This is a guest post by Brendon of China Travel Go.
Hangzhou is an ancient and beautiful city near the east coast of China not far from Shanghai. It is one of China’s the most beautiful cities with incredible attractions and an absolutely must see travel destination. If you think adding a trip to Hangzhou to your holiday in China will be too expensive, don’t worry. I am going to show you how to have an amazing time in Hangzhou for less than $210 American.
The sites you’ll see in Hangzhou for less than US$210 are:
- West Lake
- Leifeng Pagoda
- Temple of General Yue Fei
- Pagoda of Six Harmonies
- Ling Yin Temple
- Solitary Hill
To see all these sights and fully enjoy Hangzhou, you will need to be in Hangzhou for at least four full days.
Preparation – Getting to Hangzhou and organizing your hotel
Getting to Hangzhou
Most people travelling to Hangzhou will be coming from Beijing. The cheapest and best way to travel to Hangzhou from Beijing is by train. There are four daily services from Beijing to Hangzhou that take around 15 to 16 hours. I suggest you take the T31 which is an overnight train and arrives in Hangzhou at around 8:30am
The cost of a very comfortable hard sleeper (bed) is $54. Once you include the cost of the train ticket both ways, this will be your largest single expense.
Accommodation
Hangzhou is full of good hostels and hotels within walking or riding distance of the major travel spots so accommodation is not a problem. The price of dorm beds starts at $5 and the price of private rooms starts at $13 so accommodation is also very affordable.
The best way to organize your hostel is to use a website like Hostelworld and make your booking online or give them a call in advance. They are often booked out so don’t leave your booking too late.
My personal favourite is the Touran Backpacker Hostel in the hills to the west of West Lake. You can call them on +86 0571 86094311 to make a booking.
Costs
Train tickets – $108 Hostel budget for 4 nights – $20Total so far – $128
Food and Transportation
Food and transportation is your third largest expense and it is here that you will blow your budget if you are not careful. If you stay away from lobster dinners and exotic cocktails you can dine like a king/queen and still be within your budget.
Food
Be conservative and budget to be in Hangzhou for 5 days which will be 15 meals in total. Each meal should cost you no more than $2.50 but just to be super careful, lets say $3. That is a total of $45.
How to eat well this cheaply? By sticking to restaurants near your hostel that local residents use and avoiding restaurants in the tourist areas or in the main part of the city. Here are a couple of examples from my trip to Hangzhou. Muxurou (a lovely vegetable and meat dish) and a bowl of rice cost $2.50 and a large bowl of chilli noodles cost $1.60.
For some of your breakfasts and lunches you’ll want to buy fruit, food and drinks from local supermarkets. This will be convenient and allow you to have lunches while visiting some of the sites.
Transport
The only way to really go over budget is by using taxis and apart from getting from the train station to your hostel and back, there is no need at all to use taxis. Hangzhou does not have subways like China’s larger cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. It has something MUCH better and cheaper. A city wide bike rental network and very bike friendly roads.
You are only charged for the rental of the bikes if you use it continuously for over an hour. I was only charged $0.50 for three days of bike hire.
For some of the out of the way attractions you will need to catch buses and bus fare is around $0.50 per bus. Budget for $1 a day for both bike hire and bus fare which is plenty. Also include $4 for taxi fare to your hostel and back.
Costs
Food – $45 Transportation – $9Total – $54
Day One
You arrive at Hangzhou train station at 8:30am, grab a taxi and are at your hostel checking in by 9:00am. This gives you a full day to see the sites. On day one you will visit West Lake and Leifeng Pagoda.
First thing to do is to head from your hostel to one the main bike rental stations where you can hand over a $47 deposit and get a digital hire card. Only the larger rental stations hand out cards but all the stations can use the card once you have it.
Next pedal/walk to to Leifeng Pagoda on the south side of West Lake. Leifeng Pagoda is a Buddhist pagoda with over a thousand years of history and fantastic views of the lake.
After you finish with the pagoda, enjoy the rest of the day by leisurely walking around West Lake. The West Lake is 2000 years old with incredible charm, beauty and serenity. It is the heart of Hangzhou and the most popular lake in China.
Hangzhou does not have much of a night life so you’ll be spending your evenings hang out with some one from your dorm, drinking local beer at $0.30 a bottle or just chilling out and relaxing.
Costs
Leifeng Pagoda – $6 West Lake – FreeTotal – $6
Day Two
After breakfast pick up a bike from a nearby bike rental station and head off to the Pagoda of Six Harmonies which is a 15-20 minute bike ride from the southern end of West Lake. If you are not up to a bike ride, you can catch buses K504, K4,8, 354, 808 and tourist bus 5.
The Pagoda of Six Harmonies is a thousand year old Buddhist temple that was built for tide control. The pagoda itself is fun to climb and the temple grounds are extensive and full of miniature replicas of ancient pagodas.
Head back to the West Lake, dump your bike and enjoy a stroll along the west side of West Lake to the Temple of General Yue Fei which is on the north west side of the lake. This temple built 800 years ago in memory of General Yue Fei, an exemplary general who was betrayed and later vindicated.
Costs
Pagoda of Six Harmonies – $5 Temple of General Yue Fei – $4Total – $9
Day Three
Walk along the east side of West Lake to Bai Causeway then head west along the causeway to Solitary Hill. Solitary Hill is a hill on the largest island in West Lake that has a number of interesting sites such as ancient palaces.
Cost
West Lake – Free Solitary Hill – FreeTotal – Free
Day Four
The Ling Yin Temple is in the Lingyin Scenic Area to the west of West Lake. There is a large bike rental station so you can bike there which will take 30 minutes or more or you can catch the K7, Y1 or Y2 buses.
Ling Yin Temple is a very large Buddhist temple built on the hills in the Lingyin Scenic area over 1500 years ago.
Cost
Lingyin Scenic Area – $7 Lingyin Temple – $5Total – $12
Day Four – Goodbye Hangzhou
Time to pack your bags, exchange email addresses and facebook acount names with new friends, check out, say good bye to Hangzhou and hop on the train back to Beijing .
Budget
Train - $108 Hostel – $20 Food – $45 Transportation – $9 Day 1 expenses – $6 Day 2 expenses – $9 Day 3 expenses – $0 Day 4 expenses – $12Total expenses – $209
About the Author:
Hi, my name is Brendon and I am a China travel addict!!! I’m an Australian expat in China where I have been living and travelling for over eight years now. China has so much to offer in terms of incredible sites, history and culture so I’ve recently started blogging about travel in China to help and encourage people to travel here.
You can follow his blog, China Travel Go, and on Facebook and Twitter.
That’s a pretty good deal for $210.00
Right! I’m pretty impressed by what you can do there for $210!
Excellent info guide! The ancient temples are mesmerizing!
Yes, Brendon did a great job with this guide. I find temples to be very interesting and very detailed architectural pieces to admire.
Awesome deal if you ask me. And just so you know, I still have not posted about my Hangzhou trip even though I did it last April… Talk about too many things to do.
I agree, it’s a good deal! Ah, then I look forward to read about your Hangzhou post!