what to eat

West Lake Fish in Sweet and Sour Sauce
It is prepared with a West Lake grass carp, weighing about 0.5kg and starved for two days, as its main ingredient. After boiling for three minutes sugar and vinegar sauce is poured over it.

Shelled Shrimp with Dragon Well Tea
This dish is prepared with shelled fresh water shrimps and the well-known Dragon Well (Longjing) green tea leaves. It is beautiful in color has a special taste.
 

West Lake Water Shield Soup
Prepared with the West Lake Water Shield (a plant that grow in West Lake) and minced chicken slices, it tastes fresh and delicious.

Dongpo Pork
It is cooked by braising fine-skinned and thin pieces of fat streaky bacon with famous Shaoxing wine in a sealed pot. When the dish is ready, the bacon will be moist and red, and the sauce well be thick and tasty. It tastes savory, sweet and full of body, but not greasy.

Deep-fried Bean Curd Rolls Stuffed with Minced Tenderloin
Bean curd rolls are cut into small segments, then deep fried. The bean curd rolls are golden and taste crispy with a faint scent of soybean.

Jiaohua Chicken
The chicken is stuffed with fried pork and wrapped with lotus leaves. It is soaked in Shaoxing wine and coated with a layer of mud. When the mud is baked dry it is cracked and the clay is broken off and removed. This dish is tender, fresh, juicy, crisp, tasty and full of the fragrance of lotus.

what to buy

Hangzhou Longjing Tea (Dragon Well Tea) is considered China's best. It is not only famous for its unique green color, fragrant aroma, sweet taste, and flat appearance, but is also regarded as a health elixir. The tea falls into different grades; the best is the first pick of a year, normally in late March or early April. Besides its good quality, Longjing Tea also enjoys a famous long history. If you are interested in tea culture and history, Meijiawu Village in West Lake District is the ideal spot where you can have a cup of tea, watch a tea ceremony, and select tea under professional guidance.
what to see in the evening

West Lake Night Performances
The performances, which last for about an hour, showcase the culture of the region. Songs, dances, opera, acrobatics and stunts are integrated to present Hangzhou's ancient civilization and customs.

weather

Hangzhou has a temperate maritime climate with four distinct seasons. June and September are the rainiest months with 200mm falling in each and rainfall building up in preceding months and sharply tailing off afterwards. Hangzhou is occasionally hit by typhoons in August or September, which acount for the second rainy season. Summer is quite hot, with an average of 33oC in July and August. Winter is cold at just above freezing on average, and it snows sometimes.

Hangzhou is south of the Yangtze River so heating is not provided as standard in public buildings according to government regulations, though, with Hangzhou being one of the most modern cities in China, it has been installed in many places anyway.

Spring is a good time to travel to see the peach blossom on the Su Causeway across West Lake, but October provides the best combination of mild temperatures and little rain. If the Chinese calendar permits you may also catch the Mid-Autumn Day festivities around West Lake in October.