Hangzhou & Its Neighbours
7-Day Shanghai, Huangshan, Wuzhen and Hangzhou Tour
An east China tour will take you to the must-see places around Shanghai. An old and modern Shanghai, the Yellow Mountain's cloud sea, ancient Wuzhen water town, West Lake with romance stories offer you sights to regions south of the Yangtze River (also known as Jiangnan).
Highlights
- See a Shanghai in 1920s at the French Concession
- Watch an amazing sunrise on spectacular Yellow Mountain
- Stroll along the ancient Wuzhen Water town
- Pick up and taste Dragon Well Tea
- Take a boat on the romantic West Lake




98.8% positive customer reviews among 10,000+
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Hangzhou Family Trip
Our guide Leaf met us at the train station as we arrived from Beijing and lead us on a very well paced exploration of important spots of West Lake as well as a few other historical places in the area.We also took a detour to Anji city and enjoyed seeing the natural wonders of the area including hearing about the history of the Green Tea in the area and had an amazing lunch at a local restaurant. Best Sweet and Sour Pork and Ribs we have had in China. more
Jul 2021,
allanmM3355IK
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2 night stay at Hangzhou
I took the train from Suzhou to Hangzhou and our private guide Gerry picked us up at the train station. During our stay, we visited the Six Harmonies Pagoda, Meijiawu Tea Plantation and the West Lake. We also spent time walking the streets enjoying tasty street foods such as beggar's chicken, bbq squid and crab dumplings with soup! Gerry was a very knowledgeable guide. He clearly explained the importance of the historical sites, and I was impressed with his command of English language. Gerry also answered all my curious questions. In the evenings, we had dinner at Grandma Homes restaurant which serves local specialties at extremely reasonable prices. The vinegar fish and special pork served with bread are two local favorites. --Gary-at-SF, U.S more
Nov 2019,
Gary-at-SF
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Unexpected pleasure and an excellent guide Gerry
Unexpected pleasure and an excellent guide Gerry.When I was researching our trip to China one of the guidebooks I rely on highlighted West Lake, Hangzhou. It isn’t featured on most packaged itineraries, but when I noticed it’s proximity to Shanghai (less than an hour by train), I asked China Highlights to add a couple of days there mostly so we could relax after more than a week of active sightseeing. We left surprised West Lake doesn’t make it on more itineraries as it was an oasis of paradise. The lake itself is beautiful. Very peaceful with bike routes and walking/running paths. Lots of trees and romantic bridges. Just a delightful place to relax and reconnect with nature. If you lived in Shanghai this would be were you would have a weekend getaway place. It can be crowded as many Chinese tourists do visit there. Our guide a Gerry was excellent. Had near perfect English and was flexible with our needs. He realized that due to the crowds that the planned schedule’s order should be reversed. As we had planned to rest at West Lake as that is the primary attraction, he adjusted the schedule (cut out a meal and reduced time at one of the attractions) so my daughter could have more free time to recover. He also organized tickets to the water and light show (which for a culture experience was excellent and one of the best we have seen) and he made sure we knew where to go. Like all of the China highlights guides we had, he worked from early in the morning to late at night with a positive attitude and friendly spirit. We highly recommend Gerry for your visit to Hangzhou and China Highlights for their tour services. --New York, U.S. more
Oct 2019,
NEWYORK
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Hangzhou for pleasure and business
Hangzhou for pleasure and business 。We four people visited Hangzhou,led by guide Gerry. He was so helpful to buy a bunch flowers for my business partners. He brought us to beautiful scenes of west lake. At our request He also led us to the motor company for my business. Everything was perfect in Hanzhou our trip. --Ervin, U.S. more
Oct 2019,
Ervin
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Hangzhou for pleasure and business
We four people visited Hangzhou, led by guide Gerry. He was so helpful to buy a bunch flowers for my business partner. He brought us to beautiful scenes of west lake. At our request he also led us to the motor company for my business. Everything was perfect in Hangzhou our trip. --goatervin1988,Vienna, Austria more
Aug 2019,
goatervin1988
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Unexpected Pleasure and an Excellent Guide Gerry
Our guide a Gerry was excellent. Had near perfect English and was flexible with our needs. He realized that due to the crowds that the planned schedule’s order should be reversed. As we had planned to rest at West Lake as that is the primary attraction, he adjusted the schedule (cut out a meal and reduced time at one of the attractions) so my daughter could have more free time to recover. --913WorldTraveler,White Plains, New York more
Aug 2019,
913WorldTraveler
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Tea experience and much more
Gerry was an excellent guide - very informative, knowledgeable, and fun to hang out with. He is flexible as well; my husband was feeling “under the weather “, and Gerry switched our itinerary to accommodate him. All this, as well as a boat ride on West Lake (with the 3 pagodas on the 1 yuan note) and lunch. We ate our best dish of all China there (that Gerry found the recipe for and sent to us)! It was a Chinese eggplant dish (picture attached). --Sharon T,Grand Rapids, Michigan more
Jul 2019,
Sharon T,Grand Rapids
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Outstanding visit in Hangzhou with Leaf, our tour guide!
We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Hangzhou with our wonderful guide, Leaf. Leaf went out of her way to make our stay extra special, including teaching Mandarin phrases to our daughters and finding just the right spots for photos. When my mother in law hurt her leg, Leaf traveled to the drugstore by bicycle at night and in the rain to get bandages, ointment, etc. Hangzhou was beautiful - we enjoyed walking around the lake and the boat ride. The evening show on the lake was spectacular! --julielbmccoy,Boston more
Jul 2019,
julielbmccoy
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Great tour of Westlake with Fiona
It was a very hot, tiring day but Fiona allowed us to take our time to see the sights. As we decided to finish up a bit early we were very surprised that she offered to help us rearrange our train back to Shanghai so that we could try and get back to our hotel a bit earlier. We learned a lot about the area and found it very interesting learning about Hangzhou's famous green tea amongst other things. Overall a very worthwhile experience. Well done China Highlights and Fiona. --Kathryn,Gundagai, Australia more
Jun 2019,
Kathryn
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Recommendable if you are just for a short time in HZ
I went to Hangzhou last year with my mom and we were there just for a couple of days, so we decided to do a guided tour.Gerry was our guide, he was informative and friendly. To every place he took us, he was explaining the history. Also, my phone broke that day and he helped me to go to the store and arrange the reparation. He was very helpful because no one in the shop could speak English. --Miriam more
Jun 2019,
Miriam
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Great one-day tour of Hangzhou with Gerry -- I enjoyed his knowledge of the city's history and culture and his enthusiasm while conducting the tour. He kept the itinerary flexible in order to adapt the tour to my interests. The visit to West Lake was very interesting, and the highlight for me was the chance to see Meijiawu, one of the villages renowned for growing and producing longjing tea. The beautiful landscape consists of terraced tea plants stretching high up the hillsides. After a demonstration from Nana, the tea plantation owner, of the proper technique for picking and drying the tea leaves, we had the chance to sample the longjing tea and learn more about its history. Overall this one-day tour was a great introduction to the sites of Hangzhou. --Michael T more
Apr 2019,
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Suggested Itinerary
Your private guide and driver will be waiting for you when you arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Seat in a comfortable and non-smoking car and enjoy a hassle free journey to your hotel. Check in with the help of your guide.
Today you will visit Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall to get an overview of Shanghai' s development including its history, present and future. It is an unbelievable scale model of the city. Later you will see Shanghai's new landmark-Shanghai World Financial Center, where you can have a bird's eye view of Shanghai from the top floor of the building (474 meters up).
Continue to walk on the Bund to discover the classic landmark of Shanghai and visit Yu Garden, which is a place of traditional Chinese garden and architectural features.
Good to know:
Yu Garden, a good way to gain an insight into old Shanghai and Chinese typical garden. Go early to avoid the crowds

After a western breakfast in the hotel, you will visit Xintiandi and Old French Concession in the morning. They are a tribute to the modern commercial China. See some typical local Shanghai houses (linong) in old times in this area. Old French Concession is an awesome French corner of Shanghai in the past. A nice walk to see some French architectures, shops and restaurants.
Fly to Huangshan in the afternoon. Your guide will take you to the airport in time and pick you up in Shanghan airport. Enjoy a hassle free transfer from Shanghai to Huangshan.

After a good rest and western breakfast in the city hotel, you will start to visit one of the most beautiful and magnificent mountains: the Yellow Mountain (Mt. Huangshan). Don't miss to glance at the wonderful scenery on the Yungu cable car (a round-trip cable car is included). The mountain's "Four Wonders" are: imaginatively-named pines, oddly-shaped rocks, seas of clouds, and hot springs. Guided by local specialist, who spend more than 200 days on the Yellow Mountain each year.
Good to know:Stay in one of the best hotels on the Yellow Mountain. Night on the mountain is rather cold, so prepare more warm clothes for your trip.

An early morning for a fantastic sunrise on the Yellow Mountain if the weather is good. Get yourself warm. The Yellow Mountain is a world UNESCO site popularly described in many classical Chinese poems and paintings. It's beautiful indeed even in rainy and foggy days. Head to Hongcun Village to see local Anhui architectures. It's a beautiful old village with lots of old mansions, canals, and ancestral hall. Reflections on its beautiful bond make the village more outstanding compared with other villages. Later, your guide will take you to catch a coach to Hangzhou.
Start to typical Chinese watertown Wuzhen after a western hotel breakfast. As one of the top 6 China's watertowns, Wuzhen have a history of over 2000 years. Famous for its ancient stone bridges, stone pathways and delicate wood carvings. A pretty place to capture old houses built along the water. Wuzhen Water Town has two sections: West (Xizha) and East (Dongzha). Your guide will take you to Xizha which is much bigger and more attractive but less tourists. You can get in touch with more original local life there.
Good to know
A must-see water town that worth a stay over to enjoy. If you want to stay overnight in Wuzhen, feel free to ask your travel advisor to arrange for you.

Visit Meijiawu Tea village to see Chinese tea farm, pick up and tasty Hangzhou's Dragon Well Tea (longjing tea). Driven uphill and walk in green tea plantation which is an origin place of authentic Longjing Tea. Surrounded by mountains and clean water, the village has a history of 600 years. Fresh air there in the morning is pleasant
Appreciate some stunning stone carvings and cultural treasures in Linyin Temple. It's a great Buddhist temple with over 300 rock carvings chiseled in the hillside and carving near the temple. The Flying Peak has some amazing carvings into the mountains and cliffs, which are unbelievable. It is the place that to pray for a good relationship after visiting the Bodhisattva.
Hangzhou is best known as the home of the picturesque West Lake. Take a small boat on the beautiful lake. You will visit the Fairy Island to see one of the Ten Best Views of West Lake — Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, which was printed on the back of one-yuan banknote.
Trip Notes
1. What is the best time to visit Hangzhou?
You can visit Hangzhou at any time. Hangzhou in every season has different beautiful scenery, famous for its Ten Scenes of West Lake. Spring and autumn are more popular because of hot summer and chilly winter. Avoid Chinese national holidays like May 1st, China National Day (Oct.1th-7th). The landmark West Lake is popular on weekends.

2.How to get Hangzhou?
From most cities
Flights/trains from most cities to Hangzhou are convenient.
From Shanghai
We suggest you arrive at Hangzhou by train from Shanghai, which can be as short as 1 hour. Private car transfer from Shanghai to Hangzhou is not offered due to the limitation of cars/buses from other cities on weekdays. We suggest you arrive at Hangzhou by train/air. High speed train tickets and flight tickets booking service are offered.
From/to Yellow Mountain
Regular coaches run between Hangzhou and the Yellow Mountain with a 3h journey.
3. Extend to Hangzhou's neighbors:
To Suzhou (1-2 days)
Extend to Suzhou to see its typical Chinese gardens and ancient water towns. Enrich your itinerary with Suzhou's must-see highlights: Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden/ The Garden of the Master of Nets, cruise along the Grand Canal.
Price includes:
Start planning your tailor-made tour now. Your 1:1 travel consultant will reply within 1 working day.