At a glance
- Best time
- March–April (blossom) and October–November (osmanthus)
- How long
- 2–3 days
- Getting there
- Xiaoshan International (HGH); Hangzhou East (45 min from Shanghai Hongqiao)
- Getting around
- Metro 1/2 reaches the lake; cycling or walking is best around the water and the loop buses run often
What to see and do
West Lake and the Su Causeway
China's most famous lake, cut into sections by the Su and Bai causeways, with Leifeng Pagoda and the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon as the classic view.
Tip Mist on the water between 6 and 8am is the shot; rent a public bike from Broken Bridge to the Su Causeway and avoid weekends.
Cost Free (a few small sights charge separately)
Lingyin Temple & Feilai Peak
More than three hundred carvings from the Five Dynasties to the Song cover Feilai Peak's cliff, and Lingyin itself is the busiest Buddhist temple in the region.
Tip Free since 2025-12-01, but you must book a timed slot in advance; go early and mind the slippery stone steps.
Cost Free (timed reservation required)
Longjing tea village & Nine Creeks
Tea bushes grow right up the slope in Longjing village and you can watch leaves roasted in the pan during picking season; Nine Creeks is where locals paddle in summer.
Tip Do not get pulled into a 'tea tasting' at the village entrance — walk further towards Meijiawu; tea is sold in 50 g lots.
Cost Free (tea extra)
Songcheng and the Romance Show
A theme park that rebuilds Southern Song Lin'an, plus an hour-long stage show using flood effects and machinery to tell Hangzhou's history.
Tip Show times are fixed, usually one afternoon and one evening slot, and tickets should be booked ahead; the daytime park suits families.
Cost Show from CNY 320
What to eat
- West Lake vinegar fish Freshwater fish in sweet-sour sauce — judged on tenderness with no muddy taste
- Longjing shrimp River shrimp stir-fried with new-season tea leaves: clean and fresh
- Pian'erchuan / dingsheng gao Noodles with pickled greens, bamboo and pork, plus a sweet sticky street cake
Common questions
Do I need a ticket or reservation for the West Lake?
Neither for the lakeshore — it is free and open, with no reservation. Tickets only exist at the paid spots: Leifeng Pagoda and similar towers are ticketed separately, and the cruises are sold by boat. The on-site windows and the piers are the most passport-friendly way to buy.
How many days for Hangzhou, and when are the two seasons?
Two to three days. March to April is blossom season and October to November is osmanthus season; the West Lake shore itself is walkable between them, with the paid points scattered along it.
Booking & tickets
⛵ West Lake scenic area (incl. Leifeng Pagoda & boat cruises)
The lakeshore is free and open with no reservation needed; tickets only apply at paid spots — Leifeng Pagoda and similar are ticketed separately, cruises are sold by boat type and dock, and on-site ticket windows and docks are the most foreigner-passport-friendly.
What you need to know
- The lakeside walkways (Su Causeway, Bai Causeway, Broken Bridge, Hubin lakeshore, etc.) are free and open — no ticket, no reservation; only the paid parks and boat cruises need separate tickets
- Leifeng Pagoda: adults CNY 40, tickets available up to 7 days ahead; open May 1-Oct 31 8:00-20:00, Nov 1-Mar 15 8:00-17:30, Mar 16-Apr 30 8:00-19:00
- Cruises come in three types: island cruises (West Lake Cruise Company, CNY 55-70 per person, ticket includes island entry to Xiaoying Island / Three Pools Mirroring the Moon), round-the-lake painted pleasure boats (Zhejiang Foreign Affairs, CNY 50 per person at the counter price, no island stop), and rowing/sculling boats (CNY 150/180 per hour per boat)
- Island cruises can be bought and boarded at docks such as Hubin, Huagang, Zhongshan and Hangfan, and you may disembark at a different dock than you boarded; the CNY 35 online ticket for the round-the-lake pleasure boats is valid only from Huagang dock
- Rowing/sculling boats operate from 27 docks on weekdays, reduced to 10 on statutory holidays; fares are charged per boat (rowing boats carry max 6 passengers, sculling boats max 11), and the island-entry ticket is purchased separately
- Night cruises run May-October each year (Sunday-Thursday 17:00-21:00, Friday-Saturday until 21:30), boarding at Hubin 2nd/5th Parks, Children's Palace (Shaoniangong) and Broken Bridge docks
- Foreign visitors: buying online at paid spots requires a mainland-China phone number; at the Leifeng Pagoda ticket windows and the cruise docks you can buy on site with no online sign-up
How to book
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WeChat official account 「西湖旅游」 (West Lake Tourism)
Passport accepted
In the menu, tap 【景区门票】 (Scenic-area Tickets), pick a date and buy; Leifeng Pagoda and other paid spots go on sale 7 days ahead. Requires a mainland-China phone number
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Ticket offices at the individual cruise docks (各游船码头售票处)
Passport accepted
Buy on site and board — boat tickets are not tied to any ID; island cruises CNY 55-70 per person, rowing/sculling boats CNY 150/180 per hour per boat
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Leifeng Pagoda on-site ticket windows (雷峰塔景区售票窗口)
Passport accepted
If you have no mainland-China phone number, buy in person at the window and show your original passport
Sources
🛕 Lingyin Temple & Feilai Peak
Free admission from 2025-12-01 with a timed real-name reservation — no same-day tickets and no offline ticket sales. Official channels = the 「杭州灵隐飞来峰」 (Hangzhou Lingyin Feilai Peak) mini program on WeChat/Alipay, where passports can book directly; when a same-day slot is not full, on-site registration is the fallback.
What you need to know
- From 2025-12-01 the Feilai Peak scenic area (including Lingyin Temple, Yongfu Temple and Taoguang Temple) is free; the former Feilai Peak entrance ticket and the Lingyin Temple incense-flower voucher were abolished at the same time — the old dual-ticket system is gone
- Open 7:30-17:30 (last entry 17:00); morning session 7:30-12:00, afternoon session 12:00-17:00 — morning-session visitors may enter as late as 13:00, afternoon-session visitors as early as 11:00, and if you miss your slot entry is refused
- Reserve with your real name at least 1 day ahead, up to 7 days in advance (tickets for a given day are released at 8:00 seven days before the visit, and quotas refresh daily at 8:00); no same-day reservations, and once a day is fully booked it is closed
- ID documents: mainland-China residents may only reserve with their Resident ID card; non-mainland visitors reserve with a passport, a foreigner's permanent residence ID card, or Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan documents. Entry requires the original document with an in-person ID check, and the same document can enter/exit only once per day
- Quotas (tour groups included): 35,000/day on weekdays, 50,000/day on weekends, 65,000/day on holidays; one phone number can book for up to 5 people and one document can be booked once per day, and 3 no-shows within 30 days lock you out of reservations for 30 days
- When a same-day slot is not yet full, you can register on site with your original document for entry (one person, one document; first come, first served) — the main path for foreign visitors without a mainland-China phone number
- During typhoons and other extreme weather the temples may close temporarily (both typhoons in July/August 2026 forced temporary closures before reopening); check announcements on the Lingyin Temple official website before you go
How to book
-
Mini program 「杭州灵隐飞来峰」 (Hangzhou Lingyin Feilai Peak) on WeChat/Alipay
Passport accepted
Make a real-name reservation and pick date and time slot; passport / foreigner's permanent residence ID numbers can be entered directly. Show the original document at entry for an in-person ID check
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On-site registration channel at the scenic area (景区现场登记通道)
Passport accepted
Open only when same-day slots are not full: register with your original passport, one person per document, first come first served
Sources
ℹ️ Hangzhou general booking rules
Hangzhou is a 'free-entry city': the bulk is free, and mandatory reservation exists only at Lingyin-Feilai Peak; paid spots all route through the 「西湖旅游」 (West Lake Tourism) WeChat account, and in peak season (Sep-Nov weekends and holidays) traffic controls need more advance planning than tickets.
What you need to know
- Lingyin-Feilai Peak is the only mandatory real-name reservation point in the West Lake scenic area; Leifeng Pagoda and other paid spots sell tickets up to 7 days ahead, and the remaining paid parks (Guo's Villa, Qianwang Shrine, Six Harmonies Pagoda, Yue Fei Temple, etc.) each sell their own tickets independently
- The two WeChat official accounts 「西湖旅游」 (West Lake Tourism) and 「杭州西湖风景名胜区」 (Hangzhou West Lake Scenic Area) are the official ticketing/announcement channels for paid spots
- General path for foreign visitors: online reservations need a mainland-China phone number — without one, use the on-site windows; buying at cruise docks has no ID requirement
- Peak-season traffic: on Sep-Nov weekends and holidays an odd-even license-plate restriction applies 8:00-17:00, and the Lingyin area and Nanshan Road (Yanggong Causeway-Yuhuang Hill section) add extra entry caps; drivers must apply for a 『西湖通』 (Xihutong) pass 1 day ahead (same-day applications not accepted), limited to once per car per month
- Metro plus scenic-area shuttle buses reach Broken Bridge, Leifeng Pagoda, Lingyin and other hot spots directly — in peak season more reliable than taxis or driving
- In typhoon season (July-September) temples and hill parks may close temporarily; check the official website / official WeChat accounts before setting out