Centuries of careful cultivation have turned what was originally a lagoon adjoining the Qiantang River into the most famous lake in China. One of the country's principal tourist attractions, West Lake is classical China at its mist-shrouded, willow-lined, pagoda-dotted best, and is almost everybody's primary reason for visiting Hangzhou. Three ancient, man-made causeways (Su, Bai and Yanggong) provide pleasant walkways across sections of the lake and are great places to begin your romantic strolls. Bai Causeway, accessed from the lake's northern shore, is perhaps the most interesting as it leads onto Gushan Island with its restaurants, museums and gardens. Cycling is a great way to navigate the area (there are bike rental kiosks everywhere), but boats can also be hired at dozens of places around the lake. West Lake was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011 for having "influenced garden design in the rest of China as well as Japan and Korea over the centuries" and for reflecting "an idealized fusion between humans and nature".
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Things to see in Hangzhou
Tourist offices
Hangzhou Tourist Information Centre
Address: 288 Yan'an Road, Hangzhou, 310003, China
www.facebook.com/gotohangzhou/
With a few branches around town, including one at the main train station, this official tourist centre is only mildly helpful. Visitors are better off getting information from their hotel or from one of Hangzhou's numerous youth hostels. You’ll find basic travel information, free maps and the offer of tours at Hangzhou Tourist Information Centre, although these will be aimed at domestic tourists.
Hangzhou Tourist Information Centre
Address: 288 Yan'an Road, Hangzhou, 310003, China
en.gotohz.com
With a few branches around town, including one at the main train station, this official tourist centre is only mildly helpful. Visitors are better off getting information from their hotel or from one of Hangzhou's numerous youth hostels. You’ll find basic travel information, free maps and the offer of tours at Hangzhou Tourist Information Centre, although these will be aimed at domestic tourists.
West Lake
Opening Times: Daily 24 hours.
Admission Fees: No.
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: Yes
Address:
Beishan Lu, Xihu, Hangzhou, 310000, China
Lingyin Temple
Known locally as Lingyin Si (Temple of the Soul's Retreat), this is one of China's largest Buddhist temples. The entrance is magnificent, passing through shallow caves and grottos featuring over 400 Buddhist rock carvings, many dating from the 10th to 14th centuries. The incense-filled, working temple boasts four grand halls, each more lavish and colourful than the last. The stand-out is the 12m-high (39ft) Hall of the 500 Arhats, which features 500 human-sized sitting Buddhist saints, each holding his own symbol, arranged in the formation of a giant swastika. Located next to Lingyin Temple, is a cable car which wheels its way up North Peak and offers fabulous views across parts of West Lake and the surrounding tea plantations.
Opening Times: Daily 0700-1815 (temple); Daily 0700-1700 (cable car).
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
1 Lingyin Lu, Xihu, Hangzhou, 310013, China
Telephone: +86 571 8796 8665.
Website:
http://en.lingyinsi.org
Three Pools Mirroring the Moon
In 1089 during the Song Dynasty, three stone pagodas were built in the deep waters of West Lake. Rumoured to be magically, they still stand tall today in a triangle formation. A truly scenic location admired by many and featured on the back of the one yuan bill.
Opening Times: Daily 0730-1630.
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
Xihu, Hangzhou, 310000, China
Xixi National Wetland Park
The Xixi Wetlands are recognised as a national wetland park with 26,000 acres of swamps, animals and vegetation. Many film crews come to get shots of the mysterious waterways and large cinematic houses that money cannot buy. Most of the park can be accessed for free, but travellers should be wary of mosquitos.
Opening Times: Daily 0730-1730.
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
518 Tianmushan Rd, Xihu, Hangzhou, 310023, China
Telephone: +86 571 8810 6789
Website:
http://www.xixiwetland.com.cn/
Baopu Taoist Temple
Located in leafy woods, on a hill overlooking the northern lakeshore, this splendid Taoist temple is peaceful, colourful and charming. The only Taoist temple in Zhejiang province, it features incense smoke drifting around the courtyards and ornate carved wooden facades, while its upturned grey slate roofs echo a China rapidly receding into history. That final point is a fitting metaphor for Ge Hong, the famous Chinese alchemist who resided here while he looked for immortality. He never found it, of course, though he lives on through a statue found inside the temple.
Opening Times: Daily 0730-1730.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
Baoshi Hill, Hangzhou, 310000, China
China National Tea Museum
The only museum in China dedicated to tea, this place charts all aspects of Chinese tea-tasting customs as well as the provenance and history of several of the nation's most famous infusions. Visitors will find a broad selection of tea pots and drinking vessels on display and can take in the manicured gardens and surrounding tea plantations too. Naturally, there’s an opportunity to try (and buy) some green tea as well. Take bus Y3 from West Lake.
Opening Times: Tue-Sun 0830-1630.
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
88 Longjing Lu, Xihu, Hangzhou, 310000, China
Telephone: +86 571 8796 4221
China Silk Museum
This region was once the centre of China's silk industry and this museum, just south of the lake, charts the history of silk culture and the clothing products that helped make Hangzhou one of nation's wealthiest and most cultured cities. The story of silk unravels before your eyes with displays and historical context around China’s weaving, painting and embroidery techniques. The museum also welcomes a number of visiting exhibitions each year.
Opening Times: Mon 1200-1700, Tue-Sun 0900-1700.
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
73 Yuhuangshan Road, Shangcheng, Hangzhou, 310002, China
Telephone: +86 571 87035150
Jingci Temple
Set against the hillside across the road from Leifeng Pagoda, this peaceful Buddhist monastery houses a vast effigy of Sakyamuni in the main hall and, in an adjacent hall, a magnificent 1000-arm statue of Guanyin. It is said this is where the Japanese monk, Nampo Jōmyō, learned about Zen before returning to Kyoto with his newly discovered knowledge.
Opening Times: Daily 0630-1700.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
56 Nanshan Lu, Xihu, Hangzhou, 310007, China
Telephone: +86 571 8797 5135
Leifeng Pagoda
Standing proud over the southern lakeshore is the octagonal, five-storey Leifeng Pagoda. Originally constructed in 975 CE by king of Wuyue, Qian Hongchu, to celebrate the birth of a son, the structure was completely rebuilt in 2002 after collapsing in 1924. However, the uncovered brick ruins of the original building are open for viewing. Climbing to the top floor yields fabulous views across the lake, islands, bridges and gardens, plus the sprawling city beyond.
Opening Times: Daily 0800-2030.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
15 Nanshan Lu, Xihu, Hangzhou, 310000, China
Telephone: +86 571 8798 2111
Six Harmonies Pagoda (Liuhe Pagoda)
Close to the southwest of the lake, this 60m-high (197ft) octagonal pagoda, first built in 960 CE, overlooks the Qiantang River. It once served as a lighthouse, and was supposed to have magical powers to halt the tidal bore, which still thunders up the river twice a month. Behind the pagoda stretches a charming walk through terraces dotted with shrines. Taking the bus from Nanshan Lu to get within walking distance to the pagoda.
Opening Times: Daily 0630-1730.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
16 Zhijiang Lu, Xihu, Hangzhou, 310000, China
Zhejiang Provincial Museum
This museum, located on Gushan Island, in the northern section of West Lake, counts a collection of more than 100,000 cultural relics and pieces from across the province. Among the artefacts, visitors will find decorated pottery, some of the oldest varnished bowls in the world and a great number of objects made from jade. There is also a hall dedicated to the works of the celebrated Chinese painter, Huang Binhong.
Opening Times: Tue-Sun 0900-1700. Closing starts at 1630.
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: No
UNESCO: No
Address:
25 Gushan Lu, Xihu, Hangzhou, 310000, China
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