useful local bus network on the mountain. High-speed rail reaches Deqing station (about 12 mi (20 km) away), then taxi or bus 113; from Hangzhou North Bus Station bus K588 runs to Wukang/Deqing about every 30 min, 07:00–19:30, ¥12 exact change, then a van or taxi (about ¥100) up — check the schedule and fare before you rely on them. On the mountain you walk the footpaths or use a hotel car; the ridge is small and the lanes are steep.No metro and no useful local bus network on the mountain. High-speed rail reaches Deqing station (about 12 mi (20 km) away), then taxi or bus 113; from Hangzhou North Bus Station bus K588 runs to Wukang/Deqing about every 30 min, 7:00 AM–7:30 PM, ¥12 exact change, then a van or taxi (about ¥100) up — check the schedule and fare before you rely on them. On the mountain you walk the footpaths or use a hotel car; the ridge is small and the lanes are steep.
See and do
Known for
- Bamboo forest trails
- Stone houses from the 1900s
- Summer cool: about 5 °C below Shanghai and Hangzhou
- Moganshan yellow bud tea
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Hangzhou | High-speed rail from Deqing to Hangzhou East, then metro | 2–2.5 h |
| Huzhou | Road from Deqing, about 1 h | About 1.5 h |
| Anji bamboo forest | Road via Deqing, about 1.5 h | About 2 h |
| Shanghai | Train from Deqing via Hangzhou East, or direct road | 3–4 h |
Sleep
- Moganshan village (on the ridge)
- Inside the ticketed scenic area, walking distance to the summit park and the waterfall path; few beds, book early.
- Laoling and Xiantan villages (below the gate)
- Guesthouse clusters 10–20 min by car from the gate; cheaper, need a car or hotel pickup for the last stretch.
- Deqing / Wukang town
- Railhead and bus stop, 20 km (12 mi) out; use it for a late arrival or a one-night stop, not for the mountain itself.Railhead and bus stop, 12 mi (20 km) out; use it for a late arrival or a one-night stop, not for the mountain itself.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Excuse me / Sorry | 不好意思bù hǎo yì si |
| Thank you | 谢谢xiè xie |
| How much is it? | 多少钱？duō shao qián |
| Can I pay by phone? | 可以手机支付吗？kě yǐ shǒu jī zhī fù ma |
| Where is the toilet? | 洗手间在哪里？xǐ shǒu jiān zài nǎ lǐ |
| Please take me to this address | 请带我去这个地址qǐng dài wǒ qù zhè ge dì zhǐ |
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
- Scenic-area entry is ticketed (about ¥130, online about ¥120; winter half price) — check the current price and whether your guesthouse sits inside or outside the gate.
- Weekend and July–August rates jump and trails get busy; midweek is a different place.
- Mountain roads are steep and winding; if you drive, do it in daylight and not after drinking.
- English is limited outside resort hotels: have your address in Chinese and a translation app offline.
- Cash is rarely needed; set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you arrive.
Very safe by city standards; the real risks are steep, unlit mountain lanes after dark, wet stone steps after rain, and summer thunderstorms on exposed ridges.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Moganshan yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Bamboo forest trails
- Stone houses from the 1900s
- Summer cool: about 5 °C below Shanghai and Hangzhou
- Moganshan yellow bud tea
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- China National Tourist Office: www.cnto.org/
- China Railway 12306: www.12306.cn/en/index.html
- Wikivoyage: Moganshan, revision 5217862 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5217862
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Moganshan莫干山
请到这个地址
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
Your country's embassy is in Beijing and the consulate-general in Shanghai; there is no consular office in Deqing or Moganshan.
Show the Chinese address to the driver; phone numbers and prices change, so confirm with your guesthouse.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/moganshan). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.