Hangzhou Travel Forum

My husband and I will be flying into Hangzhou at 13:10 on Air Asia. Does anyone know about how long it will take to go thru passport control...then take the airport bus into Hangzhou. We are staying at the European Style Holiday Hotel and according to my research the airport shuttle bus stops close to hotel. Also, train station to Shanghai is close by? Can anyone verify that? We will be in Hangzhou overnight and must leave by 11:30 for train to Shanghai. I would like to spend sometime at West Lake. Will not have enough time for the entire Lake. Would like opinions on what is the most important to see and do at West Lake. Will we have time (if Air Asia flight is timely) to visit Lake when we arrive in Hangzhou or would it be best to wake up early and visit or can we do both?We will be their the first part of March 2010. Is the hotel walking distance to Lake? Thanks for any suggestions.

has anyone gone to the karting in Hangzhou? I'm going to be on that city in 10 days, and i have seen it on the web, looks so big.. any experience there?
thank you

West Lake was my original choice. But it's already fully booked on Sept 2 -3. Anyone can recommend an alternative? I'm thinking of Mingtown Youth Hostel and Mingtown Garden Youth Hostel, but I want more choices if there are any.

I prefer near the West Lake, clean shower room, no insects, has dorm beds. And preferably but not a requirement, free pick up from the train station.

Thanks!

Finally, after changing my itenerary for many times these past 2 months, I finally decided to stay in Hangzhou for 2 days. I'm staying in West Lake Youth Hostel and reserved a room through their website (www.westlakehostel.com)

Anyone tried reserving a room via their website? I just want to make sure there are no problems with it.

Is it possible? I don't mind cycling, but I don't want to worry about losing the bike or where I should leave it when I go to the restroom etc.

And I also want to exercise at the same time, so I thought of walking instead...

Aside from West Lake, what can I do in Hangzhou?

Gardens are out of the question since I'm not into them.
Pagodas and temples and bell towers and drum towers, I'm kinda tired of looking at them since I've been to a lot of them when I was in Beijing, Luoyang and Xi'an.

So I was thinking, if my only target is West Lake, will one day be enough?

Any feedbacks on these following youth hostels:
1) West Lake Youth Hostel
2) Mingtown Youth Hostel
3) Mingtown Garden Youth Hostel

In terms of location, views, convenience, cleanliness(especially the shower room!), and safety.

My target is youth hostels because I'm on a budget. I'll just be staying on a dorm room, and I don't mind sharing the shower room

Hi, my father is on a business trip in Hangzhou, my sister and I like both chinese, corean and japanese music, so we are searching for some places in Shanghai for my father to buy us come CDs and Dvds, originals of course, so if you could name some places where he can buy some, I'll be more than just thankful

Thanks in advance ^^

Hi...could somebody let me know the website[if any] or its email address of crystal orange hotel in hangzhou..thank you

I've been scouring the internet for hours, trying to find a hotel near HGH airport. As soon as I find one within a kilometer of the airport, a check on another website shows that it's actually 30 km from the airport! This has now happened 8, 9, 10+ times..

I need the closest 3+ star hotel to the airport because I will be arriving late in the evening, and leaving again early the next morning -- if there is a hotel IN the airport, that would be ideal.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you may be able to offer!

Is it true that there is a night boat from Hangzhou's canal to Suzhou at around 17:30 daily?
Where do I get the ticket and the place to board the boat?
Do I have to buy the ticket in advance?
If I use the night boat ride to Suzhou I would be able to see the sunset and night-views of the Grand Canal before complete darkness.


Thank you!

My flight will reach Hangzhou’s Xiaoshan Airport at 13:00 at the end of the month. I would think that I will be able to reach the Express Bus Station around 15:00 after immigation clearance.
I must arrive at Suzhou before nightfall.
So, I need advices on the express bus services.
Where should I board the express bus? How much is the fare & how long?
Is there any train service around 15:00? Is it a fast train?

Thank you for the great tips!

Hi, we intend to stay at this hotel (Hangzhou Elan Inn Jiefang) and the address stated is 175 Zhonghe Middle Road- but isn't this the elevated highway? Or is this actually far off Jiefang road?
Could this hotel also be near XinKaiYuan Hotel? Would appreciate any input in this.
Thanks!

I am travelling with my family in May to China. We want to take a train from Shanghai to Hangzhou and then a ferry on the grand canal from Hangzhou to Suzhou and then a train to Shanghai, can any one help me by giving some information on how to make this reservations and if possible some links and phone numbers.
Thanks
Vikram from USA

Dear All,
My wife and I will visit Hangzhou within Aug 30 - Sep 03. Pls recommend any hotel near China Academy of Art, 218 Nanshan Road. Just walking distance if possible.

Regards, iwansgt

Greetings,

I am considering the Best Western Premier- Richful Green hotel which is located on Laozheda Heng Road- however, I am unable to see much details or reviews on this hotel. Would greatly appreciate any advise- for those who have been or stayed, or have seen it...Is this hotel far from the West Lake? It is supposed to be near a train station too, so we were wondering if its good as we intend to take the train from Shanghai.

We have also heard of Elan hotel but the website shows limited English. Any advise?

Thank you in advance :)

Hi all,
I am planning to visit Hangzhou and Suzhou this April. I would be grateful if anybody could advise some info about biking in these two cities.

1/ Is it safe to bike alone in these two cities?
2 How convenient it is comparing between biking and traveling in the cities by bus?
3/ Is it easy to find bicycle parking place nearby the tourist attractions?

Thank you very much in advance!

Hi all,

I've already booked my tickets to Shanghai. My wife and I will be in China from 1st Jan to 5th Jan. We intend to travel to both Hangzhou and Suzhou during this trip. Hotel availability so far does not seem to be an issue, but i've heard that people will be having public holidays from 1st Jan to 4th in China, and so getting train tickets may be a problem. Is this true? I hesitate in making the hotel bookings for suzhou and hangzhou just in case i can't get my hands on the train tickets. Thanks to all in advance.

hi,guys:
I wanna go to hangzhou city .Anyone known some cheap hotels to rent around zhejiang university?
thanks
lee

Want to go this weekend, best would be a 5 star place with a view of the lake, but other good options would be appreciated.

My husband and I are in Yangshou and will head to Hangzhou in 2 days. After talking to some other travelers, I have decided to cancel my reservation at one Youth Hostel near the Lake due to Mildew/smell problem. Can anyone recommen a room with Private bath and CLEAN (no black grout line around Bathroom!!!). Our budget is up to $50 per night.

Also, we have 3 nights before we go home from Pudong. Should we split 2 nights in Hangzhou and 1 in Suzhou? or should we only do day trip to Suzhou? And is bus from Hangzhou to Suzhou the best means of transportation?

Thanks for helping, this is a last minute change but I don't want to deal with sanity problem.
Thanks everyone!

Hello fellow VTers
Will be making my way from Hangzhou to Huangshan. Heard that there's a bus from HZ to Tunxi which takes 6hours. Need to know the following :-
1) Is there a night bus running from HZ to Tunxi? If yes, what time is the bus, the fare and the arrival time at Tunxi
2) Does the bus leaves HZ for Tunxi at West Bus Station in HZ?
3) Instead of bus, is there train from HZ to Tunxi ? Schedule/fare and arrival time, please.

Also need to know if there's a locker or storage at the West Bus Station in HZ for backpacks.

Thanks

..feejin from Malaysia

Hi all,

will be visiting Hang Zhou and Shanghai in November with my 3 years old daughther for 1 week. I'm looking for apartment at the moment, as i plan to cook my own food for my daughther. She has a very sensitive stomach therefore i dare not take the risk. Can anyone recommend a clean place for us to stay, preferably apartment in hang zhou and Shanghai.

I heard that there's a "bullet train" which connect Hang Zhou and Shanghai, is that true? if so, how much is the ticket?

Any nice place to visit which is children friendly?

Thanks in advanced.

My husband and I will be in Hangzhou for 2 nights in Mid October. Could anyone recommend a Clean Hotel with Private Bath near West Lake. Thanks in advance for your help.

Hi all,
I will be travelling from Pu Dong airport Shanghai to Hangzhou by bus.
Can anyone confirm if the bus from the airport goes to huanglong station in Hangzhou?
Thanks
Mark

Hi all.
Could anyone tell me how long it will take to get from Hangzhou to Keqiao ?
Thanks, Mark

Hello! And friendly greetings to you from North Carolina, USA.

Some friends and I are scheduled to travel to China soon. We will tour to four major cities, ending in Shanghai. From Shanghai, we will go to Hangzhou, where three of my friends are scheduled to present a paper at an international language conference at the university there.

My friends will be at the conference most of the time, but I will have some time to look around. I am in the process of trying to hire a guide, since I'm pretty sure I can't do much by myself!

I am a musician, and I am particularly interested in visiting places where Chinese musicians might be playing or practicing. I would also like to visit music stores, where I might be able to buy an erhu or other Chinese instrument. Since I am a school teacher, I probably do not have the money to buy the best instruments, but I would like to shop!

If school is in session, I would love to visit a Chinese elementary school, if that would be possible. I would like to meet a music teacher there, if they have separate music classes as we do here. What would be the way to go about doing that?

Thank you for any thought and time you give to this post, and to a reply! I sincerely appreciate it.

Carol Cantrell

Hello

We are travelling to Hangzhou on May 9 with my husband for 3 days, and are looking for an English speaking/or Russian/ or Hebrew speaking tour guide for that period. We speak all 3 languages fluently so no difference to us which languge the guide will use..

Many thanks in advance!
Irene

Hi All

My friends & I will be arriving in Hangzhou on 9 Sep 08 for 7 days trip. We plan to spend 2 days in Hangzhou, 2 days in Suzhou, and 2 days in Wuxi.

Could anyone advise which is the best travel route for us to take as between hangzhou, suzhou, and wuxi.

We cant seem to be able to find a transportation option from Hangzhou to Wuxi and vice versa.

We will be departing from hangzhou on 15 Sep 08.

Thanks.

Hi! I plan to travel to HANGZHOU soon. I tried to get the info on the intenet regarding the bus/ train journey. It was helpless. Can you kindly tell me, how long is the journey
a)from Hangzhou to Shanghai by bus/ train.
a)from Shanghai to Su Zhou by bus/ train.
a)from Su Zhou or Shanghai to Nanking by bus/ train.

which ride is better the train/ bus?
thanks!