To visit Hangzhou, there are numerous places are worth sightseeing, such as Hangzhou Must See Attractions, Hangzhou Must See Shows, Hangzhou Must See Commercial Streets, etc. Top China Travel has picked out some must see in Hangzhou that are worthwhile for tourists.
West Lake, is a like a shining pearl inlaid on the vast land of China, reputed for beautiful scenery, a multitude of historical sites, brilliant cultural relics, and a profusion of native products.
There are famous Ten Views of the West Lake including Melting Snow on Broken Bridge, Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake, Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard, Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds, Spring Dawn at Su Causeway, Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, Viewing Fish at Flower Pond, Evening Bell Ringing at Nanping Hill, Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow, Orioles Singing in the Willows. West Lake in Hangzhou is always beautiful and you can enjoy picturesque view at West Lake anytime you visit the West Lake.
At the West Lake, you can take the cruise to enjoy the beauty of it as well as stroll around.
Lingyin Temple, one of the ten most famous ancient Buddhist monasteries in China, can offer you appealing places of historic interest, cultural relics as well as agreeable natural scenery with woods, flowers, springs, etc.
With a history over 1,700 years, Lingyin Temple is one of the most famous temples in China. At Lingyin Temple, you can visit the architectures including Tianwang Hall, Mahavira Hall, Pharmacist Hall and other pavilions, and there are huge statues of Buddhas at the halls like Maitreya Buddha(laughing Buddha), Shakyamuni Buddha and Medicine Buddha. You can burn incense and worship for health, wealth and luck at the temple. You can also taste the vegetarian foods, burn incense and worship and get some souvenirs like exquisite bracelets.
Visiting the Lingyin Temple, you can pay a visit to the Feilai Peak, which is near the Lingyin Temple. Here you can see the stone carvings of Buddhas and grottoes. And Lingyin Temple and Feilai Peak are also a popular city-walk route in the past for the scholars and literary men.
Six Harmonies Pagoda, a brick-and-wood structure, with a view of Qiantang River, presents a quiet image of age-old majesty. Looking out from the top of the pagoda, sightseers can see as far as the misty horizon, enjoying the unforgettable, breathtaking scenery.
Liuhe Pagoda, also known as Six Harmonious Pagoda, is located on the Yunlue Hill near the Qiantang River. It is brick and stone structure inside and wooden-structure outside. There are bell, pavilions and plaque at the Liuhe Pagoda. Here you can know about the history and stories of Liuhe Pagoda, admire the architectures and listen to the bell. At the top of the Liuhe Pagoda, you can have a panoramic view of the Qiantang River and the surrounded landscapes. Listening to the waves of the Qiantang River is one of the things to do at the Liuhe Pagoda.
Wuzhen Water Town, a town surrounded by rivers, has a special beauty which has not yet been overrun by tourists. Visitors walk through the long pavilion and in front of shops, as the cries of vendors rise and fall on the ear. The air is full of the smells of fresh vegetables, walnuts, fish and shrimp.
Wuzhen Ancient Town is divided into Dongzha and Xizha, Xizha is big and Dongzha is small. If you want to stay overnight and enjoy the night view of water towns of China, it is recommended that you visit Xizha and stay at Xizha because Xizha has many kinds of hotels and guesthouses for your choice. If you want to avoid the crowds and experience the local folk performances, it is recommended that you visit Dongzha. At Wuzhen Water Town, you can take the boat to experience the life of the local people in the past. The ancient bridges, rivers, traditional buildings and long corridor all provide you the typical scene of water towns in Jiangnan.
Hu Qingyu Traditional Pharmacy, the only state-level professional one in China, presents to visitors a style of antique architecture besides a treasury of traditional Chinese medical science and technology. Hu Qingyu Hall, also known as Hu Qingyu Tang, is the largest industrial and commercial ancient building complex of late Qing dynasty in Hangzhou and the best preserved industrial and commercial ancient building complex in China at present. If you know about the Tongrentang in Beijing, and Hu Qingyu Hall is the same famous and important in Hangzhou. At Hu Qingyu Hall, you can know about the history and culture of Chinese traditional medicine, admire the historic architectures and taste some health teas, which have unique taste and are beneficial to our health.
China Tea Museum, the only national museum in China that takes tea as its theme, displays tea's history, the various tea, tea events, tea sets and tea customs in China. It will tell the deep influence of Chinese tea in the minority groups, while there are more than three hundred kinds of tea in Kaleidoscope Hall.
There are two museums of China National Tea Museum in Hangzhou, China National Tea Museum Shaungfeng and China National Tea Museum Longjing. China National Tea Museum Shaungfeng is located near the West Lake, which is a picturesque Chinese garden with bridges, pavilions and tea gardens. At China National Tea Museum Shaungfeng, you can know about the history of Chinese tea and its broadcasting to the world and other tea knowledge including tea types, tea sets, tea customs and tea culture. Here you can also experience tea leaves picking. The lush tea gardens are best background for photographing, where you can get beautiful photos at China National Tea Museum Shaungfeng.
More attractions in Hangzhou: Hangzhou Attraction
Impression of West Lake, staged on the wavy, mellow and changing West Lake, is a large-scale and the first-rate international art performance on the real landscape directed by Zhang Yimou and other famous directors which leads you to a sweet thousand-year dream.
The Romance of the Song Dynasty, based on the historic stories and legends in the city of Hangzhou, costing more than 100 million yuan to reperform the magnificant epic masterpiece in Song Dynasty, the show is a large stereoscopic musical drama which adopted the old stories and legends in Hangzhou City, integrated the world music with acrobatic art, applied the high technology to create a dreamy poetic imagery.
More shows in Hangzhou: Things to do in Hangzhou
Silk Market, an old-time favorite when looking for small gifts or fabric for that robe, is the best place for you to seek high quality silk products in Hangzhou. They have a range of quality and taste, and it's all nicely priced.
Yan An Road, a commercial center rather than a shopping district, here you can not only do some shopping with your friends, but also experience a Hangzhou nightlife in those grand buildings including the Zhejiang People's Provincial Great Hall, Hangzhou Culture Center, Victory Theatre, International Mansion, Hangzhou Department Store, Hangzhou Grand Hotel, and Haifeng Western Restaurant, etc.
Hefang Street, one of the oldest streets in Hangzhou, collects the business culture, construction culture and folk art culture, famous people, old alleys, ancient houses and renowned store accumulating rich historical and cultural heritage.
Hefang Street is a part of Qinghefang Historical and Cultural Block, which is about 1,800 meters long. There are many buildings of Ming and Qing dynasties on the both sides of the Hefang Street. At the Hefang Street, you can see the Hu Qingyu Hall(traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy and museum), Zhu Bingren Bronze Sculpture Museum, Hu Xueyan’s Mansion and other museums and former residences. Here you can see some China Time-Honored Brand shops like Wang Xingji Fans and Zhang Xiaoquan Scissors. There are many local snacks you can taste at Hefang Street like Dingsheng cakes. And the night view of the Hefang Street is also charming, which will bring you back to the old Hangzhou, where you can stroll around slowly at night.
Wulin Street, a characteristic commercial street in Hangzhou which perfectly integrated shopping, entertainment, tourism, and leisure together. The garments and clothes accessories are characterized by modern individuality with quite a number of world famous brands. There are also some women barbers, beauty saloons, fitness centers here.
More commercial streets in Hangzhou: Hangzhou Shopping
Relarted Information
Highly recommended tour in Hangzhou: 4 Days Best Hangzhou Tour
(Attractions: West Lake, Lingyin Temple, Six Harmonies Pagoda, Hu Qingyu Traditional Pharmacy, China Tea Museum, Wuzhen Water Town)
More tours in Hangzhou: Hangzhou Tours