Before we begin, let me do some intro:
I'm Alex, Hangzhou native, lived here most of my life, rest spent abroad. (how to tell I'm local? I speak local dialect Hangzhou-nese, rare skill at this point lol).
Alright, credentials done, let's talk about what you are looking for:
I think the majority of visitors (foreigner) to Hangzhou are within one of these groups: Tourist, Student, Expat. (If I missed a big group I apologize, please comment and I'll add to this list).
For now I will make general suggestion that will be suitable for all groups, then in later posts or if I can edit and add to this one I'll include specific recommendations catering to each group. Base on your group feel free to jump to those for your specific interests or make a comment and tell me what you want to know.
Now, let's roll！
General Information of Hangzhou:
Hangzhou is always known for its beauty throughout Chinese history, it's a beautiful town/city that was idolized as "heaven on earth" for its scenery and its culture. Recent years thanks to E-commerce (Jack Ma + Alibaba, Livestream Influencer Sales) Hangzhou's economy boomed, the city expanded 5 times in size, became the fastest growing city in all of China with the largest influx of population in the past few yrs. HZ offers the perfect mix of work/life balance as it has high tech/business firms while maintaining large natural sceneries.
If you are new to Hangzhou, let's discuss what you should check out: 1. Natural scenery, 2. Culture, 3. Food, 4. Gift/Souvenirs. I'm going to limit the geographical area to just Hangzhou city proper and 5 recommendations per section. Even though there are so many great places in the Greater Hangzhou Metropolis, I gotta keep it this way otherwise this article will be wayyyyyyyyyy tooooooo looooooooooong.
— Natural Scenery—
1. West Lake 西湖 (Duh..)
If you come to Hangzhou without visiting West Lake, idk what you are doing. Right at the center of the bustling city lies a gorgeous lake full of lily flowers surrounded by small mountains/hills and roads filled with willow trees. A thousand-year-old long canal road filled with greenery pass through the lake with arched bridges forming a perfect pedestrian-only route. No cars, no bus, only walking like how folks did thousands years ago. IT IS BEAUTIFUL! West lake deserves a post on its own with so many sceneries around it, I won't spoil much here but PLEASE GO! Time: Leave one entire day just for it.
Price: Free around the lake, some sceneries require tickets.
2. Baoshi Shan 宝石山 (Baoshi Mountain)
This is my sacred spot, not a popular tourist site at all, extremely local. When I was little my grandpa would take me to this mountain early morning every weekend, climb onto the top of Chuyang Tai (First-Sunrise Pavilion) to see the sunrise and chat with other old grandpas who wave their straw fan and do morning exercise. It's only a 15 min hike up so its friendly to everyone, and you get to see the whole Hangzhou city on one side of the mountain and the entire west lake on the other side. Shhhhh please don't share this with everyone, its still my sacred place and I hope it doesn't turn into an over-commercialized spot.
Time: 1-2 hours.
Price: Free mountain, only some performance area like Huanglong Dong need ticket (Not necessary to go)
3. Beigaofeng 北高峰 (North Peak)
This one is a hike, takes 35-40 minutes up the via stairs or 10 minute ride by cable car (8 yuan, just a dollar no big deal). On the top you see a wide range of Hangzhou, also there is a temple on the peak that is supposedly very good for wishing wealth. I go there every new year and so far its been treating me well (don't jinx it, don't jinx it). Going down you can take the cable car as well or walking down, it's easier than going up and takes about 25 min on foot.
Time: 2.5 hours if you walk, 1.5 if you take cable car.
Price: Free entry, cable car not free.
4. Xi Xi Shi Di 西溪湿地 (Xixi Wetland)
The “lung” of Hangzhou, a giant natural part with countless trees, birds, waterways and scenario locations. There are free sections and paid sections. Overall its recommended to take a boat ride and ride a golf cart, unless you are willing to walk 8 kilometers +. It is not far from the city only 5km away and itll be a great way to do a natural hike without leaving the city. Make sure to bring water, bug spray and sunscreen.
Time: 4-5 hours.
Price: Paid area cost ￥80. Boat ride around ￥60 and golf cart ￥10.
5. Jiuxi Shibajian 九溪十八涧 （Idk how to translate this accurately… Google says: “Nine Streams and Eighteen Rivulets” so we will go with that!)
Its another very scenic hiking trial for Hangzhou, its one is more in the mountains (but still only less than 10 km away from west lake) where you can see small water streams and actual mountians. There are different routes, either for more advanced higher (10km+ routes) or for more recreational hikers (5km). You will come across Dragon-well village, the place famous for dragon-well tea which is a staple for China. There are waterfalls, small bridge crossings and stone walkways. It is a great for spring/summer/fall, not as ideal in the winter due to the cold. Make sure to bring enough water and sunscreen.
Time: 4-5 hours
Price: Free for hiking
— Culture/History —
Hangzhou is full of historical and cultural heritage. Buddhism was popular and flourishing in the city and mostly survived war and regime changes. Hangzhou was briefly the capital (for 100 yrs or so) of China’s Song Dynasty after the northern capital (Kaifeng) was captured by another regime. So there are much history to see here.
- Nan Song Yu Jie 南宋御街 (Southern Song Royal Street)
It was the location of the royal palace and Royal Street during the Southern Song dynasty, Southern Song cuz they lost the northern half of China and moved the capital to Hangzhou, Royal cuz only the Emperor was allowed to walk on this street back then. Good “ancient China vibe” with old houses, traditional crafts and a beautiful palace near by. A very very touristy area, suggestion is don’t buy any souvenir here unless you want to pay that tourist markup. You are much better off buying them online and ship to your hotel (if you can wait 3 days for shipping) or go somewhere more local. Buy some food/snacks, that's fine, still expensive compared to local spots, but at least not over the roof. For example a piece of hot dog is 10-15 yuan, as suppose to 5 if you go to a convenience store.
Time: 2.5 hrs
Price: Free entry, if you buy snack and souvenir then you pay.
- Lingyin Temple 灵隐寺
The most famous temple in Hangzhou, if you only have time for one temple, just do this one. Thousand year old, survived wars and turmoils, maintained esteemly (is this a word?). It is one of the only “royal” temples back in the day and visited by countess tourists and even dignitaries. Big Buddha statue and large halls make a very memorable experience. Supposedly very good for wishing for marriage, let me know if it works if you wished for it when you go!
Time: 2 hrs
Price: Adult ticket ￥45, Kids over 6 half price, and under 6 free. Do NOT buy incense, you get 3 for free per person when you enter the temple at the gate, make sure to look for it.
- Xiao He Zhi Jie 小河直街
This is a local spot, nice small river with old houses around the river. Many good small coffee or tea shops. If you are to sit in one of them, try to get the seat near the river outside, it’ll make for a much better experience.
Time: 2-4 hrs depending on your plan.
Price: Free to walk around, pay if you buy stuff.
- Zhejiang Province Museum or Hangzhou City Museum (2 different museums)
Lots of history and culture about Hangzhou and its surrounding area. Perfect for a rainy or super hot day. Lots of good historical artifacts. You will learn a lot about Hangzhou’s traditional craftsmanship and also how the city changed throughout the years. It will be a good place to learn what to buy as souvenirs. Note the Zhejiang Province museum have two locations, Gushan location is smaller while Zhijiang location is newer and bigger with more stuff to see.
Time: 2-3 hrs per museum.
Price: Ticket free but need reservation, many times if you carry foreign passport they'll let you in without registration cuz they know its hard to register for foreigners, but no guarantees.
- 宋城 Song City
A theme park for Song dynasty stuff. A show runs every night which is definitely worth going to. Its not just song dynasty stuff tho there are other things to see. If you have kids it will be a great experience, otherwise my suggestion is to see other things first, cuz if you go to Song City thats pretty much one entire day gone.
Time: half-one full day
Price: around ￥300 depending on your package.
— Food —
My favorite part!
It's a meme recent years in China that Hangzhou is a “desert for good food”, as a local, I disagree wholeheartedly! They are comparing Hangzhou to other major Chinese cities. Sure it doesn't have any nationally renowned dishes like Hotpot, Dim Sum or Peking Duck, BUT (BIG BUT) we do have some good local dishes. You gotta keep in mind Hangzhou is a small city historically nowhere near the size, population or political importance like Beijing (Peking), Nanjing (Nanking), Chongqing or Shanghai. When’s the last time you’ve heard of a Treaty of Hangzhou, or Battle of Hangzhou, that’s right, never. So a small city that recently got huge won’t have many national dishes, but unique local traditions do exist just like ever other city.
Traditional dishes:
- 东坡肉 Dongpo Rou (Dontpo Pork)
A braised port belly, sweet and salty, very good! Supposedly invented by an ancient mayor of Hangzhou, Su Dongpo, also a famous poet.
- 叫花鸡 Jiaohua Ji (The beggar’s chicken）
A chicken cooked in clay.
Story goes an Emperor got lost with his servants while visiting Hangzhou, when he is hungry and sleep on the street a beggar was cooking a chicken with hot clay over fire, he tried it and it was delicious so he brought the recipe back to court.
- 葱包桧 Cong Bao Hui（ Fried Dough with green onion)
A fried dough with green onion inside, usually coated with choice of sweet sauce or hot sauce. Story goes a very powerful yet very corrupt prime minister Qin Hui was so hated by the people of Hangzhou, they decided to use fried dough to represent Hui’s body and eat it. Hense the name Cong Bao Hui literally means: green onion wrap Hui.
- 龙井虾仁 Longjing Xia Ren (Dragon-well Tealeaf with Shrimp)
Dragon-well tea, most famous tea of HZ, cooked together with de-shelled shrimp. Very freindly to all groups and ages, very easy to eat, also it taste rerally good.
- 西湖醋鱼 Xi Hu Cu Yu (West Lake Vinegar Fish)
The ULTIMATE meme food of Hangzhou, everyone in China make fun of this dish for how bad it taste. Honest it doesn't taste great to me, who thought it was a good idea to put vinegar gravy over steamed fish (that is definitely not fished from the west lake)? Some people actually like the taste, idk at least not many locals like me like the dish. If you are living in Hangzhou for a while, definitely gotta try in even just for the experience. WARNING: It is a whole fish not a fillet, so there will be small bones in certain area, be careful eating it! If you dont want the fish, get the fish stew (宋嫂鱼羹 Song Sao Yu Geng) that is really good and no bones.
There are many more but as I mentioned I will limit to five for length purposes.
Restaurants:
Traditional Hangzhou food near west lake you can try 楼外楼（Lou wai lou) or 新新饭店（Xin Xin Fan Dian), 山外山（Shan Wai Shan) they offer all of the most traditional food.
Other Hangzhou Restaurants:
杭州酒家（Hangzhou Jiu Jia）for local traditional food as well.
奎元馆（Kui Yuan Guan) for local noodles.
知味观（Zhi Wei Guan）for dumplings, steamed buns and etc.
德铭饭店（De Ming Fan Dian） for a less tourist priced local food, but no reservation I believe only walk in.
外婆家（Grandma’s House), 新白鹿（Xin Bai Lu), 柒园（Qi Yuan）are all Hangzhou fusion food chained resturaunt, you will find them at almost every shopping centers.
Michelin One Star Resturaunts:
If you want bougie, there are few Michelin 1 star resturaunts for Hangzhou and Zhejiang Province food. Budget per person is 150-200 USD.
金沙厅（Jin Sha Ting）
One of my favorite spot for fancy HZ stuff, also the hardest place to make a reservation usually one month ahead. Fusion Hangzhou food meaning you’ll see lobsters and foreign wine but they do have traditional dishes. Close to West Lake as well. Great spot!
解香楼 (Xie Xiang Lou)
Also very good, its at south-east of West Lake in a nice resort area. Food is great the environment is great. Also a fusion place where Hangzhou food is cook with western techniques. Good spot as well, good for taking a stroll after dinner.
桂语山房 (Gui Yu Shan Fang)
Great service, but food is a hit or miss for me. Some food are great but others are not comparable to Jin Sha Ting. They have some very nice unique dishes. You will definitely be satisfied, its worth the price, but if you can find opening in the other two I’d say go to those first before trying this one.
P.s. I am not affiliated in any way with any restaurants I mentioned above, just coming from my personal experiences, so my recommendation is purely subjective.
— Gifts & Souvenirs—
Due to the rich cultural history of Hangzhou, there are lots of culturally recognizable items that the city is famous for. They are not big items so not going to be overly expensive or cumbersome. Great for bring back home and sharing with friends.
- Longjing Cha 龙井茶 (Dragon well Tea)
Thousand year old tea tradition in Hangzhou, the dragon well tea use to be the tea that emperors exclusively liked. It is a green tea that have numerous health benefits including detox, digestive support and help with mind clarity and much more. Ask any Chinese whats the most green tea in China, they will all say Dragon Well. You can get them at Longjing village, or any Hangzhou themed stores. It is unnecessary to buy any overly expensive ones tho, for non-regular drinkers there wont be much difference and the expensive ones are not worth the mark-up.
- “Wang Xing Ji” Fan 王星记扇子
Another famous Hangzhou brand with over 140 years of history. Extremely popular hand fans make of different kinds of wood and cloth (other materials as well). They have all kinds of style, some you can use as a daily lady’s fan, other are so well made you can put them on display on a shelf as a decoration. In each of my travel bag I have one of their fan just in case it got hot or humid. There are fans with image of Hangzhou, those make good memories. My personal one has west lake’s full view on it and a poem about west lake on the back side.
- Silk ware 丝绸 (Si Chou)
Silk ware, along with the fan, and dragon well tea make the three most distinguishable product from Hangzhou. There are silk scarf, silk dress, and silk knitted wall paintings. All of which are very pretty and elegant to have. You can even custom make a silk Qipao (a form of Chinese dress that is very elegant) if you are interested.
- Oil Paper Umbrellas 油纸伞 (You Zhi San)
When Chinese think of Souther China (where Hangzhou is located), they think of pretty sceneries, with waterways or lakes, and beautiful women wearing traditional dress and holding an Oil Paper Umbrella. It is how ancient and old China use as umbrella, made of bamboo/wood frame and beautifully color patterned paper coated with oil to be water resistant. They are very pretty since many have paintings over the paper.
- Zhang Xiao Quan Scissors 张小泉剪刀 (Zhangxiaoquan Jiandao)
Yup, scissors is actually a famous product of Hangzhou, with 400 years of scissor making history. Especially famous is the Zhang Xiao Quan brand, recognizable by its red or black handles and a sharp tip, it can be used to cut things from nails, paper, cloth, all the way to even seafood if you get the largest one. My house only use this scissors and ever since I was little we didn't use nail clippers to cut nails but use the smallest size scissors (apparently its weird in rest of China). NOTE: scissors dont go very far on planes, make sure to keep them in a checked luggage.
— Miscellaneous Travel Tips —
Payment
China is VERY cashless, most big institutions will take visa card, master should be ok overall. Smaller places that can’t take cards may take cash, but dont count of it cuz many dont have enough spare for change. Try to get Alipay or Wechat pay, it links with your card like apple pay and scans QR code for payment. They can also link with bus or subway system so you can pay with QR code too. Keep some cash as back up, then you should be all good.
Travel
Taxi
China’s ride-hail app is called Didi (fun fact Uber has a lot of shares in Didi), download the app, link a payment method, then you can use it just like any other hide hail app. You can also wave at any green taxi if they have a green light on the top showing they are empty, but its much better to call via app so you get set price and set route.
City-bike
you will see many yellow or blue and white bikes just sitting on the street. They are public bikes that you can ride and drop off wherever you stop. Use your Alipay or Wechat app to scan the QR code on the bike, register and you can ride. Don’t try to get the red ones, those you HAVE to return at a station, not worth the hassle.
Public Transit:
Assuming you have the QR payment set up AND have activated the Bus IC Card and Metro Card (two separate things) within the app, you can scan QR code at any station or on the bus and travel anywhere. Make sure to activate the ones that dont need deposit so you can just pay what you used. Metro is usually around 4-6 yuan itll get you around the city (one way), further away may go up to 10 yuan. Also keep in mind there are subway from the airport into the city, its a much cheaper option compared to taxi.
Living
From hostels (￥30-￥150) to regular hotels (￥250-￥500) to 5 star hotels (￥800-￥3000+), Hangzhou has it all. The city is very safe overall and all hotels are decent at their price range. With that being said obviously use your own discretion when you make decisions. If your mind is telling you its shady, it probably is.
Navigation
Unless you have an VPN, you will not have access to Google or other social media (Facebook/Ins, Youtube, X and etc.). So Google maps wont work. You can download Baidu Map, Gaode Map or navigation, they also have built in ride hail options.
Translation
You will definitely need it. If Google translate doesn't work, Use Baidu translate, just download the app and you ae good to go.
— Final Thoughts —
As a local, who is EXTREMELY proud and unapologetically biased towards Hangzhou, I welcome you with open arms, to check out what I think hands down the best city to live in China, a city full of history, culture, scenery and so much more. I've had many friends asking about Hangzhou and also saw many questions online, I'm happy to see it gaining attractions across the world so I'm putting my Friday night to to good use writing this, hopefully it helps anyone who want to come or is already in Hangzhou.
This is my city, there are many like this but this one is mine, my city is my best friend, and it is my life.
Warmest,
AZ
p.s.
I’m thinking to create a group chat on Wechat or Whatsapp or Facebook, let me know what platform most people are on and Ill get one going.
