Hangzhou

Introduction

Pagoda and Hangzhou

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Hangzhou (杭州) is home to the famous West Lake and considered one of the beautiful cities in China. It has a population of over six million people, is the present day capital of Zhejiang and has been an important city in Chinese history for the last 1,000 years. It was even the capital of China during the Southern Song Dynasty from the early 12th century to the Mongolian invasion of 1276. Many poets, philosophers and scientist made Hangzhou their home because of it was one of the leading cities in China until the Ming dynasty. During the Ming dynasty the harbour silted up, hurting the economy of Hangzhou.

Interestingly during the 16th and early 17th century the city became an important center for the Chinese Jewish community, which slowly assimilated into Chinese culture over the next two hundreds years. Today modern day Jews are helping Chinese Jews revive the culture. Hangzhou is also a great jumping spot to the countryside with amazing tea plantations on terraced fields. There is more to Hangzhou than just the wonderful West Lake. Experience amazing hikes, the clean air and amazing culture of one of China's best cities.

Sights and Activities

West Lake

West Lake, or in Chinese Xihu (西湖), located west of the city is sorrounded by stunning mountains on three sides, with a surface area of about 6.5 square kilometres and a circumference of 15 kilometres. The lake was originally created in order to provide irrigation for farmers roughly 2,000 years ago. Over the years the lake was built up more and more, and a few time actually fell apart and had to be started all over again. Today West Lake is one of the most popular tourist sights in all of China and is featured on the 5 元 bill.

Other sights and Activities

• Cheng Huang Temple is a spectacular building that is a temple, museum and tea centre, and one of many structures that dominate the Hangzhou skyline.

Events and Festivals

2009 West Lake Music Festival

• 2009 West Lake Music Festival (2009 西湖音乐节) will be starting on October 31st at 2pm and lasting until November 1st at 10pm. It will be at the The Lawn in Orioles Singing in the Willows Park (柳浪闻莺大草坪) which is at the intersection of Nanshan Road (南山路) and Hefang Street (河坊街), on the east side of the West Lake. Tickets are 200 RMB (two-day pass) or 150 RMB (one day), and bands include October Capricorn (十月摩羯), Mushroom (蘑菇团), Moriz (from Mauritius), Carsick Cars, Lions of Puxi, Zhang Xuan (张悬), Zheng Jun (郑钧), Flying Fruit (羽果), Sugar Mama (from the USA), Pet Conspiracy (宠物同谋), and Muma (木玛).

Weather

Hangzhou has a pleasant climate though summers can be hot and humid. Maximum temperatures during the June to September period are around 30 °C and nights are a balmy 24 °C or 25 °C. Winters last from December to March when it's between 8 °C and 12 °C during the day and still above zero at night. Occasional frost and snow are possible though. Rainfall (or some snow in winter) is possible in all months, though summers see more heavy showers with higher amounts in total.

Getting There

By Plane

Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) is a major airport with extensive domestic service and some limited international service. All major cities in and most minor cities in China have direct flights from Hangzhou. International flights mainly serve other cities in North East Asia like Tokyo and Seoul. Since May 2010, KLM flies 3 times weekly between Hangzhou and Amsterdam, the first direct flight to Europe. Low-cost carrier Air Asia X operates the Hangzhou - Kuala Lumpur route. To get to and from the airport there are buses to downtown Hangzhou. There are also buses to other areas nearby in Zhejiang and a direct bus to downtown Shanghai.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) has a direct shuttle bus connection to Hangzhou. It costs around 25 RMB. There are airport buses to downtown Hangzhou and Xiaoshan as well as to prefectures further away such as Yiwu.

By Train

Hangzhou Railway Station (杭州火车站) is a major rail hub in the southeast coast of China. There are many trains every day to Shanghai and several overnight trains every day to Beijing. Every major city in China is connected to Hangzhou. There are also fast trains to Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai.

Getting Around

By Car

A taxi ride is very affordable. It starts at 11 RMB (10+1 fuel surcharge). All the taxi drivers are required by law to use the meter.

By Public Transport

You should have your change ready (usually RMB 2 per person) before board the bus. Use the front door to board the bus, and use the rare door to get off the bus. Try to remember the Chinese pronunciation of the stops. Each bus has an audio stop announce system so you won't miss it.

By Foot

A walk beside the west lake is really pleasant when the weather is nice.

By Bike

Bikes are both numerous and an excellent way to get around Hangzhou. The way it works is you pay a deposit of around 600 RMB and the rental is between 15-30 RMB per day (depending on the condition and type of bike). On the return of your bike your deposit is returned. (interestingly, the deposit is roughly the price of a new bike!) Rental outlets are scattered all over, but especially around West Lake.

Sleep

Budget

Learn

• Zhejiang University

Keep Connected

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

China Post (中国邮政) is the official postal service of the People's Republic of China, operated by the State Postal Bureau of the People's Republic of China (website in Chinese only), and has more details about price to send letters, postcards and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally. The Chinese postal service is very good. Remember that in more remote places usually only one post office in a city can handle sending international boxes or letters. Also many times it might be worth having the name of the country you are trying to send to in Chinese characters. Post offices have a striking green logo and can easily be found everywhere in the cities. They are mostly open every day (including weekends!) from 8:00am to 6:00pm, though small offices might have shorter opening times, while the bigger ones in central and touristic areas are sometimes open during evenings as well.