2026 Hangzhou’s Hottest & Trendiest Travel Trending(Constantly Updated) | Trip.com

Celebrate Chinese New Year 2026 in the West Lake Scenic Area with a fresh lineup of culture-forward experiences. From bringing cultural relics to life and hands-on intangible heritage workshops to elegant garden gatherings, flower-viewing showcases, and folk customs, this immersive journey blends tradition with contemporary aesthetics. From the millennia-old stone carvings at Feilai Peak to Guozhuang’s ink-brushed spring couplets, from Huanglong Cave’s heritage opera to Year of the Horse–themed tours at the Yue Fei Temple, and from the reopening of the Mulan Mountain tea garden to the Lingfeng Plum Blossom art salon—West Lake’s landscapes brim with warmth, vitality, and festive flair. 🧨 "YU meets West Lake • Good fortune gallops in" Chinese New Year series During Chinese New Year 2026, the West Lake Museum (main site) presents "YU meets West Lake • Good fortune gallops in," a connected series across three venues. It thoughtfully combines museum collections, intangible heritage crafts, digital experiences, and traditional New Year customs to create a cultural journey you can see, feel, play, and experience. Watch relics come to life and welcome good fortune together. Join in, celebrate Chinese New Year, and savor the unique charm of "relics sending blessings." Dates: February 15–23 Locations: West Lake Museum visitor center, Southern Song Official Kiln Museum visitor center, Su Dongpo Memorial Hall "Anlefang" service desk 🧨 Song-style whisked tea • Chinese New Year gathering Originating in the late Tang and flourishing in the Song and Yuan dynasties, whisked tea uses finely ground tea powder. Once the kettle boils, hot water is poured into the tea bowl and whisked with a bamboo chasen to create a glossy foam. Artists then paint atop the foam with tea (known as the "tea hundred plays"). It’s both beautiful to look at and delightful to drink. Bask in winter sunshine and enjoy a serendipitous rendezvous with tea. Dates: February 18–20 Location: China National Tea Museum (Shuangfeng campus), International Tea Culture Exchange Center 🧨 "Ink welcomes the Year of the Horse, spring echoes in the garden" Guozhuang youth spring couplet exhibition Leveraging the cultural depth of Guozhuang, crowned "the pinnacle of classical West Lake gardens," this exhibition marks the Year of the Horse by building a platform for youth to showcase spring couplet culture. Through original couplet creation, calligraphy displays, and intangible heritage paper-cutting, the event passes down the art of couplets and calligraphy. Young visitors can experience the allure of tradition in an elegant garden setting while enriching Guozhuang’s Chinese New Year offerings and shaping the signature brand "Ink in the garden, spring across West Lake," enhancing both festive ambiance and cultural resonance. Dates: February 13–23 Location: Guozhuang (28 Yanggong Causeway) 🧨 Thousand-fathom pagoda on Feilai Peak — A millennia of traces from the Divine Nun’s Stupa Feilai Peak’s craggy ridges and intricate rock chambers are famed for their carvings, but they also cradle a quiet cultural waypoint—the ruins of the Divine Nun’s Stupa. Built in the 2nd year of Renshou (Sui dynasty) by imperial decree as one of more than 100 reliquary stupas, the tower vanished into foliage centuries ago. Yet reverence and inscriptions through the ages etched a stone-bound "history book." This exhibition explores the stupa’s origins, evolution, and inscriptions to retrace its life story, illuminating the legacy hidden within mountains and waters so West Lake’s cultural spirit endures through these weathered yet resilient marks. Dates: February 11–June 30 Location: Yuye Youlanyuan, Feilai Peak Scenic Area 🧨 Chinese New Year garden party To welcome the Year of the Horse, the Qian King’s Temple presents the "Blossoms lining country lanes, spring returns" flower showcase under the theme "Leading the charge, everything renewed." Expect inventive, refined outdoor garden installations, festive decor, curated indoor flower exhibitions, a lively outdoor plaza with retail and interactive activities, and a multi-layered experience you can admire, play, dine, and shop—your all-in-one Chinese New Year garden party. Dates: February 11–March 3 Location: Qian King’s Temple 🧨 Huanglong Cave intangible heritage opera performances Huanglong Cave Yuan Yuan Folk Culture Park reopened on December 16, 2025. Discover hidden dragon charm, rich sentiments, classic opera aesthetics, and quiet corners. The Huanglong Performing Arts Center hosts regular intangible heritage performances year-round. During Chinese New Year, multiple opera showcases will take place on the Xiyuan stage. Showtimes: - February 19, 1:30 PM: Yue opera classic "Three Trials of the Libertine" - February 20, 1:45 PM: Hangzhou opera classic "Dragon and Phoenix Lock" - February 21, 1:30 PM: Yue opera classic "Yu Tang Chun" Location: Xiyuan stage, Huanglong Cave 🧨 Hangzhou Botanical Garden Lingfeng Plum Blossom series Plum Blossom Art Salon Highlights: An exhibition of plum-themed calligraphy and paintings, plus an intimate salon blending aesthetic appreciation with creative dialogue. Savor the charm of plum blossoms in art around the Beginning of Spring. Dates: February 4–March 9, 2026 (exhibition) Location: Phoenix Academy, Rose Garden, Hangzhou Botanical Garden 🧨 Intangible heritage activities and plum blossom market Highlights: Under the theme "Leading the charge, journey to a 'plum'-perfect spring," the market debuts plum-themed cultural creations and brings together intangible heritage crafts, local delicacies, and trendy finds. Four fun photo spots invite you to join in for a chance to receive commemorative gifts. Come share an elegant spring gathering and dive into plum blossom–themed experiences. Dates: February 9–March 9, 2026 Location: Pinmei Garden, Hangzhou Botanical Garden Plum Blossom Lecture • Elegant gathering Highlights: A plum blossom master explains botanical features, variety identification, cultural imagery, and aesthetic values; a recitation troupe performs and interprets plum-themed poetry; a Chinese painting teacher demonstrates different techniques for painting plum blossoms as visitors collaborate on a large-scale artwork; a calligraphy teacher writes the character "fu" (blessing) on site and gifts it to visitors. Date: February 10, 2026 Location: Pinmei Garden, Hangzhou Botanical Garden

Starting February 1, 2026, the Jiaxing Grand Theater parking lot will offer direct shuttles to Hangzhou’s West Lake and Shanghai Disneyland. Services run every Tue, Thu, Sat, and Sun, departing at 7:30 AM sharp. The West Lake shuttle arrives at Hangzhou Wanghu Hotel (No. 2 Huancheng West Rd.), within walking distance of the West Lake Scenic Area. The return trip departs at 4:00 PM. The Disney shuttle goes straight to the Shanghai Disneyland parking lot. The return trip departs at 9:30 PM, so you can enjoy a full day without the hassle. Both routes provide point-to-point service from downtown Jiaxing, eliminating transfers, traffic, wayfinding, and parking stress to significantly enhance comfort and efficiency. With the West Lake shuttle, you can stroll across Broken Bridge, explore the ancient Lingyin Temple, and check out the Intime shopping district—soaking up the poetic charm of Hangzhou in winter. The Disney shuttle connects you seamlessly with the fairytale castle, classic parades, and nighttime fireworks, bringing an all-ages dream to life. Chinese New Year special: from February 5–28, 2026, each shuttle will run even with 1 traveler, flexibly meeting holiday travel needs. Start your one-of-a-kind journey now!

Sunrise over West Lake on a winter morning is breathtaking! A gauzy mist wraps the rosy clouds, the crimson sun floods the lake with color, and the silhouettes of bare branches and boats blur into an ink-wash tableau, turning winter at West Lake into a living Chinese painting. Distant hills glow like indigo. Leifeng Pagoda and Baochu Pagoda emerge and fade in the morning fog. Sparse walkers on the Su Causeway sketch effortless lines beneath a pale pink sky. Winter at West Lake is quiet, yet it hides sound and warmth—the soft rustle of wind through branches, the gentle murmur of water against stone, the sun’s comforting glow, the heat of Longjing tea cradled in your palms, and the rising warmth that builds in your body as you stroll—all weaving a uniquely wintry mood. This morning, the red sun rose slowly from the lakeshore, as if heaven and earth had dressed in gold and crimson to bless the seniors heading into their exams. May every stroke of their pens shine with brilliance, and may they set sail toward bright horizons and a dazzling future. Recommended route for photo ops: Xiling Bridge ➡️ Gushan Road ➡️ Guanghua Fudan ➡️ Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake ➡️ Broken Bridge ➡️ Beishan Street. It can be windy by the lake, so remember a down jacket to stay warm. Come to West Lake, catch a sunrise, and soak up the romance and good wishes!

West Lake is serving up a dazzling winter waterbird spectacle. Thanks to ongoing ecological restoration, underwater forests have expanded, water quality has improved, and lush shoreline vegetation now flourishes—creating a prime stopover for migratory birds. So far, 58 migratory bird species have been recorded at West Lake: 35 winter visitors, 9 summer visitors, and 14 passage migrants. They roam and play across the Outer Lake, Beili Lake, Maojiabu, Yuhu Bay, and beyond. The great cormorant, one of West Lake’s four flagship winter visitors, is often among the first to arrive, and in 2025 it was even observed summering here for the first time. In winter, their numbers can exceed 100, with Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, the Music Fountain, and Beili Lake among their favorite spots. Mandarin ducks—the beloved icons of West Lake—begin arriving from mid to late October, and together with year-round residents, their numbers can reach around 400. You’ll find them widely distributed across Hubin Park, Orioles Singing in the Willows, and other lake areas. Here, you can watch waterbirds skim the lake’s surface, dive headfirst beneath the water, or rocket into the sky—their lively silhouettes delighting every visitor. Make a date with West Lake this winter and meet these charming waterbirds.