West Lake西湖
Causeways, pagodas and tea hills: how to spend a day around Hangzhou’s West Lake.
Photo: lienyuan lee · CC BY 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
- Time needed
- A full day
- Best time
- Sunrise and dusk; spring (peach and willow on the Su Causeway) and autumn (osmanthus).
- Nearest base
- Hangzhou
About West Lake
West Lake was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2011 as a cultural landscape that shaped garden design across China, Japan and Korea. Its two causeways, the Su and Bai, are named after poet-governors who built them.
The lake itself is free to visit. Individual sites around it — Leifeng Pagoda, the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon island, and some gardens — have separate tickets.
Tickets and getting there
- Booking
- No ticket for the lake. Boats and Leifeng Pagoda are ticketed separately.
- How to get there
- Metro Line 1 to Longxiangqiao on the east shore; walk or rent a public bike.
Almost every major sight in China books by passport number. See what to set up before you fly.
Highlights
- Su Causeway — Nearly 3 km of willows and arched bridges.
- Broken Bridge & Bai Causeway — Setting of the Legend of the White Snake.
- Three Pools Mirroring the Moon — Island reached by boat.
- Leifeng Pagoda — Rebuilt pagoda with sunset views.
Field notes
- Walk the Su Causeway before 8am to have it nearly to yourself.
Staying in Hangzhou
Hangzhou travel guide
West Lake’s causeways and pagodas, Longjing tea villages and Lingyin Temple — a city Marco Polo is said to have called the finest in the world.
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FAQ
Is West Lake free?
Yes, the lake and causeways are free. Boats and some attractions around the shore charge entry.
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