Hangzhou: one day around the West Lake

Every Chinese person has strong feelings about the West Lake, which is either a reason to go or a warning. It is beautiful, it is enormous, and it is very crowded near the main causeways on weekends.

The trick is the same one Shanghai people use: get the earliest train, go to the parts furthest from the main entrances, and eat lunch somewhere residential. Then it genuinely is as good as a thousand years of poetry claims.

Getting there

High-speed trains run from Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou East in 45 to 60 minutes, frequently through the day. Hangzhou East is metro-connected; some trains go to Hangzhou station which is closer to the lake.

Check which station you are arriving at — they are twenty minutes apart by metro.

What to do with the day

Do not attempt to walk the entire lake shoreline; it is roughly 15 kilometres and mostly repetitive. Instead: take the metro to a less-crowded section, walk the Su Causeway early, then head up into the hills on the west side for Longjing tea village.

The tea village gives you hills, terraces, a completely different atmosphere and an excellent lunch — all within half an hour of the lake by taxi.

The tea scam, specifically

Near the lake and especially near Lingyin Temple, people approach tourists offering "tea ceremonies" or refreshments. Do not go with them. These are a well-established scam involving a large bill for low-quality tea.

Buy tea from shops with fixed prices and clearly displayed menus, or skip it. Longjing tea village restaurants are legitimate, but agree prices before ordering.

Eating

Hangzhou does excellent freshwater fish, bamboo shoots, and a famous vinegar-sour cabbage fish soup. Dongpo pork — slow-braised belly named after a poet — is the signature dish.

Against my usual advice, the lakeside restaurants are not terrible value if you check menu prices first. But the tea village places are better.