Hangzhou Travel Guide: West Lake, Lingyin Temple, Longjing

Longjing, “Dragon Well”, is both a village and China’s most famous green tea, grown on the hills just west of the lake. Longjing village and Meijiawu are 15 to 30 minutes by taxi from the west shore. Walk between the terraces and drink a glass in a farmhouse with the leaves floating in it. The first picking, before the Qingming festival in early April, is the one people pay silly money for.

One of the great Buddhist temples of southern China, founded in the 4th century and rebuilt many times since, in a wooded valley west of the lake. On the way in you pass Feilai Feng, a limestone hill with hundreds of Buddhas carved into it between the 10th and 14th centuries. Entry has been free since December 2025, but only with a booked time slot. On weekends and holidays taxis can’t drive in by day, and a shuttle bus does the last stretch. Give the two half a day.

Hangzhou is the southern end of the Grand Canal, the 1,800 km waterway that fed the capitals in the north. Gongchen Bridge, built in 1631, marks the end of it. Take the canal water bus up from the city and come back at dusk, when the old warehouses along the bank are lit.

Pork belly braised for hours in soy, rice wine and sugar until it wobbles, named after the same Su Shi who built the causeway. One cube is a meal.

A whole grass carp poached and covered in a sweet-and-sour sauce. Hangzhou’s signature dish, and the one visitors argue about most.

River shrimp stir-fried with fresh Longjing tea leaves. Light, pale and a little bitter.

Late March to May brings green willows and the tea harvest. October is clear and mild, and from late September the osmanthus trees flower; Manjuelong, a village in the hills above the lake, is where people go to smell them.

June brings the plum rains, weeks of grey drizzle. July and August are hot and humid, but the lotuses are out.

Most fast trains stop at Hangzhou East: 45 minutes from Shanghai Hongqiao on the fastest, about four and a half hours from Beijing South. Metro Line 1 runs from under the station to Longxiangqiao, by the lake, in about 20 minutes.

Xiaoshan airport is about 30 km east of the lake. Metro Line 19 with one change, or a taxi, takes about an hour.

Around the lake, walk. For the hills, take a taxi or Didi, which has an English interface and takes foreign cards. Shared bikes unlock from Alipay once your passport is verified in the app.

Alipay was started here, and everyone pays with it or WeChat Pay; both take foreign cards. Metro signs are in English. Menus in small restaurants usually aren’t.

On a first visit, stay on the east shore around Hubin and Longxiangqiao: the lake is a walk away, the metro is underneath, and restaurants stay open late. Hefang Street, a restored old shopping street just south, is the other easy base.

For quiet, try guesthouses in the tea villages west of the lake. You’ll need taxis, but the terraces are outside your door.

1. Day 1. The lake: the Broken Bridge and the Bai Causeway early, the Su Causeway on foot, a boat to Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, and sunset facing Leifeng Pagoda.
2. Day 2. Lingyin Temple and Feilai Feng in the morning, booked ahead, then a taxi to Longjing village for tea. Take the canal water bus to Gongchen Bridge for dusk.