Hangzhou & Water Towns

Your guide and driver will meet you at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) and transfer you to your hotel (approximately 40 minutes). After checking in, rest or explore the nearby area.

In the evening, head to Qiaojiang Road Food Street — a local favorite for Hangzhou's famous dishes. Try Dongpo Pork (braised pork belly), West Lake Vinegar Fish, and Beggar's Chicken. Your guide will help you navigate the menus and recommend the best stalls.

• Private airport transfer from HGH
• Hotel check-in assistance
• Evening food street tour
• Welcome dinner at a local restaurant

Begin at West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the inspiration for countless Chinese poems and paintings. Take a scenic boat ride across the tranquil waters, passing the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon island. Walk along the Broken Bridge (romantic legend of the White Snake) and the Su Causeway, a 2.8-kilometer tree-lined walkway built by the Song Dynasty poet-governor Su Dongpo.

In the afternoon, visit Lingyin Temple, one of China's most significant Buddhist monasteries, founded in 326 AD. Explore the Feilai Feng (Flying Peak) grottoes with their 300+ stone Buddhist carvings dating from the 10th to 14th centuries. The temple's main hall houses a 24.8-meter-tall camphor wood Buddha statue.

• West Lake boat ride (45 min)
• Broken Bridge & Su Causeway walk
• Lingyin Temple + Feilai Feng grottoes
• Traditional Hangzhou lunch

Drive into the hills west of West Lake to Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea Village, the source of China's most celebrated green tea. Visit a local tea farmer's home for a tea ceremony and tasting — learn how the leaves are hand-roasted in woks, how to properly brew Longjing tea, and taste the difference between spring and summer harvests.

After lunch, hike the Nine Creeks and Eighteen Gullies trail — a gentle 3-kilometer walk through bamboo forests, tea terraces, and bubbling streams. This is one of Hangzhou's most peaceful and photogenic trails, far from the tourist crowds.

• Longjing Tea Village visit with tea farmer
• Tea tasting ceremony (3+ varieties)
• Nine Creeks hiking trail (2 hours, easy grade)
• Rural farmhouse lunch

Drive approximately 1.5 hours to Wuzhen, a 1,300-year-old water town often called the "Venice of the East." The town is divided by the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, with ancient stone bridges crossing waterways between white-walled, black-roofed houses.

Explore the East Scenic Zone (traditional workshops area) — watch indigo dyeing, silk weaving, and bamboo carving demonstrations. Visit the Shadow Puppet Theater for a traditional performance. At the Hongyuan Tai Dye Workshop, see centuries-old indigo fabric-dyeing techniques still practiced today.

Sample local delicacies: rice wine (brewed on-site), sweet lotus root, and Wuzhen's famous braised mutton. Stay into the evening when lanterns light up the canals — the most magical time in Wuzhen.

• Private transfer to Wuzhen (1.5 hrs)
• East Scenic Zone full exploration
• Shadow puppet show performance
• Indigo dye workshop visit
• Rice wine tasting

On your final morning, visit Xitang, another exquisite water town known for its rain corridors (covered walkways along the canals) and the romantic scene from the film Mission: Impossible III. Xitang has a more intimate, lived-in feel than Wuzhen, with fewer crowds and more local residents going about daily life.

Wander the narrow lanes, visit the Button Museum (Xitang was once China's button-making capital), and enjoy a leisurely canal-side breakfast of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and soy milk. After lunch, your driver will transfer you back to Hangzhou airport for your departure.

• Xitang morning visit (3 hours)
• Canal-side breakfast
• Button Museum visit
• Private transfer to HGH airport