Welcome to Hangzhou! Your local travel guide and driver will meet you at Hangzhou airport / train station or your hotel and escort you to start today’s Hangzhou exploration! (Note: the number and order of attractions can be adjusted based on your schedule and interests.)
First, make the symbolic visit to the picturesque West Lake, which is the iconic site of Hangzhou and a pretty UNESCO World Heritage. Just as the famous traveler Marco Polo did and wrote: “A voyage on this lake offers more refreshment and pleasure than any other experience on earth”, you will start with a 45-minute leisure cruise to enjoy the tranquil lake views as well as the ancient pagodas, traditional arched bridges, tree-lined walkways, beautiful hills, green islands and lush gardens including visit to the beautiful Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon. After the cruise, stroll or take a sightseeing vehicle leisurely around to pass the famous Su Causeway, Bai Causeway, Broken Bridge, Gushan Hill, parks of Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond, Lotus Swaying in the Breeze, Orioles Singing in the Willows, etc. (As the lake is too large, you can take the sightseeing vehicle at any place on the route to save energy. The fee is included.)
Next, go to Feilai Peak (Peak Flying from Afar), which flew to China to spread Buddhism from India according to the legend. It features in over 300 Buddhist carvings lining the riverbanks and hillsides and tucked away inside grottoes. With over 1,000 years, it is the precious fresco treasure in the whole regions south of Yangtze River. Continue to the adjacent Lingyin Temple of nearly 1,700 year, which is the oldest and one of the most popular temples in Hangzhou. Hidden in the luxurious forest, it offers charming and peaceful landscape mixed with the strong Buddhist atmosphere among the large scaled of magnificent and antique temple clusters.
Then, drive uphill to Meijiawu Tea Village, a refreshing wonderland surrounded by mountains with a large area of emerald Dragon Well tea plantations in neat lines and curves. Walk among the tea plantations with fun and take beautiful photos (Optional activity: you can pay a visit to the local tea grower’s family and experience picking tea leaves, watching stir-drying tea leaves, enjoying tea ceremony, tasting Dragon Well tea, etc., which needs extra payment.). After that, go to China National Tea Museum to learn systematically about Chinese tea culture including the history, procession, customs and classification of tea, and admire diverse kinds of tea wares, machines, displays, etc.
After today’s visiting, be escorted back to your hotel in Hangzhou downtown. Have a good sleep!
Evening Ideas: 1) watch a magnificent night show - Enduring Memories of Hangzhou, a live performance by Yimou Zhang with changing lights, music and dancing on the West Lake, which usually starts at 7pm, needs extra payment; 2) feast your eyes with an amazing Music Fountain Show at Third Park, near the eastern lakeside of West Lake, free charged.