China · Zhejiang

Hangzhou

Get your digital arrival card
  • Population:Around 10.4 million in the metropolitan area, one of eastern China's largest cities
  • Timezone:CST (UTC+8)
  • IATA:HGH
  • Currency:Chinese yuan (renminbi). Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate daily spending, unsurprisingly given the city's role in developing much of that infrastructure; cards work at larger hotels.
  • Key Areas:Around West Lake — the historical core, most hotels and the classical scenic views · The Grand Canal old town near Gongchen Bridge — canal-side warehouses and guild halls · The newer districts hosting Alibaba's campuses and modern Hangzhou's business life

Overview

Hangzhou has been called one of the most beautiful cities on earth since at least the thirteenth century, when Marco Polo is said to have marvelled at it as capital of the Southern Song dynasty — and West Lake, at its centre, still anchors that reputation today.

Culture

Hangzhou cuisine runs sweeter and more delicate than much of China's food, with West Lake fish in vinegar sauce and Dongpo pork — a slow-braised belly dish named for the Song-dynasty poet-governor who is said to have invented it — among the city's signature dishes. Festivals: Lotus-viewing in summer at West Lake, one of the ten classical scenic views at its seasonal peak, Tea-harvest season each spring in the Longjing villages, when the earliest, most prized leaves are picked. Museums: The China National Tea Museum, covering Longjing and China's wider tea culture, Local history displays around the Grand Canal old town.

Practical Info

Safety: Hangzhou is a safe, well-organised, heavily visited city with the usual standard precautions common across China's major tourist destinations. Language: Mandarin Chinese, with a distinct local dialect. English is reasonably common around West Lake's tourist areas and the business districts. Currency: Chinese yuan (renminbi). Alipay and WeChat Pay dominate daily spending, unsurprisingly given the city's role in developing much of that infrastructure; cards work at larger hotels.

Travel

West Lake sits at the centre of Hangzhou both geographically and culturally, its shoreline of causeways, pavilions, temples and gardens shaped and reshaped by poets and officials for over a thousand years — the lake's two main causeways, Su and Bai, are both named for Song-dynasty poet-governors who built them as public works and then wrote about them, a genuinely unusual case of infrastructure and literature growing from the same hands. Traditional guides to the lake name ten classical scenic views, each framed for a specific season or time of day — lotus in summer breeze, moon reflected on autumn water, snow on the broken bridge in winter — a curated way of experiencing the same lake differently across a full year, and a genuinely useful framework for visitors deciding what to prioritise on a shorter visit.

Frequently asked questions

A full day covers the highlights on foot or by rented bicycle, but two days lets you see the ten classical scenic views properly and add a boat crossing to one of the lake's islands. Many visitors return for a second, quieter visit in the evening, when the crowds thin and the lakeside lighting comes on.

Treat this Visaja page as your starting point: verify the current rules directly with the official source before you submit an application.