See Hangzhou in five days with this itinerary

If you planning a trip to China I would recommend putting Hangzhou on your list of places to check out. There are many worthwhile temples to visit and the tea gardens are special too. Below is a break down of what I would recommend and what I wish I had known before I went. Follow this simple itinerary and you will be able to see Hangzhou in five days and could even do it in less if you don’t have the time.

Getting to Hangzhou

I flew from Beijing to Hangzhou late at night, my flight was however delayed due to the weather. The flight was about 2 hours which makes it the perfect place to do a quick trip to.

Where to stay

I would recommend staying near the West Lake, but don’t stay too close as you will get stuck in a mass of people. I stayed at the Jindi Hotel which is in Xihu District. This was a nice area as it was close enough to most places. There was a Western-style mall within a 10-minute drive if you wanted some Western food. There were many Chinese style restaurants nearby and it was about a 15-minute drive to the West Lake.

Getting around

One can of course use taxis or didi but I would recommend renting an electric bike. This will give you a lot of freedom and save you a lot of time. There are also many ride-share bikes on the side of the roads that you can grab and go with.

Top things to do

West Lake

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. The West Lake is well a big lake. One can walk around the side of the lake through some stunning gardens. There are also many tea shops and restaurants along the lake that you could eat at.

Longjing Village and tea gardens

I loved the tea gardens up in the mountains. It was so calming and fresh. The tea gardens are about a ten minute drive from the West Lake. However on the weekends and the public holidays the traffic can make than a two hour drive. This is where having an electric bike comes in handy. See more about the tea gardens here

Xiaohe Zhijie Historical and Cultural district

This is a block of old stye Chinese buildings along the river that have been turned into cafes and stores. It was a lovely little place to walk around. Again it is close by to the West Lake so one could easy ride a bike there an back. Traffic in this area is rather busy.

Shangtianzhu Temple

This was my favourite stop to see in Hangzhou. It was the most peaceful temple I had been to in a long time. The yellow walls made the temple stand out. I would highly recommend getting there by 7am as it will get busy. Also this temple is just past the West Lake which means traffic also will get very busy around there.

If you in China you should of course check out Hangzhou and this simple itinerary will let you see Hangzhou in five days.

Subscribe here for the whole free guide and find three extra exciting places to check out.