Overview
An old capital and long a byword for prosperity and beauty, Hangzhou grew rich at the southern end of the Grand Canal and on the trade in silk and tea. Its heart is the West Lake, a World Heritage landscape of water, islands and hills laid out over centuries with causeways, temples and gardens. The modern city is large and fast-growing, but the lake and the tea country behind it keep the older, gentler Hangzhou alive.
Highlights
The West Lake is best walked or cycled along its causeways, or crossed by boat to its island pavilions, with the Leifeng Pagoda above the shore. In the hills behind, the villages of Longjing grow China’s most famous green tea, and the Lingyin Temple sits among forest and carved grottoes. The Grand Canal and the silk museums round out a stay in the old city.