Hangzhou Travel Guide




Overlooked by tea plantations and forested hills, and sat beside the gorgeous West Lake, Hangzhou is one of China's most cherished cities. Wealthy and increasingly modern, Hangzhou offers a pleasant stay, but it's the classical beauty of West Lake, Hangzhou's draw-card attraction, which pulls in the punters like almost nowhere else in China.

Almost the definition of a classical Chinese landscape, West Lake - created from a river lagoon in the 8th century - has inspired generations of writers, painters and poets and it continues to mesmerise. Hazy hills rise above the willow-lined banks, forming crinkled silhouettes punctuated by solitary pagodas, while tiny boats float lazily by. You’ll need a couple of days to fully savour what’s on view but the inclination is to take root - like one of the lilting West Lake willows - and stay put.




Hangzhou is also a famous tea-growing centre and tours can be made to nearby Longjing Village, which bestowed the name for the city's most famous export: Longjing tea. The surrounding hills also house China's only tea museum.

For centuries a cultural melting pot, Hangzhou offers museums, galleries and theatres showcasing everything from silk making to calligraphy. But modern influences also abound; chic cafes skirt the lakeshore, foreign brands fill many of the shopping centres and western-style bars serve drinks long into the night.

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