The Top Things to Do and See in Hangzhou, China

The 6.4sqkm West Lake is a Unesco World Heritage Site, thanks to its influential design of pagodas, temples, causeways and artificial islands. It’s best known for the Xihu Shi Jing, or Ten Scenic Spots in the West Lake – a series of beautiful views that are each marked with a four-character epithet, written in Chinese calligraphy. These include “Two Peaks Piercing the Clouds” and “Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond”.

Lingyin Temple is one of China’s oldest and largest Buddhist temples – and one of the top attractions in the region. It opened in 326 CE, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, having been founded by the Western Indian monk Hui Li. Its grounds and series of sacred halls, such as the Heavenly Kings Hall, the Mahavira Hall and the Yaowang Hall, cover an area of around 90,000sqm.

Beside the grand Lingyin Temple looms Fei Lai Feng, a limestone mountain 168m high. And while the sight of it is impressive enough, its real attractions are the 345 handcrafted stone Buddha figures carved from rock. They date back all the way to to the Song, the Yuan and the Five Dynasties – some from the later Liang, Tang, Jin, Han and Zhou dynasties – setting a sacred atmosphere as you walk up the trail.

This five-storey, eight-sided tower on the south of the West Lake dates back to 975 CE – the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The pagoda is famous nationwide thanks to Chinese folklore, the Legend of the White Snake. The tale is about a lake-dwelling snake spirit who falls in love with a human named Xu Xuan – at the end, the snake is eternally imprisoned by a Buddhist monk in Leifeng Pagoda.

Xixi Wetland Park is one of China’s national 5A-level tourist attractions – a system for rating the quality of tourist attractions in China. Covering 11.5sqkm, six rivers flow through the park, among branching streams, fish pools and lakes. The most scenic spots include the hazy fisher village, the autumn snow temple, the anchorage thatching and the Xixi water attic. Look out for the 126 species of birds along the way, such as sparrow hawks and herons.

Chinese snack food is taken up a notch at Zhi Wei Guan, which has been running since 1913. Graze your way around the menu of crab steamed buns, wonton soup, dim sum and moon cakes – plus traditional Hang dishes like Xihu fish in vinegar gravy and steamed lotus root stuffed with sticky rice. Ask for a table on the terrace, so you can look out at over West Lake while you eat.

Billed as a theme park but more of a themed park, it’s the biggest of its kind in China – with six million visitors per year. Songcheng is an entire town modelled on the Song Dynasty: wandering around, you’ll see characters in costumes, traditional workshops and over-the-top architecture. The main attraction here is the West End-style performance of Romantic Show of Songcheng, popular for its sensational costumes and lighting during an hour of music, dancing and acrobatics.

Hefang Street is a microcosm of traditional Hangzhou, with specialist craftspeople selling everything from feather pillows to sugar candy sculptures. Stop off at Hu Qing Yu Tang and Fang Hui Chun Tang Chinese medicine shops, the scissor store Zhang Xiao Quan or the Wan Long ham store – which are all rich in historic value. Or simply stroll around the vendors and teahouses to soak up the ancient ways of Hangzhou.

This Qing Dynasty mansion, built between 1872 and 1875, was created by a second-grade officer in the Qing government, merchant Hu Xueyan. His lavish lifestyle is still evident – on display are lashings of valuable antiques, rare paintings, expensive wooden furniture and fashionable Western ornaments, revealing the Sino-Western cultural mix of the era. The garden is also fabulously ostentatious, featuring the biggest artificial cave in China and a lake.

If you’re looking for fine dining in Hangzhou, 28 HuBin Road is a safe bet – it regularly ranks in Asia’s 50 best restaurants. It’s the Hyatt Hotel’s signature Chinese restaurant, with a menu of traditional cuisine from Hangzhou, Suzhou to the north and Huaiyang to the west. Try the Dongpo pork pyramid, an exquisite dish which requires fresh ingredients and expert knife skills. Elegant, Song Dynasty-inspired decor makes the food taste all the better.

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