West Lake is not a sight you visit, it is a shape you walk around, and the two days either side of it are the hills behind the lake and the canal north of the city. Go early on the first morning — the Broken Bridge at eight is a different place from the Broken Bridge at eleven — and take the metro and a shared bike for everything else.
At a glance
- Day 1Broken Bridge → Bai Causeway → Su Causeway → Leifeng Pagoda → Hefang Street
- Day 2Lingyin Temple → Feilai Feng → Yongfu Temple → Nine Creeks
- Day 3Xiaohe Historic Street → Gongchen Bridge → Hangzhou East
Day 1
Round the lake, ending at the pagoda
Broken Bridge → Bai Causeway → Su Causeway → Leifeng Pagoda → Hefang Street
Start at the Broken Bridge early: the light is better and the causeway is empty. Bai and Su are long, flat and made for walking, and there is a lake shuttle if the legs give out. Time the Leifeng Pagoda for late afternoon and the lake goes gold underneath you. Finish on Hefang Street after dark for congbaohui and dingshenggao — the street is touristy and the snacks are still the real ones.
Day 2
The temple, the quieter temple, and a valley of tea
Lingyin Temple → Feilai Feng → Yongfu Temple → Nine Creeks
Book Lingyin before you come; holiday slots go days out. Buy nothing from the incense sellers outside — there is free incense inside the gate, which is the one piece of advice everybody who lives here gives. Feilai Feng, the rock face of carved buddhas opposite, is the older thing and the better one. Then walk up to Yongfu Temple, which is ten minutes further and holds a tenth of the people. The afternoon is Nine Creeks: a stream, tea terraces, and a path that goes on as far as you want it to. Flat shoes.
Day 3
The canal, and a slow way out
Xiaohe Historic Street → Gongchen Bridge → Hangzhou East
North of the centre the Grand Canal still works, and Xiaohe Historic Street is the bit of it people live on: white walls, black tiles, coffee shops in hundred-year-old fronts. Gongchen Bridge is the landmark at the end, and the view from the top of it is barges rather than scenery, which is the point. It is an easy morning and leaves the afternoon for the train — Hangzhou East is on the metro, and Shanghai is under an hour away.
Eat like you mean it
- West Lake vinegar fishThe dish the city is known for, and a gamble outside a good kitchen.
- Longjing shrimpRiver shrimp with the local tea leaves. Spring is when it makes sense.
- Dongpo porkA square of belly braised until it gives way to a spoon.
- Pian'er chuan noodlesNoodles in brown broth with bamboo and greens — the everyday lunch here.
- CongbaohuiA griddled pancake folded round spring onion, off a Hefang Street cart.
- Osmanthus lotus rootSweet, cold, and the reason autumn smells like this city.
Where to stay
- Hubin · LongxiangqiaoFirst choice: the lake at the end of the street, metro and food either side.
- Wushan Square · Hefang StreetCheaper, still walkable to the lake, and lively at night.
- Wulin SquareThe shopping end, good for the canal day.
- Qianjiang New CityNew towers and river views, twenty minutes out.
Before you go
- Book Lingyin Temple in advance, and take the free incense inside the gate rather than the bundle sold on the approach.
- Walk the causeways before nine. The same path at eleven is a queue.
- Eat away from the Hubin lakefront — the view carries a markup the food does not.
- Nine Creeks is a stream path, not a promenade. Wear something flat.
- Shared bikes cover the lake better than anything else, and the metro covers the rest. Do not drive on a holiday.
One honest thing — Lingyin Temple is booked in advance and the slots go first on holidays. The free incense is inside the gate; the expensive bundles are the ones sold on the way in.
