Editor's picks
A local's shortlist — the places worth your time first, each with a tip.
West Lake
Nature · Immediately west of the city centre
A UNESCO-inscribed cultural landscape of causeways, islands, pagodas and tea hills, free to enter and about fifteen kilometres to walk around.
Local tip: Everyone goes to the Su Causeway. The quiet half is the western shore around Yanggong Causeway and the hills behind it — same lake, a tenth of the people. Hangzhou removed the entrance fee in 2002 and it has stayed free ever since, which is why locals genuinely use it every day.
Longjing tea villages
Nature · The hills immediately west of the lake
Working tea villages — Longjing, Meijiawu, Manjuelong — on terraced hillsides ten minutes from the city.
Local tip: Go in late March or early April for the pre-Qingming harvest, when the price of the first picking is genuinely astonishing and the whole hillside is working. The rest of the year the walking trails between the villages are empty and beautiful.
Hefang Street & the old town
Neighborhood · Shangcheng, at the foot of Wushan hill
The restored Qing commercial street below Wushan, with traditional pharmacies, silk shops and snack stalls.
Local tip: Hefang Street itself is a tourist strip. The Hu Qingyu Tang traditional pharmacy behind it is not — it is a working Qing-dynasty medicine hall with a museum attached, and the smell of the dispensary alone is worth the visit.
Liangzhu Archaeological Site
Culture · Yuhang, north-west, near the tech campuses
A 5,000-year-old walled city with monumental water management, inscribed by UNESCO in 2019 and largely unknown outside China.
Local tip: This is the strongest archaeological case for Chinese state formation before the dynastic records, and the site museum is genuinely excellent. It is fifteen minutes from Alibaba's campus and almost nobody who works there has been.
Qianjiang New City & the riverfront
Landmark · Jianggan, on the Qiantang river
The modern CBD across the river — where Hangzhou put its towers, since West Lake's heritage protection means they cannot go near the lake.
Local tip: The river hosts the Qiantang tidal bore, one of the largest in the world, which surges upstream on high tides around the eighth lunar month. Locals check the tide tables; the best viewing is downstream at Yanguan in Haining rather than in the city.
Xiangji Temple & the Grand Canal north end
Hidden gemCulture · Gongshu, northern Hangzhou
The southern terminus of the Grand Canal, with restored warehouse districts, canal boats and a working temple beside the water.
Local tip: The Grand Canal ended here after fifteen hundred years and a millennium of grain barges, and it is now a quiet linear park you can walk or take a public canal boat along for the price of a metro ticket. Almost every visitor spends all their time at the lake and never comes north.
Explore 51 places across Hangzhou
Museums, landmarks, monuments, heritage sites and parks — mapped, with photos. The most notable spots first.
Museums & galleries
(18)
MuseumZhejiang Provincial Museum
Museum in Hangzhou, China
MuseumHu Qing Yu Tang
Traditional Chinese medicine museum and drugstore
Museum
MuseumLiangzhu Museum
Museum dedicated to the Neolithic Liangzhu culture
Museum
MuseumHangzhou Arts and Crafts Museum
Art museum in Hangzhou, China
MuseumMuseum of Seawall Site of Hangzhou
Museum in Hangzhou
MuseumSouthern Song Dynasty Guan Kiln Museum
Museum in Hangzhou.
MuseumKuahuqiao Site Museum
Museum in Hangzhou.
MuseumChina Finance & Taxation Museum
Museum in Hangzhou.
MuseumZhejiang University Museum of Art and Archaeology
Museum in Hangzhou.
MuseumNational Water Museum of China
Museum in Hangzhou.
MuseumDeshou Palace
Song-era palace in Hangzhou, China, now restored as a museum and tourist attraction
Zhejiang Nature Museum
拱墅区
Museum in 拱墅区.
Chinese Hangzhou Cuisine Museum
Museum.
Chinese Museum of Indian Studies
Museum.
Zhejiang science and technology museum
拱墅区
Museum in 拱墅区.
Hangzhou museum
上城区
Museum in 上城区.
Landmarks & architecture
(9)
LandmarkGongchen Bridge
Bridge in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
Landmark
Landmark
LandmarkWest Lake Cultural Square
Square in Hangzhou, China
Landmark
LandmarkPengbu Bridge
Bridge in People's Republic of China
LandmarkNew Qiantang River Railway Bridge
Bridge in People's Republic of China
LandmarkPengbu Bridge
Bridge on Qiantang River
LandmarkJade belt bridge
Bridge in Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Monuments & memorials
(5)West lake
Public artwork.
Song Yishi Wusong's Tomb
Historic site.
Zhejiang Revolutionary Martyrs Monument
Memorial.
Alibaba Logo
Historic monument.
Giant Fish Sculpture
Historic monument.
Places of worship
(7)
ReligiousYue Fei Temple
Temple near West Lake in Hangzhou, China, dedicated to the Song general Yue Fei
Religious
ReligiousCathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Roman Catholic cathedral in Hangzhou, China
ReligiousHangzhou Mosque
Mosque in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
ReligiousFormer Ma'nao Temple
Buddhist temple in Hangzhou, China
ReligiousChongyi Church
Church building in People's Republic of China
Lingyin Temple
西湖区
Place of worship in 西湖区.
Heritage & archaeology
(4)
Archaeological
ArchaeologicalFeilaifeng Grottoes
Caves and rock faces in Hangzhou, China, decorated with Buddhist art
Remains of Lingyao Pavilion
Historic ruins.
原4号楼
Historic ruins.
Parks & nature
(3)
ParkHupao Spring
Spring in Hangzhou, China, and its surrounding park
Park
ParkAutumn Moon on a Quiet Lake
Traditional view in Hangzhou, China, now maintained as a public park
More to explore
(5)Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow
Viewpoint.
The stones depicting the 12 Chinese zodiacal signs
Visitor attraction.
Guiren Pavilion
Viewpoint.
Seal Engravers' Society
Visitor attraction.
Marco Polo statue
Visitor attraction.
Data from Wikidata (CC0) & OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Images via Wikimedia Commons — see each credit. Listings are community-maintained and may be incomplete or out of date — verify hours and access before visiting.
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