West Lake

 

General Information of West Lake

Chinese Name: 西湖 Pronunciation: Xī Hú

Suggested Visiting Hours: 1-2 Hours

Address: No.1 Longjing Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

Occupied Area: The total area of the scenic area is 49 square kilometers（18.92 square miles）,and the lake area is 6.38 square kilometers（2.46 square miles）

 

Entrance Ticket

Tickets	Contents	Price
Pleasure Boat in West Lake	【Adult ticket】Luxury	70 yuan
	【Adult ticket】Normal	55 yuan
	【Children ticket】Luxury	35 yuan
	【Children ticket】Leisure	27.5 yuan
Scenic spots around	【Adult】Feilai Peak(Lingyin Temple tickets are not included)	45 yuan(Half price for children /the elderly)
	【Adult】Leifeng Pagoda	40 yuan
	【Adult】Yuewang Temple	25 yuan(Half price for children /the elderly)
	Bridge cutoff	Free
	【Adult】Six Harmonies Pagoda	20 yuan(Climbing ticket 10 yuan, half price for children /the elderly)

• Note: West Lake scenic area is a comprehensive scenic spot. You don't need tickets to visit the West Lake, but you need tickets for the scenic spots around the West Lake. You also need to buy tickets to visit the West Lake by boat.

 

Opening Time

Attractions	Opening Hours
West Lake	0:00-24:00
Feilai Peak	06:30-17:15
Leifeng Pagoda	9:00-19:30
Yuewang Temple	08:00-17:00
Broken Bridge	0:00-24:00
Six Harmonies Pagoda	07:00-17:30

 

What You Need to Know About West Lake

When it comes to Hangzhou, the first thing to mention is the West Lake. West Lake is located at No.1 Longjing Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. It is a national 5A tourist attraction. In 2011, "Hangzhou West Lake Cultural Landscape" was officially listed in the world heritage list. The West Lake ranks first among all the  scenic spots in Hangzhou.
 

As early as the Tang and Song Dynasties, many talented scholars and poets had showed their preference to the West Lake. The most famous poem is " I would like to compare West Lake to Xi Shi( the ancient beauty), Charming she looks whether richly made up or only slightly so.” It means that no matter from any angle, no matter what the weather is, the West Lake can always show its unique temperament and charm.
 

It is a national 5A tourist attraction. In 2011, "Hangzhou West Lake Cultural Landscape" was officially listed in the world heritage list. The West Lake ranks first among all the  scenic spots in Hangzhou .The scholar Xu Xian saved the little white snake from the monk Fahai, and the little white snake reincarnated as a woman, which is what we call the white lady. She came to repay her kindness and married Xu Xian. However, Fahai avenged himself and made troubles everywhere.
 

Fahai put Xu Xian under house arrest in Jinshan Temple. In order to save Xu Xian, white snake did not hesitate to make the water overflow Jinshan Temple. In the name of eliminating demons, Fahai openly suppressed the white snake under the Leifeng Pagoda of West Lake. After many years, Xu Shilin, the son of the White Snake and Xu Xian, became the number one scholar. He reported it to the God and moved the heaven and earth. Then the White Snake was released. Finally, they were promoted to heaven and became immortals with complete merits and virtues.

 

West Lake Top Amazing Sights You Should Not Miss

Feilai Peak

Yuewang Temple

Hangzhou Yuewang Temple is located in the northwest corner of the West Lake. The whole base is a group of large-scale buildings, covering an area of 15700 square meters and a construction area of nearly 3000 square meters. It is mainly composed of tomb area and temple area.
 

Six Harmonies Pagoda

The Six Harmonies Pagoda, which takes the meaning of "Six Harmonies" in Buddhism, is named Liuhe tower. It is also called Six Direction Tower, which means "heaven and earth everywhere". It is located at No.16, Zhijiang Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Six Harmonies Pagoda covers an area of 890 square meters, with a height of 59.89 meters. There are 104 iron bells hanging on the eaves of each floor outside the tower.
                        

Su Causeway

Su Causeway is a tree lined avenue running through the scenic area of the south and north of the West Lake. The poet Su Shi dredged the West Lake and constructed the Su Causeway with the dredged silt in the fourth year of Yuanyou of Northern Song Dynasty (AD 1089). In order to commemorate Su Shi’s achievements in harnessing the West Lake, Hangzhou people named it Su Causeway.   
 

Impression West Lake - the Night Show Of West Lake

Impression West Lake is a live outdoor evening performance, with lights, music, and dancing on its West Lake stage. It tells a beautiful love story in five acts: "First Encounter", "Falling in Love", "Saying Goodbye", "Memories", and "Impressions". The show is performed from March to December.
 

Three Pools Mirroring the Moon

Three Pools Mirroring the Moon is one of the ten scenic spots of the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, and is known as "the first scenic spot of the West Lake". “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon” is the largest island in the West Lake, with beautiful and quiet scenery, especially the landscape of moon printing in lake is famous at home and abroad. On the back of the RMB one yuan note, Three Pools Mirroring the Moon is used. It can be seen that Three Pools Mirroring the Moon also plays an extremely important role in China's scenic spots.
 

Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond

Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond is a scenic spot characterized by flowers, harbor and fish. As one of the ten sceneries of the West Lake, it is located in the west side of South section of Su Causeway. After the completion of the second phase expansion project in 1964, it covers an area of 20 hectares. The main attraction is flowers, so spring is the best viewing season. " Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond" is a stele written by Emperor Kangxi of Qing Dynasty in China. The artistic layout of this landscape makes full use of the original natural terrain conditions. The scenic spot is clearly divided with distinct themes and characteristics.
 

Orioles Singing in the Willows

Orioles Singing in the Willows is the fifth of the ten sceneries of the West Lake. It is a large park located at Qingbo gate on the southeast bank of the West Lake. There are four scenic spots: Friendship, Orioles Singing, Scenery Aggregation and Southern Garden. The willow bushes set off the famous exotic flowers of phoebe, cedar, Magnolia grandiflora and plum blossom. It's a beautiful place to enjoy all kinds of features of the West Lake. It's very pleasant to have a wide view and fresh air.

 

Two Peaks Piercing the Clouds

Two Peaks Piercing the Clouds is the eighth of the ten sceneries of the West Lake. A branch of the majestic Tianmu Mountain meets the West Lake and divides it into South Mountain and North Mountain, forming an encircling scenic spot. The top of the two mountains is the south peak and the north peak. On a fine spring and autumn day, the haze is green and the fog is white, and the spire is sometimes looming. From the perspective of the West Lake boat, the landscape is unique.

 

Evening Bell Ringing at Nanping Hill

Evening Bell Ringing at Nanping Hill, the ninth of the ten sceneries of the West Lake, is the bell of Jingci temple in Nanping Hill in the evening. Nanping Hill is located on the South Bank of West Lake in Hangzhou, north of Yuhuang mountain, and east of Jiuyao mountain. The main peak is 100 meters high, the forest is lush, the stone wall is like a screen, at the foot of the mountain is Jingci temple, the bell sounds clear and melodious in the evening.

 

Suggested Travel Route

Walk through the Broken Bridge →Yuewang Temple →Three Pools Mirroring the Moon →Su Causeway →Leifeng Pagoda.

 

Best Time & What to See in Different Seasons

The West Lake is a place that shows different images in different seasons, and in each season the lake has its own unique features. In spring, a steady fall of drizzling rain reflects the real and illusory beauty of the West Lake and its unique posture. In summer, willows caress the surface of the lake, and cicadas chirp in your ears. In autumn, you can see bright moon in the sky. In winter, melting snow on broken bridge are reflected into your eyes, fascinating landscape is in front of you.
 

However, visitors had better try to avoid summer vacation, because there will be many people and the weather is hot, and the experience of visiting may not be as good as other seasons.

 

How to Get to West Lake

By Bus

1. Take bus No.318, get on the bus at Wulin Square Station, and get off at the affiliated middle school station of Zhejiang University. The whole journey is about 3.9 kilometers, with four stops in total. It takes 20 minutes and costs 3 yuan.

2. Take bus No.318, get on the bus at Wulin Square South Station and get off at the affiliated middle school station of Zhejiang University. The whole journey is about 4.04 km, with four stops. It takes 30 minutes and costs 2 yuan.

3. Take bus No.21, get on the bus at Hutangqiao station and get off at the attached middle school station of Zhejiang University. The whole journey is about 4.4 km, with a total of 7 stops. It takes 40 minutes and costs 2 yuan.

4. Starting from Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport, take the airport bus Wulin gate line to Pinghai road Weijing International Hotel station. Then transfer to bus No.27, get on from Yuewang Road, get off at children's palace station, and arrive at the West Lake scenic spot. There are four stops in total. The whole journey takes 2 hours. It costs 22 yuan and it takes about 440 meters to walk.

5. Take bus No.7, start from Hangzhou railway station, pass six stops, and get off at Youth Palace Station. The whole journey takes about 30 minutes and takes about 200 meters to walk. It costs 2 yuan.
 

By Taxi

Chinese: 请带我去西湖。English: Please take me to the West Lake.

If you start from the center of the city, it takes about 8 minutes (about 15 yuan) to take a taxi to the West Lake.

If you start from Xiaoshan International Airport, it takes about 53 minutes(about 120 yuan) to take a taxi to the West Lake.

If you start from Hangzhou Railway Station, it takes about 20 minutes(about 40 yuan) to take a taxi to the West Lake.
 

By Subway

If you start from Hangzhou Railway Station, you can take Metro Line 1, and get off at Fengqi Road station, and exit from exit F. Then walk 1.2 kilometers to the West Lake. It takes 30 minutes and costs 2 yuan.