With “the elegant water of one lake,and the beautiful scenery along two banks”, Xianghu Lake Scenic Area is located at the west of Xianshan District urban area and 20km away from Hangzhou city center; as the “sister lake” of the West Lake, the lake area is 6.1km2 and it is one of the first batch of state designated tourism resorts nationwide.

Xianghu Lake is the mother lake of Xiaoshan, and the famous poet He Zhizhang in the Tang Dynasty once described the very beautiful lake scenery as “there is only the lake water as shining as mirror left in front of the gate, while spring breeze does not change its waves as usual”. The Cross-lake Bridge Site with a history of 8,000 years, the Kingdom Yue Defense Wall Site with a history of 2,500 years and with the water conservancy history of 800 years, the lake scenery has been formed by the mountains and water around. The classic amusement manner that can not be missed is to look at the earliest dugout canoe with reverence and seek the trace of the 8,000-year-old Cross-lake Bridge Site; when sitting in the antique gaily-painted pleasure boat, you are wandering about a poetic artistic conception unhurriedly. Presently, Xianghu Lake has been expanded to Phase III project, by far the ancient Xianghu Lake appearance has been recovered, and the horizon is transparent and far-reaching, composing an ink painting scroll and undulating a land of idyllic beauty.

Location: 132, Xianghu Road, Xiaoshan District, Hangzhou City

Inquiry Tel：0571-82360666 /82360128

Scenic area price： free

Business hours： all day long

Official website：http://www.xianghu.gov.cn/

Amusement index：

Key words of Xianghu Lake

History and culture: it is worthy of visiting as there are the 8,000-year-old Cross-lake Bridge Culture, the 2,500-year-old Wu & Yue Culture, the 800-year-old water conservancy culture, the Cross-lake Bridge Site Museum, Xiasun Culture Village, and City Mountain Reminiscence Scenic Area in the scenic area.

Natural and ecological: surrounded by mountains and water, Xianghu Lake enjoys very beautiful scenery and is an excellent habitat place for swans, egrets, herons and wild ducks etc. Abundant plants are growing here and also there is Xianghu Lake local product  -- water shield cultivated by Qingpu Water Shield Inquiry Scenic Spot .

Leisure and resort: in the scenic area there is a full range of facilities for leisure and entertainment including gaily-painted pleasure boats, sailboats, fishing areas, drinking tea at the lakeside, sightseeing vehicle tour and the food street etc.

Highlights of Xianghu Lake

Cross-lake Bridge Site Museum: the Cross-lake Bridge Site makes you have a taste of the 8,000-year civilization history of Xiaoshan, and the most precious treasure of the museum is the oldest dugout canoe existing in the world praised as “The First Canoe of China”.

Xiasun Culture Village: this village is the “highlight” of Xianghu Lake, it was once Sun’s Village at the north bank of Xianghu Lake in history with Xianghu Lake Culture Display Hall, a street of antiques, Xianghu Art Gallery, Sun’s Ancestral Temple and Land Temple etc. sitting inside, and the ancient village is the thousand years of humane and historical concentration for Xianghu Lake.

King Yue’s City Mountain: it was the military castle for King Yue Goujian to station troops for resisting Kingdom Wu in the Spring and Autumn Warring Period, it is able to get on King Yue’s City Mountain directly along Chengshan ancient path from Chengshan Square, and on the mountain top there are such historical sites as King Yue’s Temple and Horsepond etc.

Tiger Cave: in the mountain there is a big cave which was said to be the habitat place for tigers and so it came the name and legend also said King Yue Goujian once underwent self-imposed hardships so as to strengthen his resolution of conquering Kingdom Wu. By looking into the mountain temple in distance, the halls are standing in a well-proportioned manner, and the temple seems to be a delicate relief artwork; on the mountain it is able to overlook the beautiful scenery of the crossing passed by three rivers and Qianjiang Bridge V, so it’s able to have a panoramic view of all the mountains and water that are really so beautiful.

Dabbling at Golden Sandbeach: here the area is 34,000m2, and it’s able to have fun of dabbling without going to seaside. In summer each year, the outdoor swimming pool here in an area about 6,000m2 becomes the paradise for dabbling for both adults and children.

Tips 

Scenic area traffic：

1. Xianghu Lake Station of Hangzhou metro Line 1;

2. Hangzhou bus: Bus K327 (Wushan Square to Linpu Bus Station)/ the inter-zone Bus K515;

3. Xiaoshan bus: the loop lines Bus K701, 702 (Xianghu Lake Bus Station-- Tonghui Road Bus Station) / Bus 706, 707 (special lines for Xianghu Lake tourism)/ Bus 716/405, Bus K344 (special lines for Xiaoshan tourism);

4. Self-driving:

Surrounding tourists: to pass by Fuxing Bridge (Bridge IV) Viaduct Binkang Road Exit →Binkang Road →Fengqing Avenue→Xianghu Lake State Tourist Resort

Nonlocal tourists：

From Shanghai direction: Shanghai-Kunming Expressway→Hangzhou City Ring Expressway→ Airport Expressway/Xianshan East Interflow→→Fengqing Avenue→Xianghu Lake State Tourist Resort

From Shaoxing direction: Shanghai-Kunming Expressway→Hangzhou City Ring Expressway→Xianshan South Interflow→→Yatai Road/Fengqing Avenue→Xianghu Lake State Tourist Resort

Scenic area catering: Cross-lake Tower, Yuefeng Tower, Xianghu Fishing Village, Lakeside Tower, Xianghu Lake Courtyard, Guyue Household Restaurant

Surrounding accommodation: The First World Hotel, NARADA Resort & Spa Xanadu Hangzhou, Xianghu Lake Post House, Xianghu Jinglu Restaurant