Hangzhou City Break (Standard)

On arrival in Hangzhou, we are met by our local guide and driver and transferred to the hotel - approximately 40 minutes depending on traffic.

The rest of the day is at leisure, allowing you time to relax after your journey or take a gentle first walk around the neighbourhood.

After breakfast at the hotel, we begin our exploration of Hangzhou with a cruise on West Lake, the city’s most iconic sight. Celebrated for centuries by poets, painters, emperors and monks, West Lake is more than a scenic attraction - it is a cultural landscape where nature, art and history blend seamlessly, and where even a simple view can feel timeless.

We then visit Guo Villa, a lesser-known and tranquil garden tucked away from the main tourist routes. Here we explore elegant courtyards, traditional architecture and peaceful landscaped gardens that reflect the refined aesthetics of classical Chinese garden design.

Lunch is served at a local restaurant.In the afternoon, we visit Lingyin Temple, one of the most important Buddhist temples in China. Advanced reservations are required - if the temple is unavailable, we will substitute another temple visit. Set against a wooded hillside, Lingyin Temple has been a centre of Buddhist worship for over 1,600 years.

Later, we head to Meijiawu Tea Plantation, where rolling hills are covered with neat rows of tea bushes. We visit the local village, learn about traditional tea harvesting techniques and enjoy a tasting of freshly brewed Longjing tea, Hangzhou’s most famous tea, prized for its delicate flavour and fragrance.

We return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

After breakfast, we visit Xiaohe Street, a quiet canal-side neighbourhood offering an intimate glimpse into everyday life in Hangzhou. With its restored houses, narrow lanes and stone bridges, the area reflects the classic Jiangnan water-town lifestyle. Locals still wash clothes by the canal and sit at doorways sipping tea, giving the street an authentic and lived-in atmosphere far removed from the main tourist areas.

Nearby, we see Gongchen Bridge, an elegant stone arch bridge built during the Ming Dynasty. It marks the southern gateway of the Grand Canal and once served as a vital point of arrival for merchants and travellers coming to Hangzhou from northern China.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we take a leisurely stroll along the Grand Canal. Stretching over 1,700 kilometres, it is the world’s longest and oldest man-made waterway. In Hangzhou, the canal functioned as a crucial artery for trade and transport, enabling the movement of tea, silk and porcelain and shaping the city’s prosperity.

We then visit the Grand Canal Museum - closed on Mondays. The museum provides insight into the canal’s construction, history and cultural impact, with artefacts from multiple dynasties illustrating how this extraordinary engineering project transformed Chinese society.

Later, we explore Hefang Ancient Street, followed by a visit to Huqingyutang, a historic Chinese pharmacy. Now a nationally protected cultural site, Huqingyutang houses over 160 cultural relics and remains a working pharmacy where traditional Chinese medicine is prepared. It is also admired for its well-preserved traditional architecture.

We return to the hotel in the evening.

After breakfast at the hotel, time is at leisure until our transfer to the airport or railway station for onward travel.