Hangzhou in 2 Days: A Practical Itinerary

Hubin (Longxiangqiao)

First-timers, walking to the lake, food

Wushan Square / Hefang Street

Old-town lanes, the airport on Line 7

Beishan Street / west shore

Lake-view splurges, couples

Wulin Square

Value business hotels, shopping

Hangzhou East Station

Early trains, one-night stopovers

Winter Dec, Jan, Feb

Cold and damp, roughly 1–10°C, with frosty mornings and occasional light snow; older buildings and farmhouse tea terraces are poorly heated.

Do the causeways and the boat around midday when it is warmest, and keep the Zhejiang Provincial Museum (closed Mondays), Hu Qing Yu Tang and Leifeng Pagoda's enclosed galleries for cold or wet spells. Boats stop in strong wind.

Look out for: 'Lingering snow on the Broken Bridge' — one of the Ten Scenes of West Lake, after a rare snowfall, Plum blossom at Solitary Hill (Gushan) and Lingfeng from late January into March, New Year prayers at Lingyin Temple (book early)

Spring Mar, Apr, May

Mild and changeable, roughly 9–26°C.

Spring is the best time for a farmhouse tea glass in Longjing or Meijiawu — but agree the price before you sit, and buy only tea weighed and priced in front of you. Carry an umbrella and keep the China National Tea Museum (closed Tuesdays) in reserve for showers.

Look out for: New-season West Lake Longjing tea (pre-Qingming 'Mingqian' leaves are the most prized), Peach and willow on the Su Causeway in late March, Tulips at Taiziwan and Huagang Park in March–April

Summer Jun, Jul, Aug

Hot and very humid — Hangzhou is one of the Yangtze delta's hottest cities, often 32–38°C in July and August.

Start at 07:30 with Lingyin or the causeways, spend midday in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, the Grand Canal Museum or a teahouse, and return to the lake after 17:00. Thunderstorms cancel boats and the open-air show.

Look out for: Lotus in flower at Quyuan Fenghe and along the Bai Causeway (best in July), Longer West Lake Musical Fountain schedules on summer evenings, Shaded walks at Jiuxi and the Lingyin valley

Autumn Sep, Oct, Nov

The best season: roughly 12–28°C, drier and clearer, cooling to 8–18°C by late November.

Ideal walking weather — give the Su Causeway and the Nine Creeks walk more time. With sunset near 17:00 in November, be at Leifeng Pagoda or Baoshi Hill by about 16:00 for the light.

Look out for: Sweet osmanthus (guihua) in flower from late September into October, especially at Manjuelong by the Hupao road, Autumn colour at Jiuxi, the Beishan Street plane trees and the Su Causeway metasequoias in late November to early December, Hairy crab and new-season chestnuts on menus

Getting around

• Metro: Line 1 for the lake shore (Longxiangqiao, Ding'an Road) and Hangzhou East; Line 7 for Wushan Square and the airport; Line 5 for the Grand Canal (Gongchen Bridge East); Line 3 for Xixi Wetland South; Line 19 for the airport, Hangzhou East and Xixi Wetland North. Most lines run from about 06:00 to 23:00.
• Around West Lake, walk: the Bai and Su causeways are car-free, and lakeside roads jam on weekends and holidays.
• No metro reaches Lingyin Temple or the tea villages. Take a taxi or DiDi (20–30 minutes from Hubin to Lingyin, about ¥30), Bus 7 to Lingyin (40–55 minutes, ¥2) or Bus 27 from Yuewang Road to Longjing village. Lingyin to Longjing village is about 15 minutes by taxi.
• On weekends and holidays (08:00–17:00) taxis to Lingyin stop at outer car parks; a ¥2 shuttle runs to the gate.
• The ¥3 Canal Water Bus Line 1 runs from Wulin Gate pier to Xinyifang, Gongchen Bridge and Canal Tiandi (about 20 minutes to Gongchen Bridge; weekday sailings roughly 07:00–18:54).
• Navigate with Amap (English interface) or Apple Maps and search places by their Chinese name or address — Google Maps is blocked on Chinese networks and its China map is offset by about 500 m here.
• Taxis start at ¥13 for 3 km (¥2.50 a km to 10 km, then ¥3.75); per-km rates rise 30% from 23:00 to 05:00. DiDi prices are similar.
• Train tickets are real-name: book on Railway 12306 (12306.cn/en; foreign cards accepted, no booking fee) or Trip.com with your passport, up to 15 days ahead (the travel day counts). Show the same passport at the station entrance, the platform gate and the exit; arrive 45–60 minutes early at Hangzhou East, and check the stop-boarding time — gates close a few minutes before departure.

Open Alipay → Transport (出行) → ride code and choose Hangzhou, or use the ride-code mini-program in WeChat; scan in and out at the QR readers on every gate. The same Alipay code works on city buses. T…

Money & connectivity

• China runs on Alipay and WeChat Pay, and Hangzhou — Alipay's home city — more than most: tea farms, noodle shops, boat piers and the metro all take QR payment. Before you fly, register both with your +65 number, link a Singapore Visa/Mastercard/Amex/JCB, complete passport verification and make a small test payment; tell your bank you are travelling (first foreign transactions are often blocked as fraud). Fees: Alipay charges nothing up to ¥200 and 3% of the whole amount above it; WeChat Pay charges nothing under ¥200 and 3% above (new international-card users get 60 days fee-free under ¥1,000, capped at ¥30 saved per transaction), plus your card's own FX fee of about 3–3.5%. Singapore options: DBS Remit can fund your own Weixin Pay balance fee-free, and the OCBC app scans Weixin Pay, Alipay+ and UnionPay QR codes (no extra OCBC fee). Changi Pay stopped overseas Alipay/Alipay+ QR payments on 1 Oct 2026. Cards work at star-rated hotels, A-level attractions, big malls, international chains, 12306, Trip.com and DiDi — pay large hotel and mall bills by card to avoid the 3% wallet fee. Since 1 Feb 2026 shops that serve customers face to face must accept RMB cash; carry ¥500–1,000 in ¥10/¥20/¥50 notes as backup. Bank of China ATMs (English menus) are the most reliable — expect a local fee of about ¥20–30 and a cap of about ¥2,500–3,000 per withdrawal, plus your own bank's charges. Limits for visitors: US$5,000 per transaction, US$50,000 a year.
• Google (Search, Gmail, Maps, YouTube), WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, Facebook, X, ChatGPT and most Western news sites are blocked on Chinese networks — local SIMs, hotel and café Wi-Fi. Easiest: roam on your Singapore plan (data routes home, so blocked apps work) or buy a travel eSIM with Hong Kong/Singapore breakout ('no VPN needed'). A local China Mobile/Unicom/Telecom SIM bought at the airport with your passport (about ¥100–200 for 30 days, per third-party guides) is cheap but filtered; tourists can't get domestic eSIMs. Don't count on a VPN — only licensed ones are legal and consumer VPNs are unreliable. Keep your Singapore SIM active for SMS one-time passwords (dual SIM: eSIM for data, SG SIM for SMS). Install before you fly: Alipay, WeChat, Amap, DiDi, Railway 12306 and Trip.com, NIA 12367, an offline translator, and RedNote/Dianping for local tips. Apple Maps works without a VPN.
• Tipping is not customary — restaurants, taxis, boat crews and hotels don't expect it, and upscale hotel restaurants may already add a 10–15% service charge (don't add more). Exceptions: private guides about ¥100–200 a day per group, private drivers ¥50–100 a day, porters ¥10–20 (optional). Give tips in cash, with both hands.

Local etiquette

• Your passport is your ID for everything — hotel check-in, trains, the Lingyin booking, museums, SIM cards. Carry the physical passport (16 and over must carry it at all times); photos and copies are not accepted at gates.
• Mandarin works everywhere in Hangzhou and the script is Simplified Chinese, the same as Singapore. Older locals chat in the Hangzhou dialect among themselves.
• Tea is the city's pride: West Lake Longjing (Dragon Well) is served as loose green leaves in a tall glass, topped up with hot water — don't drink the leaves, and let the host refill. Farmhouses sell tea by the jin (500 g); ask the price per jin before anything is weighed.
• Temples (Lingyin, Faxi, Jingci) are active places of worship: dress modestly, walk round the kneeling cushions, keep voices low and follow the no-photo signs inside halls.