Central Hangzhou

"Above is heaven, below are Suzhou and Hangzhou": the Ten Scenes of West Lake, Lingyin Temple and Longjing tea plantations, plus the Southern Song Imperial Street, the Grand Canal and the Liangzhu ruins.

Hangzhou is the capital of Zhejiang Province, on the southern flank of the Yangtze River Delta, at the lower reaches of the Qiantang River and the southern end of the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal. West Lake, on the west side of the city, is ringed by hills on three sides, while the east is the Qiantang River and the modern skyline of Qianjiang New City. The climate is subtropical monsoon: March–April brings Su Causeway spring scenery, tulips at Taizi Bay and Longjing tea picking, and September–October brings the osmanthus rain and fragrance of Manjuelong, the best time to travel; mid-to-late June is the plum rain season, July–August is sweltering but West Lake's lotus is in bloom; winter is damp and cold. The sights fall into five areas: first, the West Lake scenic area (Broken Bridge and Bai Causeway, Gushan, Su Causeway, Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, Leifeng Pagoda, Viewing Fish at Flower Pond, Yue Fei Temple), the soul of Hangzhou, worth at least a full day; second, the hills west of West Lake: Lingyin Temple and Feilai Peak, Faxi Temple, Longjing Village and the Tea Museum, Nine Creeks in a Misty Forest, Yunqi Bamboo Path, Hupao Spring and Liuhe Pagoda, good for hiking and tea; third, the old town: Hefang Street, the Southern Song Imperial Street, the Former Residence of Hu Xueyan and Chenghuang Pavilion on Wu Hill; fourth, the Grand Canal's Gongchen Bridge in the north of the city, and in the west Xixi Wetland, the Liangzhu ruins and the Hangzhou National Edition Library; fifth, the Qianjiang New City balcony light show, Xianghu Lake in Xiaoshan and the Song Dynasty Town shows. Qiandao Lake, Moganshan, Wuzhen and Xitang, and Shaoxing are all separate destinations, reachable from Hangzhou in 1–2 hours by high-speed train or bus. Getting there: Xiaoshan Airport has direct metro service to the city on Lines 1 and 7 (about 1 hour); Hangzhou East is the high-speed rail hub, and Hangzhou Railway Station (Chengzhan) is close to West Lake. The metro is dense, buses and shared bikes are convenient around West Lake, and the lakeside bike loop is about 10 km; the West Lake area restricts vehicles by odd and even license plates on holidays, so driving is not recommended. We suggest 3–4 days: Day 1, around West Lake; Day 2, Lingyin–Faxi Temple–Longjing–Nine Creeks; Day 3, Hefang Street and the Grand Canal; Day 4, Xixi Wetland or Liangzhu, then a Song Dynasty Town show in the evening. Notes: West Lake is free to enter, but Leifeng Pagoda, boat tickets to Three Pools Mirroring the Moon and Lingyin Temple charge separately; most museums are free but need reservations and close on Mondays.

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