Base camp for the Yangtze delta
Hangzhou is the best base I know in eastern China for a traveler who wants one comfortable hotel and a different old town every day. The city itself is famous for West Lake, but its real value is location: it sits on the high-speed rail spine of the Yangtze delta, an hour from Suzhou, an hour from Shanghai, and close to a ring of water towns that most international visitors never reach. I used Hangzhou as a hub for a week and saw more varied China in day trips than I did in the city center.
This page assumes you have already done the lake. Our West Lake Hangzhou guide covers the walking routes and the tea hills, and our Hangzhou Grand Canal guide maps the old waterway through the city. What follows is what lies beyond the ring road.
Wuzhen: the polished water town
Wuzhen (乌镇) is the most famous of the delta’s water towns, and also the most stage-managed, which is not entirely a criticism. About an hour from Hangzhou by bus or car, it has been restored with unusual care: stone lanes, covered boat rides, a functioning old theatre, and a night-light display that turns the canals into something close to a film set. Entry to the two main sections, East and West, runs around 150 RMB combined, and the West section’s evening lighting is worth staying for.
I have mixed feelings about Wuzhen. It is touristy and the shops sell the same scarves and tea as everywhere, but the curation means it is clean, walkable, and easy for a first-time visitor who does not want to fight crowds or confusion. Go on a weekday and stay past sunset, when the day-trippers from Shanghai leave and the town quiets. Our Wuzhen guide has the full layout if you want to plan the lanes.
Xitang and the long covered corridor
Xitang (西塘) is my pick over Wuzhen for atmosphere. About 90 minutes from Hangzhou, it is less polished and more lived-in, with a covered waterside corridor that runs for more than a kilometer, so you can walk the whole town in the rain without opening an umbrella. The lanes are narrower, the bars more local, and the lanterns at night hang low over the water in a way that photographs better than the brighter Wuzhen.
Entry is around 100 RMB and includes most of the lane houses and a couple of small museums. The food is the draw for me: river shrimp, a local rice wine called yellow wine (黄酒), and sweet green rice balls. Eat at a waterside table and watch the boats. Our Xitang guide covers the best lanes and the lantern timing.
Suzhou: the garden city
An hour north by high-speed rail, Suzhou (苏州) is the serious day trip for anyone interested in Chinese design. Its classical gardens, the Humble Administrator’s Garden and the Master of the Nets among them, are the reason UNESCO lists the city, and they are a different kind of beauty from Hangzhou’s open lake: enclosed, detailed, built around a single rock or a single window framed like a painting. Our Suzhou gardens guide explains the miniature-garden idea.
Suzhou also has a canal network older than Hangzhou’s and a silk industry you can watch being made. A day there pairs well with a Hangzhou morning: lake in one city, garden in the other, both reachable before lunch. Trains run every ten to twenty minutes and cost 30 to 50 RMB.
Qiandao Lake and the thousand islands
Qiandao Lake (千岛湖), the “Thousand Island Lake,” is about two hours southwest of Hangzhou by bus or car, built on a reservoir that drowned a valley and left hilltops as islands. It is a weekend escape for Shanghai and Hangzhou residents, with boat tours that hop between islands, a bridge you can bungee from, and clean air that feels distant from the delta haze. Entry and a boat tour run around 150 to 250 RMB.
I found it pleasant rather than essential. If you like slow boat rides and lakeside walks, it is a good rest day. If you are short on time, the water towns give more cultural texture per hour. The lake’s fish-head soup is a local specialty worth a bowl.
Shaoxing: Lu Xun’s hometown
Shaoxing (绍兴), about 40 minutes by high-speed rail, is the literary day trip. It is the hometown of Lu Xun, modern China’s most taught writer, and his former residence and the canals he wrote about are preserved as a small museum district. The town is also the heartland of yellow wine, and you can visit the fermentation warehouses where the rice wine ages in giant urns. Entry to the Lu Xun sites is around 60 RMB, and a wine tasting is a few more.
Shaoxing is quieter than the water towns and more genuinely local. I liked walking the narrow canals with a bottle of warm yellow wine from a streetside vendor, which is exactly how locals do it in winter. It is the kind of trip that rewards a slow afternoon over a checklist.
Moganshan: bamboo and old villas
Moganshan (莫干山), two hours west, is the mountain resort, known for bamboo forests, cool summer air, and a scatter of early-1900s villas built by foreign missionaries and businessmen. It is where Shanghai’s expats went to escape the heat a century ago, and the cottages have been turned into guesthouses and cafes. Entry is around 80 RMB, and the draw is walking the bamboo paths and renting a villa for the night rather than any single sight.
This is the one trip on the list where an overnight makes more sense than a day return, but a determined traveler can do the highlights and be back in Hangzhou for dinner. The bamboo shoots here, dug in spring, are a regional delicacy you should order if you visit March to May.
Choosing your day
| Destination | Travel time from Hangzhou | Rough cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wuzhen | 1 hour by bus or car | 200 to 350 RMB | First-timers, night lights, easy walk |
| Xitang | 1.5 hours by bus or car | 150 to 280 RMB | Atmosphere, lanterns, local food |
| Suzhou | 1 hour by high-speed rail | 120 to 220 RMB | Gardens, silk, design lovers |
| Qiandao Lake | 2 hours by bus or car | 200 to 350 RMB | Boat rides, rest days |
| Shaoxing | 40 min by high-speed rail | 100 to 180 RMB | Literature, yellow wine |
| Moganshan | 2 hours by bus or car | 180 to 320 RMB | Bamboo, villas, cool air |
Quick facts
- Wuzhen entry is around 150 RMB for both sections; West section lights up after dark
- Xitang has a covered corridor over a kilometer long for rain-free walking
- Suzhou is one hour by rail; garden entry runs 50 to 90 RMB per site
- Qiandao Lake is a reservoir with boat tours around 150 to 250 RMB
- Shaoxing is Lu Xun’s hometown and the center of yellow rice wine
- Moganshan’s old villas date to the early 1900s and now rent as stays
- Most trips use the Hangzhou East high-speed station or long-distance bus terminals
Frequently asked questions
Which water town is best if I only have one day?
Xitang for atmosphere, Wuzhen for ease and lighting. If you have already seen one delta water town, the others feel similar, so pick by logistics: Wuzhen is the smoothest from Hangzhou; Xitang is the most photogenic at night. Our Wuzhen guide and Xitang guide both have lane maps.
Should I buy rail tickets ahead?
For Suzhou and Shaoxing, trains run so often you can buy at the station, but weekends and holidays sell out, so book a day ahead in the 12306 app. Book a day ahead in the 12306 app. Buses to Wuzhen, Xitang, and Moganshan are best booked a day ahead too.
Can I do Suzhou and a water town in one day?
Not well. Suzhou’s gardens alone deserve half a day, and adding Wuzhen means rushing both. Pick one per day. If you must combine, do a morning in Suzhou and an evening in Wuzhen, but you will be tired and the gardens close around 5 p.m.
What is the best season for these trips?
March to May and September to November, same as Hangzhou itself. Summer is hot and crowded at the water towns; winter is cold but quiet and good for yellow wine in Shaoxing. Avoid the October Golden Week, when the delta gridlocks.
Are the water towns wheelchair friendly?
Partly. The stone lanes are flat but uneven, and boat rides are not accessible. Suzhou’s gardens have steps and narrow paths. Plan for limited access in the old towns, as the stone lanes and boat rides are not wheelchair friendly.
What food should I look for on these trips?
Xitang river shrimp and yellow wine, Shaoxing wine and preserved vegetables, Suzhou sweet snacks and silk-spinach, Moganshan bamboo shoots in spring. Hangzhou’s own food scene is in our Hangzhou food and Longjing tea guide, which pairs well with a tea-hill day trip.
Is Hangzhou a better base than Shanghai for these?
For the southern water towns and Moganshan, yes, Hangzhou is closer and calmer. For Suzhou and Shanghai itself, Shanghai is equally convenient. If your plan is gardens plus water towns, either works, but Hangzhou gives you the lake as a bonus.
If you want these day trips sequenced into a delta route with the food stops, we can plan it through the contact page. The delta rewards a traveler who treats one city as home and radiates out, rather than changing hotels every night.
Written by the ChinaTravelFood editorial team.
