Hangzhou.
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Overview

Hangzhou (杭州; ɦaŋ-tsei in Wu, Hángzhōu in Mandarin) is the capital of Zhejiang province. It is one of the most important tourist cities in China, famous for its natural beauty and historical and cultural heritage.

Hangzhou serves as the political, economic, and cultural center of Zhejiang province. It is a prosperous and highly developed city that attracts many migrants from less affluent provinces seeking employment opportunities. The city experiences high humidity during the summer months, from early June to early September. It has also emerged as a secondary tech hub for China, being home to the corporate headquarters of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and its founder Jack Ma.

Understand

Hangzhou, known for its natural scenery, including West Lake (西湖; Xīhú), has been celebrated by poets and artists throughout history. The city served as the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty from 1127 until the Mongol conquest in 1276. During this period, its population is estimated to have reached around one million, making it one of the largest cities in the world at the time. Marco Polo visited the city, describing it as one of the finest in the world. In 2011, the West Lake Cultural Landscape was designated a .

Over time, as the city's harbor silted up, much of its trade and industry shifted north to nearby Shanghai. However, Hangzhou remains a bustling city with a population of approximately 8.7 million and continues to be one of China's most popular tourist destinations.

Talk

The local language in Hangzhou is Wu Chinese, commonly referred to today as Shanghainese, though each city in the region has its own variation. Wu Chinese is spoken across a broad area, including much of East China, and is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin (Standard Chinese) or other Chinese dialects. However, most people in Hangzhou are bilingual, speaking both the local dialect and Mandarin. As a major coastal city, Hangzhou also has many migrants from other provinces who primarily speak Mandarin. For most interactions, speaking Mandarin will allow effective communication with nearly everyone in the city, except for a small number of elderly or rural residents.

English is not widely spoken, though staff at higher-end hotels may have a basic understanding. It is advisable to have the names of your destinations written in Chinese to show to taxi drivers, and carrying a business card from your hotel is helpful for returning without difficulty.

Get in

The airport is located approximately 30 km east of Hangzhou's city center, and the journey by taxi typically takes between 30 and 60 minutes. When returning to the airport, it is a good idea to confirm with the driver if they are willing to take the trip before loading your luggage.

The shuttle bus also stops at the main railway station en route. Buses run every 30 minutes during the daytime and take about an hour; join the queue for your ticket at the booth just outside the exit before boarding the bus.

Buses from the airport run 07:30 — 09:30: every 30 minutes 09:30 — 17:00: every 15 minutes 17:00 — 21:00: every 20 minutes After 21:00: every 30 minutes

The times refer to waiting time from the first passenger boarding the bus. After all the seats are taken, the bus takes off within 30, 20 or 15 minutes.

Shanghai Airport The main international airport for the region is Pudong International Airport in Shanghai. There are direct buses to Hangzhou, which take a couple of hours, or alternatively, you can take a train to Shanghai and then use the metro or a taxi to reach the airport. These buses arrive at the Hangzhou Yellow Dragon Sports Center, located about 3 km west of the city center. The reverse trip, from Hangzhou to Pudong Airport, is also available, with buses departing from the Yellow Dragon Sports Center and the Hangzhou Xiaoshan Bus Ticket Office on Tiyuchang Road, near Wulin Square, next to KFC.

Shanghai's other airport, Hongqiao, primarily serves domestic flights and is located adjacent to Hongqiao Railway Station, which offers high speed train services to Hangzhou.

There are also trains from Guangzhou, Beijing, Chengdu, and everywhere in between. There is a main (locally known as Chengzhan) at the end of the line as well, reopened after a period of renovation although it lacks the facilities of Hangzhou East, as well as serving fewer trains.

By bus Hangzhou has four bus stations (N, E - "Jiubao" on Shengjia Rd, W, and S). Usually, the direction of your destination corresponds to the bus station's name, e.g. if you are going to Shanghai, you will want the East Bus Station. If you are going to Huangshan, buses leave from the West Bus Station; Nanjing is served by a frequent service from the North Station, and so on. Wuzhen (90 min by bus, frequent morning departures) is now serviced by Jiubao Bus station, no longer the defunct Genshan Xilu bus station. Bus K12 then bus K101 can also make the trip, allow 90 min to arrive at the Jiubao bus stn, and another 90 min to get to Wūzhen.

These buses arrive at the north bus station of Hangzhou.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport : direct long distance bus from the Airport to Hangzhou on Tiyuchang Rd, avoiding transfer via Shanghai. From Arrivals in the Airport, follow the clearly marked signs to the Long Distance Coach Terminal (well after the Maglev Terminal) and take the elevator down one level to the concourse. Hourly departures, on the hour in the evenings. Last departure is 21:00.

To Shanghai Pudong International Airport: There are buses between Yellow Dragon Stadium and Pudong Airport (direct) and Wulinmen Ticket Office and Pudong Airport (with a stop en route at Hongqiao). Tickets can be purchased at the area with all the buses in front of the Yellow Dragon Stadium or at the Wulinmen Ticket office near the KFC on Tiyuchang Rd.

By boat The overnight boat service between Hangzhou and Suzhou/Wuxi is no longer available. However, you can still take a ferry along the Hangzhou-Beijing Grand Canal to areas north of the main part of Hangzhou (refer to the "water taxi" section below for more information).

Get around

The easiest way around Hangzhou is the metro system, with 13 lines and 270 stations operational, covering 516 km as of August 2024.

By bus Hangzhou has an extensive bus network. Bus schedules, routes, and on-board announcements are all in Chinese.

There are a number of bus types. As of 2012, these include:

Routes without a letter prefix generally have no air conditioning (though there are some exceptions, like route 900) and should be avoided May–September. They are heated during winter. Routes with a "K" prefix are air-conditioned May–September, and heated December–February. Routes with a "B" prefix are part of the new Bus Rapid Transit system. These buses are roomier than the usual municipal buses, but are not much more rapid. Most start running at 21:00 and end around 06:00.

You are expected to board via the front doors and leave through the rear (with the exception of the B routes). Buses have very little empty space even when they are not full (which is not common), so do not plan on bringing baby strollers or other cumbersome items. Be prepared at all times for fast turns and sudden braking. The suspension usually is not up to modern standards, and the driving can be aggressive.

By taxi Hangzhou has a large number of taxis which allow for quick and convenient travel within the city proper. Most of the city's taxis are turquoise-green in colour, and easily identifiable by the word Taxi printed in both English and Chinese on the vehicles. Taxis for hire are marked by the green (or sometimes yellow-orange) light-up signs above the dashboard on each car.

Hangzhou taxi drivers almost always use the meter as required by law. Hangzhou taxis are notoriously expensive compared to other Chinese cities. Avoid the taxi touts at the train station and major tourist attractions, and instead use the designated taxi queue or flag one off the street.

Hardly any of the city's taxi drivers speak English or any other foreign language, and it's important that you be able to point out your destination on a map, present the driver with the name of the destination (in written Chinese), or properly pronounce the name of the destination in Chinese.

Hangzhou taxis are not allowed to carry more than four passengers, although you may be able to convince or bribe a driver to allow you to "hide" an extra passenger on the back seat. This can be worth the trouble or expense if it saves your group from needing to take two taxis. It's also not unusual, especially at late or slow hours for the taxi driver to collect multiple customers to make the journey more profitable. This will normally be explained in Chinese. This is uncommon at normal hours, however.

Like all public transport, taxis are difficult to come by during the tourist weeks (Chinese New Year, May Golden Week, and October National Week); also, available taxis at 07:30-08:45 and 16:30-19:00, and every time it rains, are difficult to find, as they are always full or in the middle of a shift change. A taxi with an imminent shift change - which usually occurs about 15:00-17:00 - will be showing a plate in the windscreen (Chinese characters of course) and will only take you if your route coincides with theirs. Being familiar with areas that taxis frequent or places where taxi passengers are likely to be dropped off will aid you in finding a ride. Try not to get upset when your hailing position is gazumped by a new arrival 20 metres before you on the road. The only rule is: it is the quick and the dead.

Taxi drivers will also negotiate for long distance trips, or full-day/half-day hiring.

In outer centres of Hangzhou, small five seater vans are usually available at bus terminals for onward transfers. These operate quite independently and the normal taxi rules do not apply.

By water bus Ferry down the Grand Canal takes 30 minutes but only makes 5 trips per day, the first at 07:30 and the last at 18:00. It starts at Wulin Gate/West Lake Culture Plaza and ends at Gongchen Bridge, with one stop at Xinyifang Grand Canal Culture Plaza. The boats stop first at Xinyifang, then to the newly developed Canal Culture Square, where you can see the Canal Museum, see if there are any events in the square, and check out the new Xiaohe Street- a series of "historical" alleys with shops and restaurants similar to Hangzhou's Hefang Street; the area's renovation was completed in 2008.

While really worth taking the trip, Hangzhou now has plans to connect a series of canals and streams throughout the city with the Grand Canal, West Lake, Yuhang River, and Qiantang River, making for increased water transport and a Venetian feel when completed.

There are also passenger boats running along the Grand Canal from near the Qiantang River

The boats are available in Hubin #X (1, 3, 6) parks and other obviously marked areas all over the lake.

While traffic in Hangzhou may seem chaotic to some foreigners, the city is comparatively bike-friendly. All but small side roads have dedicated bike lanes, often divided from motor traffic by barricades or medians.

Making use of the city's extensive public bike system can be a cheap and convenient way to experience the city. There are many different brands seen throughout Hangzhou, such as HelloBike (red-white or blue-white, by Alipay), the yellow Meituan bike or green Qingju bike.

Quality is hit or miss, but if you are lucky, you can find one in good working order. Blue and white ones are usually better than red and white ones.

There is also a better maintained brand of bikes that you will see at dark green colored stations. These fire-engine-red public bikes are ubiquitous on the street of Hangzhou, and the rental stations that dispense them are generously spread across the core of the city and around West Lake, stretching all the way up to the suburbs and down to the river near the Six Harmonies Pagoda. The one disadvantage to these bikes is that you must park them at a station and walk the rest of the way.

To use the bikes, you'll need to purchase a stored value card at one of 5 sites, for example 20 Longxiang Qiao across from the Agricultural Bank of China. If you have trouble finding it, go to the Hyatt and ask for directions; they will point you down the correct street. Also, each bike station gives out free tourist maps including a bike map that shows all the bike stations around the city. Bikes may then be rented by tapping the card against one of the automated bike racks holding the bikes. A beep and the audible sound of the rack unlocking will indicate that the bike can be removed. You can use any of the available bike racks scattered about the city, if you wish to visit an attraction or get a new bike.

IC Cards or the bike rental cards can also be used on local buses (9% discount on public buses).

Be careful to choose a bike with air in the front and back wheels, working brakes and appropriate seat height. However none of the bikes were designed for reasonably tall people, so if you have long legs you may end up chaffing your knees on the handlebars. During rush hour, local residents also actively use the bikes. Therefore, most bike stalls will be full and you might not easily find a station with empty racks to return your bike.

Bikes are returned by reinserting them into an empty bike rack and tapping one's card against the top of the rack. Another beep, a solid green light, and the sound of the rack locking will indicate when the bike has been received successfully. Make sure the bike rack lock receives your bike; it is doesn't, the bike won't be registered returned in the system, and you will lose both your bike rental and deposit money and get no refund. The system opens for business at 06:00, and bikes not returned by 21:00 each night must be taken back to the Longxiang Qiao location (open 24/7) - so keep an eye on the clock during evening rides. After ten days from purchase of the card, it may be returned for an 89% refund.

It is perfectly acceptable to rent bikes and return them within the hour and then immediately rent another bike so you never have to pay anything.

Plan ahead if staying out late. You will sometimes find that bikes are hard to find around tourist hotspots such as West Lake after 10-11pm, as most patrons have already ridden them home.

Maps bought on the street are generally in simplified Chinese and do not include pinyin. For pinyin maps, you can visit foreign language bookstores or magazine stalls around West Lake. The main foreign language bookstore on Yan An Road offers a good selection of maps and travel books.

A tourist information booth near Wulin Square Metro Station (Line 1) provides bilingual tourist maps. If you walk south past Hangzhou Tower until you reach Shuguang Road, you should find an olive green booth. While English is not widely spoken there, staff will be happy to assist if you request a map by saying "dìtú."

See

West Lake. Hangzhou's most famous scenic sight. It is traditional to see the 10 Scenes of the West Lake and 10 New Scenes, and thousands of the visitors dutifully do so every year. However, these particular sites are overrated, and often seasonal (Snowfall Over Broken Bridge, etc.). Rather than make a checklist and walking back and forth looking for them, simply spend a clear day wandering the circumference of the lake and the causeways, take a ferry to the islands, and you will probably cover most of the sites anyway. The lake is quite large: the walk around it is about 12 km long.

The Ten Scenes of West Lake (西湖十景) include:

Spring Dawn at Su Causeway. Almost 3 km long, the Su causeway dates from the year 1189 and has a bunch of willows and peach trees. It is long north-south causeway that starts by the Shangri-La on Beishan Road and goes all the way down to Nanshan Road.

Wind and Lotus at the Crooked Courtyard (in Summer). At the west of West Lake, just in front of the Yuemiao (岳庙), in it there are a lot of shops.

Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake. A traditional place to see the full moon reflected in the water.

Lingering Snow on Broken Bridge. The Broken Bridge is the most elegant and romantic site in West Lake. When it is snowing, the hole of the bridge just like the bridge is broken. The classic view of West Lake seen from the Broken Bridge is quite fascinating, and the Legend of the White Snake (a famous Chinese legend which takes place here) also brings this ancient bridge much more charm of culture and history.

Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow. The pagoda (see below for full description) is lit up at night. It is best viewed from across the lake, for example from the spot indicated here.

Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds. The view of the highest mountains north and south of the lake, which can rise above the clouds.

Orioles Singing in the Willows. A large park at Qingbomen (清波门), when orioles can be heard singing.

Viewing Fish at Flower Pond. Its famous points are fishes, flowers and ponds.

Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon. Built in the early 1600s, this is the largest island on the lake. When there is a full moon, candles inside the pagodas are lit, and in the candle light it appears as though you see the moonlight (if you are romantic enough to see it), hence the name.

Evening Bell Ringing on Nanping Hill. A powerful bell in a temple on a mountain, rung at dusk. One does not need to visit the bell, it can be heard across the lake.

Boat Ride. There are numerous providers of boat rides on the lake. The official tour operator sells tickets from official ticket stalls for boat trips covered by insurance, with clear pricing and which covers all parts of the lake. There are lots of private gondola rides with varying insurance coverage, range and prices.

Mid-Lake Pavilion. Built in 1552, it is the oldest island in Hangzhou. There is an inscription by the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong.

Lord Ruan's Mound. An island made by piling dirt dredged from the lake 200 years ago. At night (summer), entertainment activities take place in the garden on the island.

Hubin Parks. Hubin Parks 1, 3, 6, and probably the numbers in between, are the parks between Hubin Road and the West Lake. Relatively newly designed as the West Lake Tunnel that goes underneath was being built in early 2004, these parks are good to sit for a bit, buy ice cream or a newspaper, and most importantly hire a boat from the cluster of boat docks at each park.

Bai Causeway. Starting at the eastern end of Beishan Road, this cause way leads to Solitary Hill and cuts off the distances between, say, Hubin Road and the Shangri La.

Guo's Villa. One of the best traditional private gardens in Hangzhou. It is one of the garden masterpieces of Jiangnan (the lower region of the Yangtze River) thanks to its incomparable surroundings and the smartly managed garden space. The garden develops as you enter further into it with regular switches between tight, closed spaces and sudden, open ones. The key feature, or spirit, is water. Cleverly juxtaposing shade and light, curved and straight, yin and yang, the garden of Guo Zhuang is a wonderful embodiment of the Chinese wisdom of Tao and the Way of Nature. The teahouse, Liang Yi Xuan (两宜轩 Belvedere of Both Good) sits in a prime viewing spot within the garden between two superb water "yards", one large and the other small. While there are plenty of "old villas" in China to visit—and many are similar—this one is also on the shore of the West Lake.

Solidary Hill And Zhongshan Park. Where Lou Wai Lou restaurant is located, this is the only natural island on the lake. At least three emperors constructed palaces are here. Besides an expensive restaurant, the popular area is the home of the Xiling Seal-Engravers' Society, and the seals, calligraphy, engraving-masters, and relics that go along with it.

Yanggong Causeway. This is more than 3 km long and one road west of the Su Causeway. It starts at the intersection of Beishan and Shuguang Road (which becomes Yanggong Causeway once you are south of this intersection); the causeway runs north-south. Yanggong Causeway includes Quyuan Garden (aka Qu Garden aka Qu Courtyard), which is the most popular spot to see tons of lotus blossoms (late spring > summer). The water area to the west of the top of Yanggong Causeway is Maojiabu Scenic area, with orchids blended into the water scenery. Another tourist spot on Yanggong Causeway is Mr. Guo's Villa, which was built in 1907 and is considered one of the most "classical" gardens in Hangzhou. At the southern end of the causeway, just before Nanshan Road, is a fish-viewing pond.

King Qian's Memorial. Five kings of the Wuyue Kingdom are buried here in this memorial on the south end of the lake off Nanshan Road.

Zhejiang Provincial Museum. The largest comprehensive museum in Zhejiang province. Contains many rarely-seen treasures from Zhejiang, especially the celadon porcelains. It shows the elite culture of traditional China in Jiangnan region. In the museum, there is a self-service rental Museum collection guide.

Zhejiang West Lake Gallery. A famous art education and exhibition center in Zhejiang province, near the classic site of Ping Hu Qiu Yue.

The English Corner. alongside the West lake is a special place for people to talk with different people in different languages. Everything could be something to talk about here, there is no difference between people and people, and people that are communicating here share their own experience, own anecdote, and own perspectives toward a specific topic. This is just somewhere for people to recreate and communicate, as well as getting known about the mutual cultures.

Dancing fountains. Very well-designed choreography.

Qiandao Lake. Qiandao Lake, the Xin'an River Reservoir, is located in Chun'an County, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. A small part of it connects to the northwest of Jiande City, Hangzhou City. It is an artificial lake formed to block the upper reaches of the Xin'an River to build the Xin'an River Hydropower Station. After the completion of the Xin'an River Reservoir, the dam intercepted the upper reaches of the Xin'an River into a huge lake. The mountains flooded into the lake and became large and small islands, with a total of 1,078 islands, hence the name "Thousand Island Lake". Qiandao Lake is divided into six tourist areas: Southeast Lake District, Central Lake District, Northwest Lake District, Southwest Lake District, Northeast Lake District, and Shilin Scenic Area.In 1955, the construction of Xin'anjiang Reservoir began. In 1959, Xin'anjiang Hydropower Station sealed the hole to store water. In 1960, the Xin'an River Reservoir was completed. On December 15, 1984, the Zhejiang Provincial Place Names Committee officially named the Xin'an River Reservoir "Thousand Island Lake". Thousand Island Lake is one of the three thousand island lakes in the world. The dam of Qiandao Lake Reservoir is 105 metres high and 462 metres long; the reservoir is about 150 kilometres long and more than 10 kilometres wide; the deepest part is more than 100 metres, with an average water depth of 30.44 metres. Under normal water level conditions, the area is about 580 square kilometres, and the water storage capacity can reach 17.8 billion cubic metres. At the highest water level, it has There are 1078 land bridge islands larger than 0.25 square kilometres, mainly small islands below 2 square kilometres, with a total area of 409 square kilometres. In 2010, Qiandao Lake Scenic Area was announced as a national AAAAA-level tourist attraction by the National Tourism Administration.

China Tea Museum. These relics have become the objects of collection and collection of the museum. There are 170 ancient and modern tea specimens and 349 foreign tea sets. As of the end of 2019, the China Tea Museum had 3,865 pieces/sets of collections, including 156 precious cultural relics.

704 project (704工程). A secret military command center built by Lin Biao in April 1970, hence the name "704" project. The underground tunnels cover more than with many heavy doors that could withstand nuclear and gas attack, and an elevator that directly reaches Lin Biao's bedroom.

Baochu Pagoda. A stone pagoda located on Gem Hill (宝石山), just off Beishan road. You cannot climb the pagoda, but the view and surrounding Baoshi Hill are awesome.

Baopu Taoist Temple. The only Taoist temple in eastern China, also located on the Gem Hill, on the north side of West Lake Scenic Area. It is a large architectural complex comprised of different themed halls. Every year, many Taoist festivals are held here, and the temple is also very popular with tourists.

Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, (圣母无原罪主教座堂 Shengmu Wuyuanzui Zhujiaozuotang) or simply "Catholic Church" (天主堂 Tianzhutang) is at 415 Zhongshan North Rd., near Tianshuiqiao (天水桥) bus stop. It holds mass in English every Saturday evening. Chongyi Church, (崇一堂 Chóngyī táng) is one of the largest Protestant churches in China. The name, translated into English, means "Worship the one and only true God." It was dedicated in 2005 and can accommodate up to 7,000 attendees, welcoming many international visitors and guest preachers including Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham. Confucius Temple— is a mixture of Confucius Memorial and Stele Forest. Hangzhou Confucius Temple is the center of Hangzhou citizens to memorize Confucius and site of holding related ceremonies. It is near to Wushan Square and featured of the classical gardens.

Jade Emperor Hill. One of the least-visited sites in Hangzhou despite its somewhat central location. The main temple on top of the hill offers a wonderful view of the city and lake below, and has a restaurant next door. There is another temple partway up the hill. The area can provide a quiet escape and a nice hike, as well as the chance to visit one of the few Daoist sites in the area (most other local temples are Buddhist). It is located directly south of Leifeng Pagoda. The main entrance isn't far from the Silk Museum. If you are playing along with the "10 Scenes of the West Lake" scavenger hunt still, the one that applies to the top of this hill is "clouds flying over Jade Emperor Hill".

Jingci Temple. Just off Nanshan Road, built in 954, the Jingci Temple has a huge 10-ton bell inside. Located on Nanping Road, they ring the bell 108 times here to ring in Chinese New Year. It is also rung every evening for much fewer times. Jingci Temple is the site of the legend of the miraculous well, which can be seen on the grounds of the temple.

Leifeng Pagoda. On the shores of the southeast side of the lake and built in the year 977, all that remains of the original pagoda is the crumbling foundation, viewable from outside the glass case that it is housed in (Pagoda Remains Memorial Museum at the bottom floor of the pagoda). With escalators, elevators, and a totally new pagoda places on top of the foundation, there is not much to see within the pagoda, which was rebuilt in 2000. However, the view of the city skyline is one of the best from here, and some of the smaller seating areas around the perimeter of the pagoda have a nice breeze and view of the structure. One of the 10 Scenes of the West Lake is "Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow", but this is best viewed from a distance (across the lake) just after sunset. If you don't pay to go in, you can still take pictures in front of it.

Lingyin Temple. Meaning "heart of the soul's retreat", this temple west of the West Lake is an active Buddhist temple at the bottom of a hill. Nearby you can take a chairlift to the top of the hill where there is another temple (walking up is also an easy set of stairs below the chairlift). This is one of the 3 oldest and most famous temples in China. There are hundreds of Buddhist stone statues carved into the cliffs in the "Peak Flying from Afar" section next door.

Liuhe Pagoda. Down by the Qiantang River, about a 15-minute cab ride from the lake in light traffic, but it is a pretty road to drive down through all the tunnels and tea fields. Besides the pagoda itself, which is arguably the most prominent of all the temples and pagodas in Hangzhou, there is an adjacent park with hundreds of realistic replicas of the world's most famous pagodas, complete with mini-sized trees in front of the pagoda models.

Three Temples of Tianzhu Hill, (天竺三寺) — consists of Fajing Temple, Faxi Temple and Fajing Temple. They are quite close to Lingyin Temple. Local people usually prefer to go here for praying or meditation instead of Lingyin Temple, because these temples are quite more tranquil than Lingyin Temple, which is always crowded by tourists.

Feilaifeng Grottoes. 209 meters (about 700 feet) tall, is a pure limestone mountain that is very distinctive from the sandstone mountains around it. Large stones scattered along the peak are said to resemble animals like a flying dragon, a running elephant, a crouching tiger, and a fleeing monkey. On the other side of the peak, a pavilion named Cui Wei was erected to immortalize the national hero Yue Fei. This man contributed greatly in the war against Jin Tribe during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).The pavilion was destroyed many times before the large restoration of 1942. The current pavilion keeps its old face with fresh paint.

Yue-Wang Temple. A popular temple on the north-west shore of West Lake. It was originally constructed in 1221 in memory of General Yue Fei, who lost his life due to political persecution.

Fenghuang Temple. One of the oldest mosques in China, the current construction at the intersection of Xihu Avenue (西湖大道) and the Central Zhongshan Road (中山中路) dating back 700 years to the Yuan dynasty.

Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea Fields. Longjing and other tea fields further west are best visited during the harvest period, usually from the first week of March till after May Holiday, when everyone is out in the field picking tea and the tea that you can purchase is of the best quality (tea crops from later in the year have had their leaves damaged by the rain). Entrance to the fields is free of charge.

Hangzhou Botanical Gardens. If you can't make it to Suzhou, these gardens aren't bad, especially in the spring and during the brief period when the leaves change in the fall. There is also a peacock farm, some nice ponds, and basically a wide range of plants and ecosystems to walk through. The redwood tree that Nixon donated during his visit has since died (in 2001). The flower nursery is also nearby.

Xixi National Wetlands Park. Opened in May 2005, this wetlands park is in the extreme west part of the city past the west bus station. One of the easiest ways to get there would be to take a bus from Huanglong Soccer Stadium. While it may be somewhat out of the way and the road signs have the English translation as an uninviting "Xixi Swamp", this area is not to be missed, as there are not many tourists, and it is a great way to see birds and other wildlife. The birds are especially beautiful and varied.

Dreaming of the Tiger Spring. A spring as well as a scenic and historic destination. The area includes wooded pathways, streams, bamboo groves, tea houses, historic structures, as well as the spring itself and other sights.

Hangzhou Zoo. It has pandas and more and is located just south of the lake. Animals treatment here is poor. Besides a few animals which have good cages (mostly water-animals) it has terrible conditions for the panda, most bears and other larger animals like the elephants. Still, they made improvements compared to a few years ago, and it seems it's mostly the missing support of larger investments that seems to hinder further development in a better zoo. The entrance fee includes a circus-style animal show with tigers, lions, bears and elephants that is particularly entertaining for children (if a little depressing for adults).

Zhongshan Park. It used to be the West Lake Temporary Imperial Palace of Qing Dynasty. It is close to Zhejiang Museum and Xiling Society of Seal Arts. The historic sites of the imperial palace are well protected and available easily.

Wushan Square. Wushan Square and Wushan Hill are major town centres in Hangzhou. The view from the top is excellent on a clear day, and there are also trails around the hills from behind the pagoda. The pagoda itself has been modernized with an elevator and nice open-air tea house at the top, but the original bell is still intact and in use. This area also features easy access to Hefang Jie shopping street at the base of the hill, full of small pedestrian streets and shopping stalls. It is also extremely close to the West Lake.

Song Dynasty Town. A Song dynasty-themed amusement park, approximately 21 minutes from city center. It has numerous cultural performances for tourists, and has also been used as an outdoor film set for historical dramas. Located at 148 Zhijiang Road, across the bank of Qiantang River.

Huanglong Cave. On the northern side of Baochu hill near the soccer stadium. This is one of the "New Ten Scenes of The West Lake".

Liyuan. A famous village in Fuyang. It is the original place for paper making. The special local products of Liyuan are mao bamboo and bamboo shoot. Many people came here just want to dig some bamboo shoot. Also, there has a famous mountain named Changpu mountain. This mountain does not very huge or high but it is extremely beautiful. The bamboo with green leaves never stop swing among the wind and the water is really clean that can be drunk straightly. Although in this place, there are no big restaurants or hotels, all the villagers are willing to offer a room for visitors. So that visitors do not worry about the residence.

Huqingyutang Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum. The only themed museum with traditional Chinese medicine in China. Huqingyutang is also a traditionally famous medicine store keeping the traditional medicine culture of ancient China. It was created by Hu Xueyan, a representative of Huizhou merchants.

Qianjiang new city. Hangzhou's new business district, including many high rise buildings and some great modern architecture.

Tianducheng. A neighborhood built in Parisian style, including a 108 m replica of Eiffel Tower, fountains and landscaping.

Museum of Chinese Go. A museum about go (Chinese: 围棋 wéiqí), a classic Chinese board game. The museum is run by the Hangzhou Branch of the China Chiyuan, an umbrella organization for traditional board/card games. Information is available in both Chinese and English.

Zhejiang Museum of Natural History. Due to limitations on visitor numbers, visitors are encouraged to make a booking on WeChat before visiting the museum. However, this might not be practical to do if you can't read Chinese, as the booking system is in Chinese only. The museum has another branch in Anji.

Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Museum. A museum about the Grand Canal of China.

Former Residence of Hu Xueyan. A traditional Chinese mansion and Jiangnan-style garden, construction in 1872.

Liangzhu is a suburb of Hangzhou with a major archaeological site where an ancient city is being excavated. It is a .

The Liangzhu Culture flourished throughout the region around Lake Tai 3400-2250 BCE, about the same time as cities such as Thebes, Nineveh and Mohenjo-daro further West, and before the first dynasties of the Chinese Empire. They are now known mainly by the high-quality jade artifacts they left behind. In some ways they were quite advanced for the period, with extensive irrigation and some cities, and their influence seems to have extended as far as Shanxi and Guangdong. However, they were still a Neolithic (late Stone Age) culture; they were to be the last such culture in this region.

DNA studies show that these people were of the Austronesian ethnic group, more closely related to today's indigenous Taiwanese, Filipinos, Malays, Indonesians and Polynesians than to modern Chinese. This region was probably one of the sources for that group's migration into the Pacific.

Liangzhu Museum. The spatial layout of the Liangzhu site is centered on the city site, with graded cemeteries (including altars) distributed on Yaoshan Mountain, about 5 kilometers northeast of the city site, and on the terraces of Fanshan, Jiangjiashan, Wenjiashan, and Bianjiashan within the city site. The peripheral water conservancy system is distributed within 2 kilometers to the north and 11 kilometers to the west of the city site. At the same time, a large number of various types of remains of the same period are distributed inside and outside the city site, forming a clearly identifiable spatial form of "city-suburb division" with the city site.

Do

Impression West Lake. Directed by the golden trio including Zhang Yimou, a love story performed with impressive special effects on the lake. There are two performances every night. Entertaining but not breathtaking, especially if you see some of the newer 'Impressions' shows. Show lasts an hour and does not need language knowledge.

Early morning bike ride. Start on the north side of the lake, and head west towards Zhejiang University, then down Lingyin Road past the Botanical Gardens and into Longjing Village. Keep heading West and south through the tea villages, bamboo forest, and scenic valleys to the river and cut over towards Six Harmonies Pagoda. Go back to the south end of the lake via the road right next to Six Harmonies, past the zoo, through the tunnels. Cycling is banned directly alongside the lake for about half of the way, so walking may be better if you want to see the lake.

Hangzhou Paradise Park. The largest travel and leisure holiday resort in Eastern China, covering an area of 80,000 m². It is the themed recreation area of World Leisure Expo Garden. Includes the Theme Park of Holland Village, the Theme Park of Marco Polo's Tour, Ecological Garden, Niton Hot Spring Holiday Village, Conference Center, Tennis Ball Club, Golf Club, Tiancheng Residential Holdings. Here, you can feel excitement and fun of the 108 meters high Sightseeing Tower which is the highest in Asia, the roller coaster, flying trapeze, ropeway, looting boat in rip current, pirate ship, etc. There are also exercises like bungee jumping, rock climbing and a space swing.

Walk around the lake. It will take you about 5 hours of slow walking. The lake is not very big and there are two shortcuts (causeways) through it. Go hiking in the mountains. Hangzhou has the most accessible and interesting hiking environments within walking distance of any city. Purchase a topographic map, not difficult to find. Some suggested hikes: Start with the climb up to the Baochu Pagoda from Beishan Road. The trail passes the pagoda and continues on with a rock scramble and great views to a series of stone paths that follow the ridge. Keep going and relax, you can't get lost because this mountain is surrounded by main roads. There are temples, shrines and caves along the way with a sprinkling of tea houses. Stay with the high ground where you can and you should come out near the corner of Shuguang Rd and Beishan Rd in an easy 2 hours, with plenty of opportunities for side explorations. You can walk back or return by bus (be brave, as long as the bus is going inbound it will take you somewhere central. Start at Wushan Square, at the southern end of Yan'an Rd, and walk south through the developed park land. Stay high, and pass the war memorial, stunning stone sculptures, down the large stairway to Wansongling Rd. Cross the road, turn left and 100 metres later enter the forest past a memorial garden. From here the stone paths lead inexorably south to Fenghuang Hill and then southwest finally to Yuhuang Hill, the summit of which contains a large temple complex and boasts marvelous views over West lake and the Qiantang River. Descend to the west, but beware the tricky circular road, to Hupao Road and take a bus back from the Hangzhou zoo bus stop. It will take a slow 4 hours. You will at times be geographically challenged, but soon you will get the drift of it, and be better prepared to tackle the huge mountain, forest and tea village areas to the south west of the lake. The complete circuit from Xixi Rd to Wushan Square via Northern Peak, Shi Peak, Wuyun Hill, Jiuxi, HZ Zoo, Yuhuang, Fenghuang Hill will take a party of regular fitness, with stops, 10–12 hours. Then for a hike with a difference, hike out to Meijiawu and stay at a guest house, returning the following day via a different route.

Visit the temples and pagodas. The most popular ones are Baochu pagoda, which is the tower-like one on a hill on the north side of the lake. This hill is a great hike, with excellent views of the lake and city, several smaller temples of a variety of religions, and Huanglong Cave on the northern slope of the hill. 6 Harmonies Pagoda, located on the river, is the largest and most imposing. A fun hike after the pagoda leads from the shores of the river, behind the pagoda, and into the Longjing tea fields near the tea museum. Lingyin Temple, on the west side of the lake, is also a large complex with a surprisingly devout crowd of worshipers. This area also has many excellent hikes, as well as a cable car to the top of Beifeng Hill (with another temple at the top). Finally, Leifeng Pagoda has been rebuilt and has escalators and elevators, while all that remains of the foundation is on display on the main level. Despite its lack of ancient Chinese beauty, the benches and gazebo-like structures surrounding the area make for a nice place to sit in the breeze, and it also has an excellent view looking in the opposite direction as the Baochu area. Go for a run. The lakeside surrounds of gardens, parks, views and items of interest make a great backdrop to a run. Join the "Even If It Rains" running group of locals and laowei at 19:30 on Tuesday nights from the Maya Bar (across the road from the stadium in Shuguang Rd, at the traffic lights where Shuguang Rd. bends). Socialise after; it's a welcoming group. The local chapter of the Hash House Harriers is sadly in remission. The Vasque mountain race of approx 35 km through the mountains, tea fields and lakeside is held around October and in November is held the Hangzhou marathon, half marathon and lesser distances. Spend an afternoon at a tea house. A highlight of visiting Hangzhou is getting out to Manjuelong Village, (South of the lake on top of the hill) Longjin Village or Meijiawu Village, (west and further west of the Lake, respectively) to drink your tea. These villages have had a make-over and while can be busy at weekends they are still great places to while away an afternoon watching the tea being picked. The tea houses all serve very local food - pickled vegetables, chicken broth etc. - but often there is no menu; rather the owner will suggest what you should eat. Shopping -- see the "Buy" section for more info. The West Lake Golf Club near Six Harmonies Pagoda and Songcheng was designed by Jack Nicklaus. Boating along the Hangzhou-Beijing Canal is becoming more popular.

World Ice Arena. A full Olympic size commercial ice skating rink located in the MIXC mall, new Central Business District near the Qintang River. All prices include the new Canadian rental skate, use of locker, and all safety gear (elbow, knee, wrist and helmets). Professional coaching is available at the school reservations desk. Pro shop has an extensive line of figure skating equipment and apparel as well some novelty items related to skating. Located on the 4th floor of the mall. Management and some general staff speak English and Chinese. Ice is resurfaced every 2 hours by a new electric model 552 Zamboni machine. The surroundings are elegant and clean. There is a small cafe inside for snacks. The rink keeps a doctor on duty at all times to assist with minor injuries. The rink's entire refrigeration system is dramatically displayed with cool blue lighting and real time information can be viewed on an LCD screen.

Go to a book shop. Hangzhou has several book shops, Xinhua bookstore on Jiefang road near the JieBai department store is the oldest bookshop. Boku bookstore at the intersection of WenEr road and HanCheng north road. It's a book lovers paradise. The PageOne bookstore in the MIXC mall also has a fairly sizable selection of English books.

Car tour. Annoying electric cars that go full circle. For at least half the way around they will be on the same route as pedestrians and cyclists. They might politely announce you should step away but they also have a nice horn equipped and are not shy to use it. Basically ever since this tourist attraction was added walking around the lake is less fun but the tourists enjoy being carted around - it takes less time, you get tour info on the loudspeakers and it also is reasonably priced. The only saving grace of this 'attraction' is that they only go around clockwise.

Learn

Zhejiang University. One of China's premier universities.

Zhejiang Library. One of the oldest public library of China.The area of the library is near 47,000 m². It was established in 1900, which is named Hangzhou library, and changed the name to Zhejiang library in the 1909. It has about 3,900,000 volumes which include English, Japanese, Russian, German, and French.

Private Chinese language schools like Hutong School offer a range of Mandarin courses that can be tailored to suit your needs. It's possible to take business Chinese, HSK preparation, or intensive courses.

Buy

Hangzhou China Silk Town on Tiyuchang Road. You can also get silk at other places in the city, but most of it will just be the fabric. It is open from 08:00-17:00 and is near the Zhejiang International Hotel. Bargain hard! Night Market (夜市) off Yan'an Road near Pinghai Road (right near Wushan) every night. Here you can find Mao memorabilia, jewellery, paper fans, pipes, luggage, handicrafts and other items that most Chinese cities have. Pirated DVDs and counterfeit handbags are for sale as well. You can also find a lot of those silk-screen printed paintings/embroidery things that the silk market also has. Bargain very hard - Many stalls sell the same stuff, so be prepared to walk away. Be careful buying "antiques" because they are probably new, and pearls. Often the pearl culturing process has been very short, and in fact the "pearl" is a plastic marble with only the thinnest of cultured skin. Electronics Markets (电子产品市场 - Running west-east in north-west Hangzhou on Wensan Road are several indoor, multistory electronics shopping centers offering all manner of electronics including desktop computers, laptops, computer software (licensed and un-licensed), cellphones, mp3 players, and hundreds of peripherals and storage media. Pirated DVDs and computer games are offered as well, and if you are obviously a foreigner, vendors will shout "DVD! DVD!" at you to urge you to browse their selection. Bird and Flower Markets - Several in town, Gucui Rd and Wener West Rd in the west, another on Jichang Rd in north, the interesting one is next to Wushan Square, downtown. On 3 or 4 floors, this market is stuffed with pets and plants. Also sections selling Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), with dried snake and seahorse, huge dried mushrooms and other strange things. Tea - Dragon Well/Longjing tea is famous throughout China and worth getting if you like green tea. The Longjing village and tea fields area of Hangzhou (southwest of West Lake) are where Longjing tea is grown. Besides being worth a visit for the scenic sights alone, tea can be purchased here as well - fresh from the harvesters' bags if so desired. Many places across the city also sell tea, such as informal vendors and small shops easily identifiable by the boxes displayed inside or store names such as "西湖龙井茶" (West Lake Dragon Well Tea), as well as grocery stores and supermarket chains. Because of the fame of Longjing tea, fake and low-grade varieties exist. If you have no experience buying tea, purchase from a reputable-looking establishment or ask the advise of a knowledgeable native. Clothes - Hangzhou has literally hundreds of clothes and shoes stores. The largest concentration of these are on Yan'an Rd and especially Wulin Rd, making a straight line of clothes shops stacked on top of each other between Wushan and Wulin Squares. Another popular clothing spot is "Song Mu Chang" (松木场) just north of the lake on Shuguang Road. All of these places require bargaining and often have a lot of fake ripoff clothes. For the real thing, try the department stores (i.e. Hangzhou Tower across between Yan'an and Nanshan Roads). You can certainly find cheaper clothes stores scattered throughout the city as you get farther from the lake if you really like to buy clothes. Landscape paintings - There are several places to buy Chinese landscape paintings in the city, especially near Wushan Square and around the south/east side of the lake. Carrefour has a supermarket in the downtown area east of West Lake (on South Yan'an Lu). In addition its large selection of groceries, it carries a wider variety of Western foods such as cheeses and breads than most other grocery stores in the city. What this really means is a single aisle of Western brands and foods. Do not expect a large selection. This is also a good place to purchase western liquor. How these prices are about half of duty free escapes this contributor. Trust-Mart (好又多) is a superstore chain Westerners may recognize as being similar to Wal-Mart. It's in the shopping center near the Yellow Dragon Sports Stadium north of West Lake and the Baochu Pagoda area, and has a large grocery section that boasts fresh meats, seafood, and produce as well as the normal selection of packaged food. Bicycles of all prices and qualities are available from bike shops scattered across Hangzhou. Bargaining is necessary at all but large chain stores, and generally one gets what he or she pays for (the cheapest bikes will begin to rust and break quickly). The indoor Electric Bike Market near the corner of Wener and Xueyuan Lu offers a huge assortment of electric bikes/scooters and batteries, and Trust-Mart (see above) also has a reasonable selection of bicycles and a small selection of electric bikes/scooters. Any bike, regardless of the value, will be stolen if left unattended and unsecured. Be sure to buy at least one lock (two for expensive scooters and bikes) to protect your purchase. Scooters may also require a locking frame to guard the battery from theft. A cycling club based in Hangzhou. Mall the MIXC mall located next to the Qintang River in the new Central Business District has an enormous collection of high-end luxury brands including LV, Armani, Ferragamo and the like, but also has Hangzhou's best market for imported foods. "Ole" is located in the B2 level of the mall and be prepared to spend big. The cinema complex on the 3rd, 4th and 5th levels has 12 screens including the largest of the two IMAX theatre's in the city. Also on the 4th floor is a full Olympic size ice skating arena open daily from 10:30-22:00. The rink is modern, clean and well trained and friendly professional staff. The skating school is reasonably priced and geared entirely for beginners. The 30m x 60m ice is resurfaced every 2 hours by a Zamboni machine. The In Time shopping mall at the center of Hangzhou, the Yanan road. The first floor is the cosmetics selling floor. From floor two to floor six are all clothes selling stores. Floor two sells fashionable brands.

Hangzhou Tower. Hangzhou's first business and tourism complex--Hangzhou Mansion Mall.

Eat

Hangzhou is one of the premier places to eat in China, and its local cuisine features dishes that consist more of pork and seafood rather than beef and lamb, as those are typically found in the north and west of China.

Typical Hangzhou specialties include dongpo rou (东坡肉 dōngpō ròu), an extremely fatty chunk of pork in a syrupy sauce, and cùyú (醋鱼 cùyú), which is fish with a vinegar sauce. There are some characteristic local snacks: for example, small steamed buns (小笼包 xiǎolóngbāo), Xiaoshan dried turnip (萧山萝卜干 xiāoshān luóbo gān), and noodles with preserved vegetables (片儿川 piàn'ér chuān). In Wushan Square, you can find lots of food; the prices are cheap and the quality fine.

If you do not like Hangzhou cuisine, you can find plenty of excellent Sichuan, Shanxi, and Xinjiang restaurants throughout the city. There are also some Western restaurants, but those tend to be expensive.

Budget For budget restaurants, even near the lake, just head into an alley and get some food from a small restaurant or street-side stand. You should judge for yourself how sanitary the food is, but you generally do not need to worry about this in Hangzhou relative to other Chinese cities. These restaurants are all quite similar.

If you like dumplings and have just come down the north side of Baochu hill (past the cave and in view of the soccer stadium), one option is to continue across Shuguang Road and up Hangda Road (0.5 blocks east and 1 block north) to Tianmushan Road. At the corner of Tianmushan and Hangda Roads are 2 decent dumpling restaurants with English menus available (one is upstairs from the other). They have many of varieties of dumplings, including all-vegetable.

Zhōngshān nánlù (中山南路) This is one of the great street food strips in China. It is a definite must-see/taste at nighttime. It begins at the Drum Tower, only a short walk from the end of Gaoyin ancient street. Zhīwèiguān restaurant on Rénhé lù (仁和路) is well-known among Chinese in Hangzhou. It has a variety of cheap and traditional dishes. There's no English, it uses floor-ticket ordering, and the atmosphere is bustling and noisy.

Qiantang Chongjin Noodle Restaurant. Popular spot for Hangzhou-style noodles.

Mid-range For American junk food, Hangzhou has many KFCs, several McDonalds, and an increasing number of Pizza Huts throughout town, especially near the lake.

Other restaurants that are good and aren't as tourist-trappy can as Lou Wai Lou are near West Lake, usually to the east past Hubin Road in the Yan'an Road area.

For Xinjiang, try Jade Dragon Xinjiang Special Restaurant (龙翠阁新疆特色餐厅) inside the Handnice Hotel (originally of Tiandu Hotel on Zhongshan Bei Road) at the east side of Hangzhou Yellow Dragon Sports Stadium. Some say the Xinjiang restaurant on the 5th floor of Sanrui Tower (三瑞大厦) on Qingchun Road is better and more authentic, and on the east side of town, Xinjiang Pamir Muslim Restaurant (新疆帕米尔餐厅) has many Xinjiang people dining there.

Chuan Wei Guan - For Hot Pot, this city-wide chain (5 restaurants throughout town) is best, and this hotpot place also has several good Sichuan dishes. Grandma's Kitchen (外婆家) has expanded to almost 20 locations in Hangzhou, each packed to the brim with customers. It has a comprehensive picture menu and reasonable prices. Not all locations offer the same selection or the same prices. One of the best is on Ma Cheng Road, between Tian Mu Shan and Wen San Roads, near to the Boku bookstore. Another one is close to the lake. Grandma's Kitchen suffers a bit from its own popularity, making a long wait inevitable and service haphazard (forgotten dishes and the like). It's best to call ahead and try to make reservations to avoid the long wait. Tianlutang (天祿堂) teahouse is in Xixi Wetlands Park. Offers a variety of local dishes. Advance bookings required. Zhang Sheng Ji (张生记), 33 East Qingchun Road. Out of the way but is also huge and now has branches all over China. Green Tea (绿茶), 83 Longjing Lu, across from the back gate of the Zhejiang Bingguan. 0571-8788 8022. Just around the corner from the Tea Museum, this is one of Hangzhou's most popular Chinese restaurants. A hit with the younger crowd, expect big lines, but the food is well worth it. And there's something inexplicably charming about sitting above lily pads on wooden platforms while digging into the delicious iced desserts on a hot summer day. Kuiyuan Museum (奎元馆), Kuiyuan museum is one of the best local noodle-making restaurants in Hangzhou. Famous for its long history, Kuiyuan restaurant has become a local brand and the icon of Hangzhou. For over 100 years, Kuiyuan restaurant has been providing guests with a great diversity of noodles. Yangchun noodle, despite its simplicity in the selection of the selection of the ingredients, it has long been considered as the most good-tasting delicacy for both indigenous Hangzhou people and tourists, As well as the noodle with shrimps and eel, a well-known kind of noodle. Once traveling to Hangzhou, for those tourists who want to try the local food, going to this restaurant is a great choice to consider about. Location: 1. ShangCheng Area, JieFang Street, No.154. 2. The WenHui Street, No.346.

Mingjia seafood workshops. A famous seafood restaurant, built in 2008. Located at the intersection of Tianmushan Road and Huanghushan Road, near the Huanglong stadium. To be a modern restaurant, the decoration is comfortable. This restaurant belongs to the MIngren Mingjia food limited company, which is one of the biggest restaurants in Hangzhou.

Lou Wai Lou. The most famous restaurant in Hangzhou and in existence for over 150 years, and visited by President Nixon on his first trip to China. Lou Wai Lou also has a second establishment called "Shan Wai Shan" right on the Botanical Gardens. “West Lake sweet & sour fish” is a specialty of this place, and another dish to try is the Beggar’s Chicken, wrapped in fresh lotus leaves and baked on fire. The chicken meat is soft and tender and falls easily off the bones. The restaurant is full every night so a reservation is highly recommended.

Oriental Favorites Restaurant (彩云轩), Beishan Road (just past the Broken Bridge). A good replacement for Lou Wai Lou and has an equally good view with slightly cheaper prices (but it's still expensive). Hubin 28, Hyatt Hotel, 28 Hubin Road. One of the top Chinese restaurants in Hangzhou. Hubin 28 serves good food from all over China in a restaurant designed with a mixture of modern fittings and traditional furniture. It has received good reviews in many foodie magazines in Hong Kong.

Ming Ren Ming Jia. Not only normal can have a delicious lunch, but also can satisfy some people‘s vanity. It has many kind of food, the characteristic of this restaurant is snake and a variety of Chinese food. There also a book shop named Bo Ku book shop near the Ming Ren Ming Jia.

Fu Gang, Tiyuchang Road (near Wulin Square). Hangzhou's most famous Japanese restaurant, although it does not offer an all-you-can-eat deal. It does have a sushi train and set meals though and the sushi is fresh and tasty. Mu Zhi Lan, Nanshan Rd (next to the Bernini coffee shop) is one of the best, especially location-wise. Honglin Teppanyaki, 2/F Modern International Plaza, Yugu Road and Tianmushan Road. This newish Teppanyaki restaurant is clean and spacious, with large table around hotplates able to seat 10-20 people at a go. However, the "butter" they use is quite suspicious and you will be harassed to eat everything they put on the plate. If you get something on the all-you-can-eat option and don't like it, you will have a hard time getting rid of it. Staff do not speak English.

South-East Asian Banana Leaf, Changsheng Road (2 junctions north of the Hyatt on the east side of the lake). South-East Asian. Reservations are recommended on weekends. Although there is a pleasant atmosphere and good quality food, many customers find that the food is untraditional. Curry Bistro, Wangtang Rd (just south of Wenyi Road, near the Wumei shopping center) is a small family run restaurant specialising in Hong Kong and Thai food.

Featuring a menu created by Chef Rueben Marley, Vineyard is the only expat venue in Hangzhou serving authentic American pub foods like Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches, Bacon-Shroom-Melt burgers, and New York style pizza.

L'Amour French Restaurant. is a French brasserie serving strictly homemade food in a Shanghaï-Belle-époque themed environment. Closed every Thursday.

Café at the Hyatt, Hyatt Hotel, 28 Hubin Road.

Provence. Is a restaurant in Hangzhou, serving fresh French and Mediterranean food. Good selection of wines, liquors and cocktails available. Weekend all day brunch.

Angelo's, on #2 Lane off of Baochu Road (across the street NW from 88 Club). New York-themed Italian style restaurant and bar serving pizza, pasta, burgers, and many other offerings. Caribbean BBQ, Yan'an Road (near Wushan Square). It is not very authentic, but is a buffet-style restaurant that will probably at least leave you with a full stomach. Peppino, Shangri-La Hotel. American style Italian - pizzas out of the authentic brick oven, steaks, pasta. L96 Guangxian Cafe, Pingfeng Road, (east of Zhongshan Zhong Rd), is a small restaurant in modern atmosphere serving well-prepared Italian food and home-made ice-creams

Haveli. Indoor and outdoor dining. Expensive and small dishes.

Indian Kitchen. All you can eat/all you can drink buffet on Saturday & Sunday nights. Serves pretty good masala dosa.

Drink

The drink of choice in Hangzhou is tea, as the local Longjing (龙井, also Lung Ching, literally "Dragon Well") is the most famous green tea in China. Longjing is divided into seven grades, the two top being Superior (旗枪 qiqiang) and Special (雀舌 queshe), and the rest numbered from 1 down to 5. There is a wholesale market in Zhuangtang, however, most of the tea comes from trees outside of the "special" fields in Hangzhou.

Traditionally, tea from Longjing is best served with spring water from Hupao (虎跑, "Tiger Run"), which is located next to the West Lake. You might have to purchase the tea from the tea shop in Hupao, instead of bringing your own. Do consider mixing the leaves with bottled water, as construction project run off introduces chemicals other than water into the streams.

For bars, Nanshan Road all night every night should keep any visitor occupied. An up-and-coming part of town is on Shuguang Road has several old and new bars that are a little less hectic than those of Nanshan Road. Shuguang Road runs north from the north-west corner of the Lake. The Huanglong soccer stadium is full of dance / performance bars around the perimeter of the building.

Cafes There are an excellent number of independent cafes and plenty of domestic and international coffeeshop chains.

Reading Tree Coffee. 24 hour cafe with plenty of table space, good lighting, and shelves of books.

JZ Club. One of the most sophisticated bars in Hangzhou, with live jazz performances every night and a range of beers, cocktails and wines.

7 Club. Small local pub popular with older drinkers. Normally contains a quieter atmosphere and specializes in hard-to-find imported bottle beers. Guinness on tap.

Shamrock Irish Pub. More a sports bar, but without the TVs. Good pub food on the menu some live music on weeknights.

Tree House. A small venue which is the main hub for foreigners living in Xiaoshan district, famous for its cheap beer and outdoor seating.

Nightclubs There are several large popular clubs in Hangzhou that cater to a generally unsophisticated house music crowd, although they often have famous DJs visiting. Tables are hard to come by later on at night, and usually you cannot book. Tipping the server may help you find a table. Drinks may take a while to come, so perhaps ordering a bottle of liquor and mixers for the table would reduce the amount of time waiting for drinks. Clubs are generally safe, but bouncers are ineffective, so stay out of trouble.

SOS, Huanglong Road and Tianmushan Road. The big boy of Hangzhou, and is truly massive, with advanced sound and light, and is always full. SOS has fewer regulars, and more out-of-town clubbers. G+, in the Wahaha Building on Qingchun Road. The more sophisticated of the big clubs, catering to slightly better heeled 20-30s crowd. Coco, Wangtang Road and Wensan West Road. Smaller club on the West Side that attracts many expats. Music is more alternative for Hangzhou, and usually there are foreign DJs.

Sleep

Hangzhou Garden Youth Hostel. Opened in 2006 on ZhaoGong Causeway near the Hangzhou Botanic Gardens on the western shore of West Lake. It is part of Hostelling International and consists of a beautifully restored historic courtyard building. Dorm rooms have very clean, upmarket ensuite bathrooms with 24-hr hot water. The hostel is very convenient for walking and sightseeing around West Lake, but it's far from restaurants and nightlife. It is a 15-minute walk to the bar/tea house/restaurant strip on Shuguang Road.

Hangzhou International Youth Hostel. Run by Hosteling International and has a friendly staff. All rooms and toilet/shower are extremely clean. Despite being literally a few paces from the clubs of Nanshan Road, this hostel is set back far enough to be relatively noise free and features a comfortable courtyard/patio with a pond. The lobby also has a boring bar and an all-right breakfast.

My Inn Hotel. Bathrooms are clean, there is a convenience store in the lobby, and laundry, kitchen and business facilities in the building. Plenty of bus routes can be taken at the hotel front street.

Pod Inn. Several locations in Hangzhou, including two near West Lake.

West Lake Youth House. No. Excellent rooms, friendly staff.

Hangzhou Touran Backpack Hostel. Very friendly staff.

Mid-range You can find mid-range hotels all over the city, most of which will take foreigners. Try to bargain for a room. Ask how much they want for one night's stay, then say "what if I stay for 3 nights?" or something to that extent and it will become cheaper.

Enjoyor Hotel. Shangcheng District. This hotel has 168 rooms, and also offers hydropathy treatments, a variety of dining options, and helpful services.

Hangzhou Overseas Chinese Hotel. At the beginning of this pedestrian lakeside area, right next the Hyatt. Skip breakfast as it is all-Chinese, not very clean and full of other guests smoking their way through their meals. Otherwise, the rooms are clean and everything can be reached by foot. Also, taxis pass continuously in front of the hotel day and night, meaning that you never need to call for one. High-speed internet available on the 4th and 5th floor only.

Hangzhou Sunny Huansha Hotel. A 3-star hotel offering 100 aptly furnished rooms with smart amenities such as desktop computer with free internet access. Primarily a business hotel, it has a well equipped business center and multi functional hall that can accommodate up to 200 guests.

Redstar Culture Hotel. A four-star hotel next to the Hangzhou Railway Station Square. Maximize your reservation by attending a gala at its 900-capacity theater and enjoy a sumptous meal on their Chinese restaurant that offers Jiangsu, Sichuan, and Zhejiang cuisines.

SouthLine Hotel. A small but clean, well-located and reasonably well-appointed mid-range hotel one-half block off the lake and right next to the Zhejiang Art Academy on Nanshan Rd. The friendly staff speaks limited English.

SSAW Hotel Hubin. Shangcheng District. 4-star hotel near Hubin Walk Street and Nanshan Leisure Avenue features elegant rooms, conference facilities, restaurant and bar, fitness center, and concierge and tour desks.

Braim International Hotel. Offers 5-star accommodation near the World Exhibition Center and West Lake. The hotel offers 297 rooms, restaurant and café, outdoor pool, and conference facilities.

Braim Seasons Hotel Hangzhou. Shangcheng District. 4-star hotel with spacious rooms, free internet access, business center, and restaurant.

Culture Plaza Hotel Zhejiang. 4-star hotel north of West Lake. Facilities include the Super Book Market and the sprawling Wenhua Meeting Room.

European Style Holiday Hotel. A four-star hotel near the railway station.

Friendship Hotel Hangzhou. A four-star hotel on Pinghai Road, Hangzhou’s central business district. Amenities include rooms with West Lake or city views, multicultural restaurants, versatile function halls, and meeting rooms. Secured reservations are instantly confirmed online.

Hangzhou Sunny Hotel. More than 320 rooms, 7 restaurants.

Huachen-Tang Palace. Four-star hotel that is 5 minutes walk to the West Lake and with a fabulous international buffet breakfast.

Hyatt Regency Hangzhou. 5-star hotel. The hotel is part of a multi use complex including an upmarket department store.

Lakeview Hotel. 4-star hotel with rooms equipped with cable TV, high-speed internet access, bathroom with tub, hair dryer, and mini-bar. Some of its amenities include Lakeview Hotel Shopping Center, hame rooms (for chess, card games, and billiards), and a swimming pool. Fabulous international buffet breakfast.

Ramada. Between Wulin Road and the West Lake, although lake-view rooms are somewhat limited and not very intimate.

Shangri-La. Shangri-La is an older style hotel building on lush green grounds.

Victoria Regal Hotel Zhejiang. 5-star hotel offering 200 rooms with handsome interiors. Leisure and business facilities include the Ban Dao Buffet Center and the Viscount Grand Ballroom.

Xin Ding Garden Hotel. 5-star hotel near West Lake with 118 rooms, business facilities, savory local and international cuisine, and free high-speed internet access.

Zhejiang Grand Hotel. Xiacheng District, 307 rooms, no frills. It also has 9 function rooms for events. An entertainment club and spa are some of the recreational facilities.

Zhejiang Xizi Hotel. Near the historic Leifeng Pagoda in the West Lake area. Magnificent views, excellent facilities, and good service.

Zhejiang Narada Grand Hotel. At the foot of Baoshi Mountain, close to West Lake.