Best of Hangzhou 2-Day Highlights Tour

Day 1 Arrive in Hangzhou

Upon your arrival in Hangzhou, our local Hangzhou tour guide will pick you up at the exit of the train station, you will find a welcome signage “Hangzhou Private Tour”. And you Hangzhou tour start.

Our Hangzhou Pick Up Sign "Hangzhou Private Tour"

First, take a boat cruise in the westlake, The Westlake Hangzhou (including boat cruise on westlake): West Lake has an area of 5.6 square kilometers (2.2 square miles) and is the symbol of Hangzhou which lies on its banks and is a place of tranquility. On the boat you can see one of theTen Best Views of West Lake--Three Pools Mirroring the Moon.The occasional pagoda and Chinese-style arched bridges add atmosphere to the tree-lined walkways, verdant islands and hills make West Lake a very special part of any China experience.

After that, visit the Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond (Huagang Park). This spot is located at the southern end of Su Causeway. A clean stream flows from Huajia Hill to join West Lake here, and many flowers grow where the fresh water flows in, so it called "Flowery Harbor". This area now has been made into a 22 hectare (54 acre) park with many varieties of trees and flowers, featuring a peony garden which blooms in April and a goldfish pond which is the famous site for viewing fish.

Later, drive to the Guo Garden: Completed in 1861, this elegant garden villa was built as a private retreat for a wealthy Qing Dynasty silk merchant. Guo's Villa is a fine example of Chinese aesthetics in which the manmade and natural blend in harmonious balance. The Villa opened to the public in 1991, after being restored. It faces Spring Dawn, by the Sudi Causeway which crosses the West Lake, and has a distant view of the serene Southern Screen Hill and the Baochu Pagoda. The villa has two sections (1) Living in Quietness, where the owner lived (2) the Sky in the Mirror garden, with a pond surrounded by roofed corridors (lang), bridges, rockwork, trees and flowers.

Lunch at local restaurant to try the local delicacies (Our local tour guide will give you the best recommendation.)

After lunch, visit the China National Tea Museum. China is the birthplace of tea with the longest history of tea culture. Today tea culture is a bright pearl in traditional Oriental culture. China National Tea Museum is the only museum themed with tea and tea culture in China mainland, so you can know about the culture and history of tea in China, admire exhibits about tea, sample tea, learn tea art, and enjoy pleasing scenery of tea plantations.

Continue your visit to the Leifeng Pagoda, Leifeng Pagoda as an important cultural and historic attraction in the West Lake Scenic Area is quite familiar and well-known both in Chinese folk culture and Chinese literature history. Leifeng Pagoda is one of the ten sights of the West Lake because of the Legend of the White Snake. The legend was existed as oral traditions long before any written compilation. It has since become a major subject of several Chinese opera, films and TV series.

After the visit of Leifeng Pagoda, drive you to your hotel in Hangzhou downtown, our guide will help you check-in and the rest of the day is free on your own to explore the city.

Day 2 Hangzhou

After breakfast, the first stop for today is the Lingyin Temple: Lingyin temple, commonly translated as "Temple of the Soul's Retreat" is one of the largest and wealthiest temples in China. It was originally founded in 326 AD, but has been rebuilt no less than sixteen times since then. Lingyin Temple is one of the ten most famous ancient Buddhist temples in China. It also houses various Buddhist literature and treasures situated in front of the Temple, and is famous for its more than 470 stone carvings of Buddhist figures, which dated from the 10th to 14th centuries.

Later, move to Bamboo lined path at Yunqi: The forest is breathtaking. It really makes you realise how insignificant you are when you stand next to the bamboo trees towering way above you. You are surprised at how hard the bamboo actually was - no wonder Asian builders use it as scaffolding! The thing really liked about the bamboo forest is the light - even though the forest was dense, it still seemed really light and crisp, because of the fact the bamboo's all green (not like normal trees where the trunk is dark brown). It gives the forest a totally different vibe, hard to explain but it was just fascinating.

Have your Lunch at the restaurant popular with the local people to stay away from the tourists' meals.

After lunch, move to the Meijiawu Tea Plantation: Drogon Well Tea, also known as Longjing tea, is a variety of roasted green tea from Hangzhou where it is produced mostly by hand and has been renowned for its high quality, earning the China Famous Tea title. Meijiawu Tea village is seated at the hinterland of West Lake Park and it boasts the most important Dragon tea production basis. Here you are in an original natural environment, just relax your feelings and enjoy the special tea culture, taste the fragrant tea while appreciating the beautiful village scenery. And our guide or Tea Farmer will show you how to pick the leaves, how to fry the leaves and how to drink the best tea in China.

Next, visit the Six Harmonies Pagoda, a representative ancient pavilion-style tower in China, located on Yuelun Mountain to the south of the West Lake and facing Qiantang River. It is one of the three renowned pagodas in Hangzhou, together with another two around the West Lake, Baochu Pagoda and Leifeng Pagoda. Because of the height advantage and special location, Liuhe Pagoda is one of the best places to view the splendid Qiantang River Tide.

The last stop is the Song Dynasty Imperial Street: Has been renamed Zhongshanlu Beiduan, but still leads to the Palace of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127AD). The road that stretches 400 meters (1,310ft) is lined with snack bars that offer local delicacies and shops that sell antiques, embroidered items and silks among others.

After the tour, our tour guide and driver will drive you back to your hotel in Hangzhou or the Hangzhou train station and your tour ends.

Price Per Person in US Dollars