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Getting There By Air:

Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH)
Tel: (571) 8506 2233.
Website: www.hzairport.com

Located 27km (17 miles) from downtown Hangzhou, Xiaoshan International Airport is still a developing airport with a limited schedule of international routes, which currently include Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul and Busan, as well as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and around 40 other Chinese cities.

As well as shops, restaurants and a small business center, baggage storage and 24-hour parking, there are five first-class lounges. A shuttle bus runs between the city and the airport every 15 minutes 0930 to 1700, and every 30 minutes between 0730-0930 and 1700-2200 (journey time - 50 minutes). The ticket office is at 390 Tiyuchang Road (tel: (571) 8515 4295). A taxi to the city center costs around RMB120.

Getting There By Road:

Multi-million-dollar infrastructure development across Zhejiang province in recent years has focused on two aspects: railways and freeways. As a result, Hangzhou has several modern expressways connecting it with neighboring cities. The city is the converging point of three key expressways (linking Hangzhou with key Yangtze River Delta cities): Shanghai-Hangzhou-Ningbo, Hangzhou-Nanjing, and Hangzhou-Jinhua-Quzhou. In 2003, the 123km (76 miles) Hangzhou ring road was completed, which connects city traffic routes with the above-mentioned expressways. In 2009, a new bridge across Hangzhou Bay, linking the port cities of Shanghai and Ningbo, will be the final part of a triangular freeway link between the three powerhouse cities of the Yangtze River Delta: Shanghai, Hangzhou and Ningbo.

Breakdown emergency services: At present there is no national breakdown service available.

Getting There By Rail:

Hangzhou has two rail stations, the main Hangzhou Central Station (tel: (571) 9500 117 788) near downtown, which is used by most inter-city trains, and the much smaller Hangzhou East (tel: (571) 5672 3456), which has trains to some regional cities.

Hourly trains run between Hangzhou Central Station and Shanghai South Railway Station (2 hours 15 minutes), with an additional, though currently limited, CRH (China Railways High-Speed) bullet train service (1 hour 30 minutes, five trains per day) due to be expanded in late 2007.

In 2010, a high-speed magnetic levitation (Maglev) line linking Hangzhou with Shanghai will begin construction. Once completed, it will cut the journey time to 30 minutes. In addition, Zhejiang Province will invest RMB150 billion (£10 billion) in new railway developments by 2011, including a high-speed railway between Hangzhou and Nanjing, capital of neighboring Jiangsu Province.

Getting Around:

The historic center of Hangzhou is compact and easily negotiable on foot. Many of the most attractive tourism attractions are located around West Lake, and walking maps are available from hotels and the Hangzhou Tourism Commission Office at 228 Yanan Road (by Jiangjun Road). Taxis are cheap, reliably metered and easy to flag down for trips to Lingyin Temple, Dragon Well and around the city at night.

Public Transport
A comprehensive bus network plies the city streets, though buses should only be taken by persons capable of reading and speaking mandarin. A RMB100 billion metro system is currently in the early stages of construction, with the first line due to open in 2010. In total, eight lines are planned totaling 278km (172 miles) of track.

Taxis
Taxis are plentiful, safe and reliable, and can be flagged down throughout the city. Hotels can arrange a taxi for longer trips or journeys to the airport or rail station. Calling a cab company should only be attempted by guests who speak fluent Chinese, as no English will be spoken. Hangzhou Taxis (tel: (571) 8535 0000 or 8545 0077).

Car Hire
Foreigners must have a valid Chinese driving license to drive in China. Car rental is offered by Zhejiang Foreign Affairs Travel Bus Co (tel: (571) 8702 6218).

Bicycle Hire
Bicycle hire is very popular, and a great way to explore the West Lake and its parks. Yiyoutang Company has 27 bicycle rental points around the lake.

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