Worth-Visitings in Hangzhou — Handpicked by HHS
This post is dedicated to Alexandra and Max
Hangzhou in November is still worth going, but do check the weather before going! Warm sunny days are recommended.
When someone stays in a place for too long, he stops living there and simply “bes” there. Even though I’ve been living in Hangzhou for over a decade, I won’t describe myself as well-familiar with the city. Thanks to you, I finally got to recap my life a bit and comb through where I’ve been in the past decade.
Where to stay?
Hangzhou is a big city. The picture below shows the expanse of Hangzhou, but it’s only the red rectangle that people really ever visit, beside two turquoise rectangular areas (Xixi Wetland 西溪湿地, Liangzhu Historical Site & Museum 良渚文化遗址&良渚博物院).
It is thus recommended to live either near the Wulin Square (shopping centre, rich neighbourhood, and convenient transportation) or simply near the West Lake.
How to go to places?
Hangzhou has arguably the best developed metro system in China in terms of experience. It is thus recommended to take the tube to go to most places. It might not be as convenient for senior foreigners to buy tickets. The save way is to buy tickets directly from the metro staff with alipay.
However, one thing to bear in mind is that, in most cases, you should avoid Longxiangqiao (龙翔桥) Station, the station next to the West Lake, for it is way too crowded, not worth it. If you have to take the metro, walk for 10 minutes to Fengqi Road (凤起路) or Dingan Road (定安路) is the wise choice.
What to eat?
Don’t know if you can tell by looking at me, but I’m not a big foodie (though I might be addicted to Haribo sweets and Pepsi now). Yet I do have been to some places in the past 10 years especially the past year or two, and some of them are actually good. Also, I’ll rate them so don’t worry.
The café culture isn’t big in Hangzhou, at least not that I know of. So if you want a nice place to just sit down and chat in the middle of a day, it won’t be that easy to find a place for that.
You can copy the names into Amap (高德地图) and the first result should be it. Then you can check the address and see if they match. The English names of the restaurants are pinyin for pronunciation’s sake.
杭州酒家（庆春路店）Hangzhou Jiu Jia
浙江省杭州市上城区庆春路149号
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
IMO this is the must-go restaurant in Hangzhou. We’ve been to this restaurant together. It is both cheap and delicious. The 响油鳝丝 (eel, “Xiang You Shan Si”) is something that I’ll never forget and 叫花鸡 (chicken, “Jiao Hua Ji”) is special as well.
哇哈哈同乐舫（庆春店）Wahaha Tonglefang
浙江省杭州市上城区庆春路169号
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗
This one is also good, but it is a Cantonese restaurant, not typicall Hangzhou cuisine. It is more expensive compared to 杭州酒家 but still offers good price especially with its big serve.
芽笼芽笼新加坡餐厅（杭州中心店） Yalongyalong Singaporean Restaurant
浙江省杭州市拱墅区天水街道展览东路150号杭州中心东区L618
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
I’ve been there twice and the conclusion is you can order any of the dishes and it will be good. But since it serves Singaporean cuisine, I guess it’s not what most people come to Hangzhou for.
BTW, the restaurant it’s located in a mall called Hangzhou Centre (杭州中心). It’s one of the newest shopping mall in Hangzhou. There are many good restaurants in this mall, so you can just walk around the mall and see if there’s anything interesting or looking delicious.
Some chain restaurants
For restaurants in this list you can just copy the Chinese name and paste into Amap(高德地图) and find the one closest to you. But there might be a long queue depending on when you arrive.
绿茶 (Green Tea)
🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
I think you’ve been to this one. It is quite classic and the quality is better in Hangzhou than in other cities. But honestly I think they are worse than before.
弄堂里 (Longtangli)
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Cheaper and better than 绿茶. The dishes are cheaper and more common, but generally good.
外婆家 (Grandma’s Home)
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Haven’t been there for years but the reputation is good.
老头儿油爆虾 (Grandpa’s Shrimp)
🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
Not the biggest fan, but it’s a Hangzhou chain restaurant and generally good. If you want to try some Hangzhou flavour shrimp this is the place.
新白鹿 (Xinbailu)
🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
Was classical but is getting worse these days. I’ve had both good and bad experience, so the quality is different between different branches.
Where to have fun?
West Lake and around
The West Lake
For the West Lake, this is my perfect route and I still recommend it. It would be better if you can get on one of the boats rowed by boatman.
%%Have to mention I drove motorboat in Lake District in the UK (technically my friend did). It’s completely different. West Lake boating is calm and peaceful, while Keswick (in lake district) is more exciting and free.%%
If it’s too much walking for grandparents, it is recommended to start from Leifeng Pagoda, take a walk on the Su Causeway. And, instead of turning right to Beishan St, you can either walk back to Leifeng Pagoda or turn left and leave the lake.
Hangzhou Botanical Garden 杭州植物园
It’s said that the botanical garden is beautiful in autumn. I’ve never been there in autumn, but I suppose that’s true, since autumn is such a colourful season. In my memory it is quite big, you can spend about half day in it.
Zhejiang Art Museum 浙江美术馆
You can always go to the art museum because they have different exhibitions every month.
West Lake Scenic Area Music Fountain 西湖音乐喷泉
I think it’s every night at 7pm and 8pm for 15 minutes. The fountain is on the east side of the lake, but you can actually view it on along the red line in picture.
Wulin Shopping District
Despite being called a shopping centre, Wulin district is a cultural area.
Night Cruise Ship
This night cruise trip from Wulinmen Pier is the Grand Canal, Qiantang River, and Qianjiang new light show combined in one, definitely worth going. You can scan the QR code below to book the tickets. You can also contact me the day you go, because I have an uncle who works there.
I would recommend 钱运亨通 Qianyun Hengtong that sails off at 6pm, because it’s the only one that takes you to Qiantang River. Mind that the light show only takes place on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at least till now. For more detailed ship information you can scan the QR code.
West Lake Culture Square
West Lake Culture Square is located in the Wulin Shopping Area, but it is more suitable for kids than grandparents. There’s natural museum and a large book store.
Xixi Wetland 西溪湿地
I now live close to this wetland, but I’ve never travelled there properly. Since it’s a wetland, it’s nice to take a walk there anyway.
I have to say, I don’t know this place very well. I vaguely know that half of it is free and the other have requires you to purchase ticket. The entrance in the picture below leads to the free side of the wetland. I don’t think I’ve ever been to the west side tbh.
Liangzhu 良渚
Last, it’s the Liangzhu Archeology Park 良渚遗址公园 and Liangzhu Museum 良渚博物院. Tbh, I’ve only been to the museum when it’s first opened. If anyone is interested in archeology, this might be a good place. This place records the story of homo sapiens in 3000 BC or something.
And, it’s very far. You have to take a taxi to get there, or take a taxi after metro. Thus, Liangzhu is only recommended to enthusiasts or those who’s run out of places to visit in Hangzhou.
Wish you a good trip!
I wouldn’t describe this post as informative, since I myself is not too familiar with most of the places, but I hope this can be of some help. You can always contact me if you have any further needs before your trip or when you’ve arrived at Hangzhou. Wish you a good trip!
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