3 Days Classic Hangzhou Tour (at Leisure Pace)
Charming Hangzhou Exploration in the Best Way
Charming Hangzhou Exploration in the Best Way
Hangzhou is famous for her idyllic sceneries, elegant literal atmosphere and leisure rhythm of life! So how to spend 3 days to explore the real charming Hangzhou?
This 3-day tour takes you to discover Hangzhou in the most classic way. You will have one full day to arrive in this city by flights or train without any hurry. and spend one full day to catch the authentic sightseeing and cultural highlights of the top three must-sees of Hangzhou, namely West Lake, Lingyin Temple and Longjing Well Tea Plantation, which enables you to appreciate the representative lake view, mountain view, literal culture, Buddhist culture, Chinese tea culture there. Besides, on the last day, you’ll enjoy a leisure historical walk at Hangzhou best old street to see how prosperous Hangzhou was in the past and marvel at the world great canal and personally look at those precious Hangzhou representative handicrafts skills! Our all-inclusive Hangzhou tour package with wonderful tour services, well-organized itineraries containing sightseeing of the top must-sees of Hangzhou, relaxing walking, non-smoking private vehicle with experienced local driver, wonderful culture and history learning, authentic local food tasting, etc. will help you enjoy a great trip experience in Hangzhou!
Day 1 Hangzhou Arrival
Pick up from airport / railway station & hotel check-in
Welcome to Hangzhou, the “Heavenly City on Earth” and capital city of Zhejiang Province! Upon your arrival, your local travel guide and driver will meet you at Hangzhou airport / train station and then escort you to your hotel in the downtown and help you with the check-in procedure. The rest of the day is on your own to discover the beautiful view of Hangzhou City!
Arrival Idea: Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport has many flights of about 1-3 hours with most domestic destinations like Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, etc. and also some direct international flights to San Francisco, Amsterdam, Madrid, Sydney, Vancouver, Rome, Singapore, etc. Besides, you can take a bullet train from Shanghai (1-1.5 hrs), Beijing (4.5 hrs), Guangzhou (6 hrs), Suzhou (1.5-2.5 hrs), Nanjing (1.5 hrs), Huangshan (3 hrs), Zhengzhou (3 hrs), Xiamen (6.5 hrs), Changsha (3.5 hrs), etc.
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
Day 2 Hangzhou (B, L)
Today’s highlights: West Lake, Lingyin Temple, Feilai Peak, Meijia Dock Dragon Well Tea Village, China National Tea Museum
After breakfast today, your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel and escort you to start today’s Hangzhou exploration!
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.
Day 3 Hangzhou & Hangzhou Departure (B, L)
Today’s highlights: Hefang Street, Hu Qing Yu Tang, Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal Cruise, Qiaoxi Conservation Area
Good morning! After breakfast, your guide and driver will meet at your hotel and then escort you to enjoy a nice historical walk at Hefang Street, a unique pedestrian street to see the typical old and prosperous Hangzhou in South Song era. Stroll to admire the ornate old styled Chinese architectures, interesting local handicrafts, delicious snacks, etc. Then, walk to the century-old Chinese pharmacy on the street - Hu Qing Yu Tang, which is also known as Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum and was built by Xueyan Hu, a famous merchant in late Qing dynasty. Many locals still visit senior doctors there for treatment today. Marvel at the magic of traditional Chinese medicine by looking at the countless traditional Chinese medicines and herbs, various traditional tools and watch the live processing of medicines.
Later, go to Wulinmen to take the 0.5 hour’s sightseeing cruise on Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal. That great canal dug from Spring and Autumn period is over 2,500 years old, which is one of the three greatest projects in China and a World Cultural Heritage. Appreciate the view of the modern and old houses on banks passing by and see the vibrant scene of different cargo ships and passenger ships coming and going just like that in the past centuries.
Disembark at Gongchen Bridge and have an interesting cultural visit to Qiaoxi Conservation Area which was called “Little Shanghai” for its prosperity in Ming and Qing era due to the convenient linking by the Grand Canal. Now, this cultural street block preserves lots of old folk dwellings and industrial sites and has a series of themed museums and exhibitions to introduce the culture and history of the Grand Canal, Hangzhou and China. Go to China Museum of Knives, Scissors & Swords to admire various scissors used in daily life and learn the developing story of Zhang Xiao Quan. It is a nationally renowned brand of knives and scissors of nearly 400 years old and still favored by lots of domestic consumers. Besides, have a great look at plentiful of swords for military defense and knives from ancient to now! Walk to the adjacent China Umbrella Museum. You will know how the world first umbrella was inspired from lotus leaves, their special status in Chinese literature, irreplaceable meanings in the wedding and marriage in China, detailed processing, etc. with displays of rich types and colors of umbrellas of different materials in China and the world. Then, go to the nearby Workmanship Demonstration Pavilion to watch the live demonstration of painting on oiled paper umbrellas and various handicrafts, such as making potteries, embroideries, bamboo weaving, etc. (Optional activities: You can experience one of the handcrafting activities if you are interested and time permits, which needs extra payment.)
After the visiting, your guide and driver will escort you to Hangzhou airport / train station to catch your flight / train to your next destination or home! Tour ends!
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in a 4-star hotel and traveling with our private tour in low seasons.
2. This price is subject to change according your traveling season, group size, hotel class, change of activities in your itinerary and possible fluctuation of currency exchange rate. If you want a lower price, you can get more people to join you, or use economy class hotels.
3. This price is only valid to March 31, 2025.
4. Reference exchange rate of USD 1=RMB 7.00. The final quote is based on current exchange rate. It may change according to the currency fluctuation, while the RMB quotation will be remained the same.
Hi Rita,
The trip was fantastic and there were no problems. I made a couple of mistakes, but the wonderful guides were of great assistance.The tour arrangements were excellent. All connections and meetings with guides went perfectly.
I would recommend your service to others with an interest in China.
Cheers and thanks….and I may book another tour next year!!
Wilson
Hi April
We are glad to have chosen to Century Oasis. The ship is new, spacious and clean. Staff were friendly and provided excellent service.
Thank you for checking with us and I'm really pleased to have booked with Yangtze River Cruises and for your prompt service.
Regards
Heong
Hi April,
Absolutely fantastic, can’t fault. On board food was awesome and me being vegetarian they even made me special meals each day. Staff were wonderful. I also had laundry done, no issues and very good price. Bar was well stocked and well priced. I also got a foot massage and my daughters hair washed and blow dried also value for money.
Concierge did only once on check in to offer an upgraded package for food and cabin. Then never asked again which was perfect.
Porters hired by ship in Chongqing tried to charge me 100rmb for their service but the English speaking concierge told them off very sternly.
Shore excisions included were awesome. I only did 1 optional which was the show on the second night which was absolutely amazing, it felt like I was in the show.
Only complaint is the ships announcements came into cabin speakers.
Dane
Hi Tracy,
Apologies for the late reply.
We thoroughly enjoyed the 3 days at Bifengxia. We arrived with an open mind, so I cannot really say that the program met our expectations or not. We learned a lot about the animals, which was great and we spend a lot of time observing them, which was fun. The program itself was more like a 3-day VIP arrangement with backstage passes rather than a volunteering program. Volunteering sounds like you have to make an effort and we were not really put to work, we were treated like guests, which is of course always positive. You prepared us well about the restrictions on interaction with the panda's which was much appreciated, and we did not expect much interaction for starters because we were visiting a research base, not a circus! The panda base itself is a tranquil site and we had a lot of people approaching us for a short conversation, really nice.
If you would ask me if I had any suggestions for improvement, then I do not really have an answer. We enjoyed the hospitality of the hotel, really nice place with a beautiful room, friendly staff and good food. Your team added to the fun and made the visit more memorable when we managed to add a visit to an old village on the last day.
I would recommend this program to anyone who is interested in a laid-back panda learning experience in a mountainous area in rural China.
Hope this helps!
Jeroen
Hi Tracy,
Sorry, didn’t respond to you earlier. Since the China trip, we are trying to catch up with everything that we held off for month.
Here is the list of our ranking of each Tour Guides we had in each city.
Guilin - Sharon
Beijing - Linda
Shanghai - Liqi
Zhangjiajie - Nancy
Xi’An - Lily
All the Tour Guides and Drivers provided the service that we needed. Our family really appreciate their hospitality and enjoyed our visit in China. Everyone was an excellent representative of their city and an ambassador to the visitors. They make us proud as a native Chinese, who have excellent command of the English language. The professionalism and knowledge on each city’s history is outstanding. I know our kids have learned a little more about Chinese historical facts and their heritage. For those who speaks Cantonese, Grandpa is very thankful.
Above all we rank Sharon in Guilin as the best of our guides along with the driver. Sharon was very attentive, detailed, and caring of our group and especially grandpa who’s over 90 years old. In addition, she was very open to exposing us to local cultures and food. We thought she went above and beyond her duties and responsibilities.Overall, thanks much to you and to the China Discovery team for a very memorable trip.
Kin
We are one of the few China travel agencies who have kept active and received lots of feedbacks and reviews during pandemic years
"Highest Standards of Quality and Honesty" is the core value of each specialized team at China Discovery.
Eveyone in our company is working hard for only one goal, which is to ensure the highest level of service, luxury, and attention to detail from the minute you begin planning your trip, to the day you return home.
Our travel consultants are professional, experienced and responsible, helping you from the very beginning to the end of your China trip!
After sending us an inquiry, one of our travel consultants will get back to you within 0.5~23.5 hrs. In the next few days, he/she will be working closely with you to formulate a customized tour plan, as well as providing professional suggestions based on your travel interests, time, and budget.
Beside, he/she will keep in contact with you during your entire tour in China, continually checking if everything is going well as planned.
We're working at Chengdu Bamboo International Tours, local based in Chengdu.
Our local guide in every destination is not only very friendly, enthusiastic but also very informative and knowledgeable.
Once you arrive in the destination, the patient and punctual guides will pick you up and take you to get under skin of the city at your own pace. By in-depth discovery and explanation, they’ll show you more about the history, culture, customs and authentic local life. Throughout the journey, they're not only expert guides who take care of all the details but also fellow travelers who are dedicated to help you explore in comfort and style.
Our guides are passionate about what they do, and it shows all the way!
Using our private transfer service makes you comfortable, relaxed and worry free all the way!
Our private service includes licensed drivers with many years’ driving experience and air-conditioned, non-smoking, clean and well-maintained cars/vans. Drivers are local, polite, friendly and helpful, taking you to your tourist sites, hotels, airport/train stations in safety. All kinds of vehicle are offered, and yours depends on the size of your group. Usually, we offer sedan cars, SUVs, business vans (MPV) and different types of buses, all with extra space for your luggage.
Our private transfer service guarantees you the highest comfort!
In each destination, you’ll enjoy a comfortable stay in a great location!
The hotels we choose are based on star rating, great locations, well-equipped facilities, cozy bed, high quality service and guests’ feedbacks. Choices are a lot ranging from luxury 5 star, comfortable 4 star to budget 3 star. You could decide where to stay to best suit for your budget and likes. Generally, the hotels have both Western and Chinese breakfast with a wide choices.
If you have already got an ideal hotel, please feel free to tell our travel consultants and they'll book the hotel for you.
Have good sleep in our well-selected hotels in all the destinations of China.
We can satisfy all the dietary requirements no matter you want Chinese local food, western food, vegetarian food or muslin food.
The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.
There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants to taste like Beijing Roast Duck, Xian Dumpling Dinner, Sichuan Hotpot, etc., if you are interested in local food tasting.
All the dining options will satisfy your stomach!
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
West Lake Summer
West Lake Boating Experience
Lingyin Temple
Relax at Dragon Well Tea Plantation
Tea Picking at Meijiawu Village Tea Plantation
Lawson Family from UK - Meijiawu Tea Plantation, Hangzhou, Zhejiang
Hefang Street
Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal - Gongchen Bridge Section
China Umbrella Museum
China Museum of Knives, Scissors & Swords
Workmanship Demonstration Pavilion
Shanghai / Hangzhou / Suzhou / Shanghai
Hangzhou / Wuzhen
Hangzhou / Suzhou
“Very good experience”
“WONDERFUL 25 DAYS IN CHINA - PRIVATE TOUR”
“Awesome China tour from northeast to southwest”
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