Hangzhou: Officially DONE With You T_T (My Rant & Pitfall Guide)
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Here we come, let me share with you my experience in Hangzhou:
- Before my trip, I was full of ambition: Hangzhou, I am coming to conquer you!
- After the trip: It felt like Hangzhou has ‘walked all over’ me and left me exhausted.
Pre-departure preparation checklist:
- Picking hotels proved to be a large undertaking! After days of research, I found that most hotels in Hangzhou suffered from poor soundproofing and unpleasant odors. Scouring reviews only heightened my anxiety, making it challenging to find a decent hotel.
- Finally, the two I chose were safe bets. Thank goodness!
Day 1: From surprise to 'shock'
On the 22nd, when the flowers weren’t fully bloomed yet, I canceled my plan to visit Damingyuan (a flower appreciation spot).
I booked a gondola on the Jinsha port line at 7:15 in the morning. Although it was still early and I wasn’t quite awake, I arrived on time.
At this point, the West Lake (the most famous scenic spot in Hangzhou) wasn’t overly crowded yet, which brought a great sense of joy to my heart: The sunlight is so great! The lake water looks so beautiful! And I could even catch a glimpse of adorable water birds like the Eurasian Coot as well. (coot is a type of waterbird.)
After disembarking, I took a bus directly to Tea Museum (Tea Museum), where Snow Willow (a kind of spring-blooming plant) blossoms. By now, there were more people around, but I could still tolerate it.
However, a turning point struck! In the afternoon, I visited Jiuxi (a scenic hiking trail popular for its streams and tea fields). Oh my God! It seemed like 300 million people from all over China had crowded into Hangzhou.
Who would have thought that you could have traffic jams while just walking? There was such a rush that you couldn't squeeze in anywhere (note: these weren’t vehicular traffic jams, folks! People were literally blocking the way.)
The picturesque spring scenery of tea gardens and cute little animals beside the roads disappeared from my sight as soon as I arrived at Jiuxi. I had planned to walk all the way to Fadi Temple (a very popular Chinese temple) but gave up due to the large crowds and slow pace, retreating back to Longjing village (a place renowned for producing Longjing tea).
What happened then? I spent an hour standing on a bus!
When asked why not take a taxi, the reason being during weekends and holidays, there are traffic controls in this area (cars are restricted based on license plates, along with serious traffic congestion), causing almost all taxi drivers and rideshare services to refuse to pick up passengers!Totally exhausted, I finally made it back to the hotel. With food being a major issue at this point, all the famous restaurants were queuing up like crazy or it was close to closing time without the waiters taking any more orders either. Eventually, I settled for a chicken rice meal, surprisingly pretty tasty.
Day 2: The 'crazy crowd' at Tai Zziwan Park and the 'astronomically expensive' soybean sprout egg
In this day, I focused on visiting two places: Yunqi Bamboo Forest Pathway (a tranquil bamboo forest pathway) and Tai Ziwan Park (an popular spot for springtime tulips and cherry blossoms)
One can imagine it won’t be lacking people since Tai Ziwan is a popular name.
If the whole West Lake scenic spot gathered around 2 billion people, perhaps one-third of them are in Tai Ziwan Park and half are elsewhere.
The restaurant in Meijawu (another tea-famed small town) ripped me off too.
Note： If the store owner recommends you seasonal dishes, don't just order randomly. Be sure to ask about the price first!
I ordered soybean sprout scrambled eggs (soybean sprout is another kind of seasonal vegetables) for 68 RMB , but I think they only put two stems in it. It was so frustrating!
For a good photoshoot in Tai Ziwan, you have to fight your way through the crowds. It could be so overwhelming that I start worrying about those little bridges that may be trodden down by crowds!
As I came out, the traffic congestion persisted, making it almost unbearable. I can’t fathom how this place could attract that much crowd!
My biggest complaint about the way: the sidewalk was too narrow, there were no dedicated lanes for bicycles, but a huge number of cars on the road.
On the bright side, Hangzhou drivers seem quite skilled (no honking on the streets no matter what kind of vehicles).
Day 3: Learned my lesson, opting to ride bikes.
On this day, I felt much better.
I chose Hangzhou children’s park and Liulang Wenying (two places with less people around) for cherry blossoms. The large crowds could be tolerated, not too astonishing.
However, road traffic was still as usual, so most of my day was spent riding bicycles. I refused to take a taxi or bus, instead of enjoying cycling!
My advice for friends planning a trip in Hangzhou:
Absolutely, the West Lake is stunningly beautiful, but there are also an enormous amount of crowd.
Note： best visiting time would be Monday through Thursday, excluding all statutory holidays!
Clothing Tips: either give up fancy dresses and wear more casual pants, making it easier to cycle and quickly pass through red lights. You can just find a green patch and sit in it whenever tired.
Means of Transportation Recommendation: it will be tough to pick-up a taxi during peak hours and near scenic spots, and public buses can get extremely crowded. Cycling with a shared bike may be a good choice but be cautious due to insufficient lanes for bicycles.
Dining Tip: queuing in hot restaurants is inevitable. Make sure to check the price before ordering seasonal dishes to avoid being overcharged.
My Heartfelt Opinion:
I am never indulging in such a ‘festive’ scene again and won’t adding any pressure on Hangzhou’s transportation.
I really wish to go back to Beijing now.
May all of us safely and happily appreciate the beautiful spring scenery~
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Just got back from a day trip to Hangzhou. My ultimate tip for effortlessly hitting up a few sights: rent an electric scooter, rent an electric scooter, rent an electric scooter! Hangzhou is currently swarming with people and cars, and the traffic is insane everywhere. But with a little electric scooter, it's a completely different experience! You can easily zip between attractions, enjoying the scent of flowers and the warm sunshine. Absolutely lovely.
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Pinning this! Seriously good advice (even though I didn't get to enjoy it myself).
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Believe me, people from Hangzhou feel the exact same way when visiting tourist spots in Beijing.
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Beijing on weekends is still manageable. The attractions are more spread out, so people aren't as concentrated.
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No, seriously, with toon shoots costing 80 yuan per half-kilo, 68 yuan for a toon omelet in Meijiawu really isn't expensive, even if it only had a couple of shoots.
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Hearing that makes me feel much better! Definitely not a rip-off then, not a rip-off.
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Next time, I recommend checking out Inner West Lake, Yuhang Bay, Turtle Pond, Maojiabu... fewer crowds and beautiful scenery.
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As a Hangzhou local, I went today.
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Next time you visit, try Yanggong Causeway, Qu Yuan Feng He (Lotus in the Breeze at Crooked Courtyard), Guo's Villa, Maojiabu, and Turtle Pond. You can walk along that route and spend a whole day exploring. For food, there are farmhouse restaurants behind Turtle Pond. It's not as crowded there. You can also use Hangzhou's public red bikes – the first hour is free, and then it's one yuan per hour after that.
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Excuse me, is Xixi Wetland still recommended at this time of year?
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Come next time in winter. Because it's so cold, there'll be fewer people.
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Wow, a sight like this is rare, only seen once every few years! Hangzhou usually only gets decent snow like this once every two or three years.
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Even with the crowds, it has a different kind of beauty.
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Absolutely wow! Great photos!
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Is it safe to travel alone in Hangzhou?
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Staying home is the safest!
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As a Hangzhou native, I went to the Broken Bridge at West Lake yesterday.
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Man, it was packed with people!
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Just got back to Guangzhou from Hangzhou, and I feel exactly the same way as you. Not trying to praise one city over the other, but while Guangzhou has a lot of electric scooters and can be a bit chaotic, at least there are sidewalks to walk on. West Lake is beautiful, but you can realistically only visit one or two spots a day, relying on walking or shared bikes. Ride-hailing services are mostly only available in the city center; otherwise, you often can't even get to the pickup points, sometimes needing to walk over 600 meters. Buses are decent if you plan your route, but they stop running around 7 PM. I stayed for 4 days, and apart from the 26th when it was scorching hot and the cherry blossoms at Qu Yuan Feng He were stunningly beautiful with manageable crowds, a cold snap hit. Walking by West Lake in the crosswinds and cold rain, stepping through puddles on the uneven, narrow footpaths, was a nightmare. The lake water was the same grey as the path – I was genuinely worried someone might accidentally walk into it! I'd still go back in the future, as I didn't get to Maojiabu and Turtle Pond this time. Just wanted to share a few of my frustrations.