I would have stayed three full days in Shanghai, but I saw that nearby Hangzhou is one of the most beautiful Chinese cities. So I took a day trip there!
From Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, it’s a one-hour journey by super-fast train to Hangzhou East Station. There are many departures – I traveled on the 9:50 train, and the round-trip ticket cost $40.
I wrote in detail about buying tickets and what to do at the train station in Part 1 (you can read lots of other useful tips here)!
Using the metro and buying tickets works the same way as in Shanghai. You can switch the machine to English and pay with Alipay (or WeChat) after selecting your destination. You can also pay with paper money and coins, but not with bank cards. You need to tap the received ticket to enter, and insert it into the slot to exit.
From Hangzhou East, I traveled on Metro Line 1 to Longxiangqiao in the city center. From here, it’s just a few hundred meters to the city’s most famous area, West Lake. The plan was to walk around it, which is about 10 km. In the end, I only went as far as Leifeng Pagoda, but I saw the essence of it.
First, I stopped at the Jixianting Pavilion, which is one of the city’s iconic places. Of course, there are several such pavilions along the lake, but for some reason this one has been declared the most beautiful. Naturally, it’s justified – the view from here is also wonderful.
From the shore, you can take boat excursions, and they’re not even expensive. I skipped this and chose to walk along the shore and later explore the city center. The weather was great, and I enjoyed the view while having coffee at a lakeside café.
Hangzhou somehow seemed like a much freer city than the others. Although there are many cameras watching people here too, the joy was more visible. There were even dance groups in the lakeside park, which I hadn’t seen in Shanghai either. I sat down and watched the performance for several minutes.
On the southern part of the lake rises the already mentioned Leifeng Pagoda, which can be seen from far away. From here opens the most beautiful view of the lake and the city. The entrance fee was 40 yuan. It stands on top of a hill, with an escalator leading to the ground floor. In the pagoda, you can also take an elevator to the top. The interior is already very beautiful, but the view from the terrace area is truly gorgeous.
From the pagoda, I headed back towards Wushan Square. From here starts Hefang Street, the city’s authentic street. Restaurants, craft shops, and gift stores line up one after another – very atmospheric. The continuation of this northward is Nansongyu, which is a shopping street. I also walked through it, then took the metro to the last location.
The city center is Wulin Square, which seemed a bit stark to me. Except for the skyscrapers, it could be a Hungarian city center. 🙂 I walked to the Zhejiang building standing on the other side of the Jinghang River. This is a technology museum with a futuristic exterior. On the promenade along the riverbank, I walked to the nearby metro station and traveled back to the railway station.
Overall, it was well worth taking a detour to Hangzhou: a wonderful city with a pleasant atmosphere and cheerful people. It’s no coincidence that it’s considered one of the most beautiful Chinese cities.
