A weekend in Hangzhou

Practical information

Hangzhou can easily be reached by train from Shanghai. Make sure you book your train tickets in advance. We booked only a week ahead and had to travel to Hangzhouxi, which is much further from the city, because the other trains were already fully booked.
Hangzhou has too much to offer for just one weekend. If you want to see a lot but still enjoy a relaxing time, plan carefully — but don’t over-plan either. Temples are huge, and distances can be long.
Skip the organised tea plantation tours or guides. We booked one and wouldn’t recommend it. It’s better to just take a Didi there yourself. Tours just take you there and allow you to pick for a while, often ending at tea farms where they try to sell you products. It's better to explore yourself.
Factor in shuttle buses. Some temples can only be reached by shuttle bus, so keep this in mind when planning.
Walk as much as you can. Many areas are perfect for exploring on foot.
See the West Lake show “Enduring Memories of Hangzhou.” Bring earplugs if, like me, you’re sensitive to loud noise. Don’t bother booking VIP tickets. If you need a contact to arrange your tickets, let me know — we were very happy to be able to show our tickets on our phone, instead of queuing at a ticket office to exchange them for paper tickets.
Check my separate story on West Hangzhou. I revisited the tea plantation area on other weekends and explored it much more in depth.

Some impressions of the West Lake.

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