7 Days in Hangzhou: First-Timer Plan
Seven days is more than Hangzhou alone usually fills. This itinerary spends days 1-4 on the honest in-city core (West Lake, tea, Lingyin Temple, the Grand Canal, Xixi Wetland) and days 5-7 on the water towns, Suzhou, and Shanghai, since Hangzhou is most sensibly paired with those on a wider Yangtze-Delta circuit rather than stretched thin on its own.
Before you fly: set up Alipay (link a foreign card while you still have a home phone number handy), install a VPN, since you can’t download one once you’re inside China, and book Lingyin Temple’s timed-entry reservation online.
Day 1: West Lake and a tea village
Morning
Walk the Su Causeway (built 1074 by the poet Su Dongpo) and Bai Causeway (built roughly 250 years earlier, in 822, by the poet Bai Juyi) around West Lake. The lake, its causeways, and Solitary Hill are free to enter. Add the boat to Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (~¥55-70).
Afternoon
Head to the Longjing or Meijiawu tea villages, free to wander, with tastings ¥10-80 a cup. The Mingqian grade, picked before early April, is the most prized.
Evening
Dinner at Louwailou (founded 1848, right by the lake) for the local canon: Dongpo Pork, West Lake Vinegar Fish, Longjing Shrimp.
Day 2: Lingyin Temple and the lake’s ticketed sights
Morning
Spend the morning at Lingyin Temple and the Feilai Feng grottoes. Since 1 December 2025 both are free, but entry needs a real-name, timed reservation booked 1-7 days ahead through the temple’s mini-program in Alipay or WeChat, with daily caps. Lingyin was founded in 328 CE; Feilai Feng has 300+ rock carvings, including a well-known laughing Maitreya.
Afternoon
Visit Leifeng Pagoda (¥40, a 2002 reconstruction over the original that collapsed in 1924) or Yue Fei Temple (¥25).
Evening
Catch the nightly “Impression West Lake” show (directed by Zhang Yimou, ¥360-960) if you booked ahead.
Day 3: Museums, Hefang Street, and the Grand Canal
Morning
Visit the China National Silk Museum (free, the world’s largest silk museum) and the China National Tea Museum (free).
Afternoon
Explore Hefang (Qinghefang) Street, a free old pedestrian street from the city’s days as the Southern Song capital, Lin’an. Head on to the Grand Canal at the Gongchen Bridge; it’s a separate UNESCO listing from West Lake, inscribed in 2014.
Evening
A night canal cruise (~¥100), or dinner back near Wulin Square.
Day 4: Xixi Wetland and the Six Harmonies Pagoda
Morning
Spend the morning at Xixi National Wetland Park. The central zone is free; the quieter east and west zones cost about ¥80.
Afternoon
Visit the Six Harmonies Pagoda (~¥20, plus ¥10 to climb), on the Qiantang River south of the lake, a separate site from West Lake itself.
Evening
Pack for the day trips ahead.
Day 5: Day trip to Wuzhen and Xitang
Morning
Hire a private car for the Wuzhen and Xitang water towns, about 1.5-2h away; doing both by public bus in a day is a stretch, so a car is worth it if you want to see both.
Afternoon
Wander the canals, bridges, and old architecture of whichever town you have more time for.
Evening
Return to Hangzhou for the night.
Day 6: Day trip to Suzhou
Morning
Take the high-speed rail from Hangzhou East to Suzhou, about 43 minutes to 1h20. Suzhou’s classical gardens are the draw.
Afternoon
Continue through Suzhou’s gardens and old canal streets before heading back to Hangzhou for the night.
Evening
Dinner back in Hangzhou, or grab something at Suzhou station before your train back.
Day 7: Day trip to Shanghai
Morning
Take the high-speed rail from Hangzhou East to Shanghai, about 42-45 minutes. Shanghai is really its own multi-day trip, so treat this as a highlights-only day.
Afternoon
See what you can of the Bund and old French Concession before your train back, or catch a flight home directly from Shanghai if that suits your route better than flying out of HGH.
Evening
Return to Hangzhou, or depart from Shanghai depending on your onward plans.
Where to stay
West Lake shoreline for the splurge (Four Seasons Hangzhou at West Lake, Grand Hyatt Hangzhou on Hubin Road), Wulin Square/downtown for central convenience, or near Hangzhou East station given the day trips on days 5-7.
Transportation
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) connects to the lake by metro (Line 19 plus Line 1) in about 50-60 minutes for roughly ¥6-10. Hangzhou East puts Suzhou about 43 minutes away and Shanghai about 42-45 minutes away by high-speed rail. Pay metro fares by Alipay QR code at the gate; bikes are banned on the Su and Bai causeways.
Things to know
China sits at US State Department Level 2, driven mostly by exit-ban and arbitrary-detention risk that disproportionately affects businesspeople and people in legal disputes, not ordinary tourists; street crime is low. The language barrier is the more likely friction: download a translation app before you go.
Don’t assume “China is visa-free.” Roughly 50 countries get unilateral 30-day visa-free entry through 31 December 2026, but the US is not on that list. A separate 240-hour transit visa-free policy covers about 54 nationalities, including the US, UK, and Canada, but it requires a confirmed onward ticket to a third country; confirm the current rules on the official National Immigration Administration site before booking, since it’s the rule that lets a trip like this one work on a single entry.
Tip
Book the Lingyin Temple reservation early, and buy your Suzhou and Shanghai train tickets a few days ahead too; peak-time high-speed rail seats sell out around holidays.
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