The Ultimate 3.5-Day Travel Guide to Hangzhou

Get ready to walk a lot, you won't want to sit down even while exploring West Lake.

Why I Chose a Hotel at "Wulinmen"? — Because the subway and bus are super convenient

Once I dropped my luggage next to Wulinmen subway station, I felt instantly relaxed: Whether I wanted to go to Baoshi Mountain, Lingyin Temple, or Longjing Village, it was almost zero transfer, and I could get anywhere in under 30 minutes.
There’s a bus stop just 2 minutes from Wulinmen subway station; you can scan your Alipay "Hangzhou Pass" to board without the hassle of queuing for a taxi.

Day 1 Afternoon: Baoshi Mountain → Broken Bridge

After I landed at noon, I had lunch at my grandma's place, and by 1:30 PM, the sunshine at West Lake encouraged me to head out, so I moved my original "sunset" plan to earlier.

1. Baoshi Mountain: Get off at Fengqi Road subway station and walk 10 minutes to "Chuyangtai" at the mountain foot.

   • Recommended Route: Chuyangtai→Amphibian Peak→Baochu Pagoda→Beishan Street
     The stone at Amphibian Peak looks like a frog’s face, and sitting there to view the full panorama of West Lake is stunning; by 3:30 PM, you can already see hints of the evening glow.

2. Beishan Street: I originally planned to walk all the way to Pinghu Qiu Yue to catch the sunset, but I ended up shopping and taking photos, with one way I wasted time being "this shop’s entrance looks too good to take a photo in front of"... By the time I realized, it was already dark at the Broken Bridge.
   I missed the sunset but saw the white lights illuminating the Bai Causeway, which was still worth it.

Tip: Baoshi Mountain doesn’t have an entrance fee, just wear sneakers, and there’s only one public restroom on the mountain (behind Baochu Pagoda) so make sure to take care of that first.

Day 2 All-around West Lake: Liulang Wenying→Taizi Bay→ Turtle Pond

I left my hotel at 7:50 AM to catch the bus, taking a counterclockwise route around West Lake, deciding "should I go in or not" as I walked all day.

1. Liulang Wenying: Get off at Qingbo Gate, turn right ten meters in, and you’ll see a bunch of mandarin ducks (seriously, there’s a lot), then just saunter to the New Honghe Bridge—the reflection in the bridge arches makes a perfect circle.
2. Huagang Guanyu: At the entrance of the Su Causeway, check out the koi pond along the way. If you want to take a boat to the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, buy the ticket quickly at the dock, it’s about 25 minutes per trip. I didn’t wait and just slipped out to Taizi Bay.
3. Taizi Bay: The big windmill photo spot is a must, but expect to wait in line; I went to "Fanghuai Pavilion" on the back hill, and there’s a row of empty chairs on the lawn, sitting there for five minutes makes you not want to get up; walking down further to the wooden platform by the water (Jiuyue Feiying), it’s less crowded, and you can see the church steeple.
4. Yuhuwan & Turtle Pond: Get off at Yanggongdi for Yuhuwan, where you can snap pictures of the bridge and tea gardens for wallpapers; Turtle Pond is a hidden little gorge, with small bridges, waterfalls, and tea gardens in succession, I realized it was already 5:30 PM, watching the sunset glow shimmering on the water made me “unable to walk” back to the hotel.

Day 3: Temples x Nature, from Fahai Temple to Jiuxi

I set aside this day for “green + Zen,” and surprisingly, time still wasn’t enough.

1. Fahai Temple (get off at Shangtianzhu Station)
   • Not crowded, the eaves of the Buddha Hall are stacked layer upon layer, and from the highest platform, it looks like Lego bricks from above.
   • The trendy amulet is 20 yuan each; if you want to check it out, you’ll need to queue.
2. Fahai Temple → Yongfu Temple:
   Take the little path from the side door of Fahai Temple downhill, with tea gardens and maple trees on both sides of Meiling North Road, it feels like walking through a filter in autumn, no rush to catch a bus.
3. Yongfu Temple
   The temple is built on a terrace following the mountain's contour, with pine trees shading both sides of the stone steps, and it's a release site with fewer people and bird songs.
4. Lingyin Temple: I could see it right before me, but it was already 3 PM, and the line to buy tickets went three curves deep, so I just gave up.
5. Jiuxi: After reaching Jiuxi bus station, follow the "Jiuxi Yanshu" wooden sign inwards, and it takes 20 minutes to get to the waterfall.
   The sycamore trees at the end of November must look even more beautiful; they’re already red, yellow, and green layered.
6. Longjing Village: By the time it was totally dark, I snapped a photo at the village entrance and planned to come back next time to have tea.

Day 4 Rain or Shine: Foggy West Lake + Tiger Running Spring

It started raining in the early morning on the fourth day, so I cut the original plan for "Tiger Running Spring + Yunqi Bamboo Path" since Yunqi Bamboo Path (the bamboo forest is best appreciated in sunny weather, too gray when it rains) and switched to the West Lake West Line plus Tiger Running Spring in the rain.

1. Xiling Bridge: Fewer people on a rainy day, with the curves, remnants of lotus, and fog = watercolor screensaver; also popped into Xiling Seal Art Society, 10 minutes up the stairs to see a small exhibition on seal carving.
2. Pinghu Qiu Yue: The rainy fog makes the silhouette of the opposite city completely blurry, giving you a soft-focus effect for photos.
3. Quyuan Fonghe: Directly navigate to "Lianyu 52 Resort," walk to that row of big wine jars on Yanggongdi (lotus leaf jars), and the red koi in the rain look especially vibrant.
4. Guozhuang: Entrance fee is 10 yuan, my favorite courtyard in Hangzhou. With each step, there's a picturesque view, and sitting down to listen to the rain for ten minutes makes you never want to get up.
5. Maojiabu: Right across from Guozhuang, the lake surface in the rain is vast and misty, like a damp effect in traditional Chinese painting.
6. Tiger Running Spring: It started raining even harder, but the water at Tiger Running Spring is so green it looks like a piece of jade coated in oil, with mountain springs bubbling along the way, breathing in the air feels like sipping cold-brew Longjing tea.

If you’re planning a similar trip, here are my simplified suggestions:

I took the bus and walked a lot for the entire trip, averaging over 50,000 steps a day, but if you don’t want to be that hardcore, feel free to skip 1-2 spots; wherever you stop in Hangzhou, it’s all picturesque.