{"id":23064,"date":"2020-02-14T02:00:26","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T01:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/?p=23064"},"modified":"2022-02-24T12:38:20","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T11:38:20","slug":"travel-to-zhejiang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/travel-to-zhejiang\/","title":{"rendered":"Traveling to Zhejiang Province: The Complete Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Traveling<\/p>\n

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Traveling to Zhejiang – Index<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Key Information<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Why you should travel to Zhejiang<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. How to get to Zhejiang?<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. What’s the best time to visit Zhejiang?<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Accommodations in Zhejiang<\/a>\n
  6. What to see in Zhejiang?<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Food in Zhejiang<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Located on the Eastern Coast of China, Zhejiang is a populous province wedged between Shanghai and four other provinces. It\u2019s the home to many historical cities, where Hangzhou and Ningbo stand out the most.<\/p>\n

    Even if Zhejiang has many lakes, mountains, ancient towns, and historical sites, travelers usually make a short trip to the province while being in Shanghai or any other provinces along the East Coast. <\/p>\n

    If you plan to visit Zhejiang, don\u2019t look any further. In this article, I\u2019ll introduce you to the province, explain how to get there, when to visit, which cities and sites to visit, and much more.<\/p>\n

    <\/strong><\/p>\n

    Key Information<\/h2>\n

    Chinese Name:<\/strong> \u6d59\u6c5f
    \nLocation:<\/strong> East of China
    \nProvincial capital:<\/strong> Hangzhou
    \nArea:<\/strong> Around 101,800 square kilometers
    \nPopulation:<\/strong> Around 57 million
    \nEthnic groups:<\/strong> Han (99.2%), She
    \nFamous cities:<\/strong> Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Ningbo, Taizhou, Yiwu
    \nBorders to:<\/strong> Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian, Jiangxi, Anhui<\/p>\n

    Why you should travel to Zhejiang<\/h2>\n

    Referred to as \u201cLand of Fish and Rice\u201d, Zhejiang is located in the Eastern parts of China and can be reached conveniently by train from Shanghai and Suzhou. Its population has more than 99% Han-Chinese people, as such you\u2019ll not be able to indulge in ethnical minority cultures and feasts like in Xinjiang, Chengdu<\/a>, and Yunnan, for example.<\/p>\n

    Zhejiang is also rather flat and people living here are comparably affluent. Much heavy industry is allocated to Zhejiang and you\u2019ll find most Fortune 500 companies having factories or offices here. <\/p>\n

    Having said that, Zhejiang has played an important role throughout China\u2019s history, mainly thanks to its strategic location along the East coast. Hangzhou, for example<\/a>, used to be the biggest city in the world and the capital of China from 960 – 1279. <\/p>\n

    It\u2019s famous for its Buddhist temples, lakes, and tea plantations. You\u2019ll find many ancient and water towns in Zhejiang at the same time as you can enjoy its green landscapes and pay a visit to temples, museums, and islands. <\/p>\n

    How to get to Zhejiang?<\/h2>\n

    Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, is a major city in China and you can reach it conveniently by air from overseas. It\u2019s most common that travelers start in Hangzhou and continue their journey in Zhejiang from there. <\/p>\n

    Yet, many people first land in Shanghai<\/a> and later take the bullet train to Zhejiang. This will save you costs and you\u2019ll be able to enjoy Shanghai first as well. Keep in mind that it\u2019s significantly cheaper to take an international flight to Shanghai as it\u2019s the biggest city in China with a high number of inbound flights. <\/p>\n

    If you\u2019re already in China and on the East coast, I\u2019d recommend you to take the bullet train to Zhejiang as it\u2019s convenient, has a short travel time, and low costs. You can take the Shanghai\u2013Hangzhou high-speed railway, which travels at 350 kilometers per hour and you\u2019ll reach Hangzhou in just 45 – 80 minutes.<\/p>\n

    You can also reach various parts of Zhejiang by taking the train from surrounding provinces such as Anhui, Jiangsu, and Jiangxi.<\/p>\n

    What’s the best time to visit Zhejiang?<\/h2>\n

    From our experience, it\u2019s best to travel to Zhejiang during the Spring (March to April) and Autumn (September to October). During these months, the weather tends to be comfortably warm and neither too hot or cold. May tends to be rainier than other months, a reason why you should avoid it (unless you bring proper clothes and an umbrella). <\/p>\n

    The summers of Zhejiang are similar to that of Shanghai with high temperatures, strong sunshine, and rain. The average temperature is about 24 to 28 degrees Celsius, but can reach up to 35 degrees. Summers in China can be exhausting, a reason why you should try to avoid traveling during this season (unless you go to the Western and Southwestern parts of China). <\/p>\n

    Winters are cold in Zhejiang and the temperature can drop down to as low as 3 degrees Celsius. As this region has a humid climate, the weather can feel colder compared to dry winters in Western countries. Houses are usually heated by Air Conditioners and not radiators, as there\u2019s no central heating system like in the North. <\/p>\n

    Accommodations in Zhejiang<\/h2>\n

    Zhejiang is a big province with a high density of travelers and workers. Thus, you\u2019ll have no issues to find hotels or hostels that suit your needs. If you\u2019re looking for hotels online, you should have a look at Agoda, Trip, and Booking<\/a>. These are some of the biggest hotel booking websites in the world with plenty of discounts and options.<\/p>\n

    Agoda<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Agoda has the best offers for hotel-bookers in Asia when compared to Booking. The main reason is that it collaborates with a wide network of hostels and hotels in the region and provides deep discounts. As mentioned in separate articles, the only real drawback of using Agoda compared to Trip is that you sometimes have difficulties to find suitable accommodation in remote areas. <\/p>\n

    Booking<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Booking is also a big player in the online hotel-booking industry and has grown much since its inception. It\u2019s currently one of the leading hotel booking websites in the world. Having said that, Booking generally has a smaller coverage in Asia compared to Agoda and Trip. But, you should check their website to see what latest offers they have on display. <\/p>\n

    Trip<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Trip is a local hotel-booking website in China and one of the biggest. Trip offers some benefits that are rarely found elsewhere, such as acceptance of payments through non-Chinese banks. Their website has a nice layout and design and is available in English.<\/p>\n

    Trip has the most options available among these three websites. However, just keep in mind that Trip is mainly to cater to the local Chinese population and they sometimes display hotels that don\u2019t accept foreigners. <\/p>\n

    Hotel prices in Zhejiang<\/h3>\n

    As mentioned, Zhejiang is a fairly affluent province and hotel nights a bit more expensive to provinces like Xinjiang and Qinghai. Hotel nights usually start from around 40 USD and reach up to 120 USD. Of course, you can find both cheaper and more expensive options than that, but these are just some general figures. <\/p>\n

    If you want to save some money and interact with more people, you can also go for hostels. There are plenty of hostels available in cities like Hangzhou and Ningbo. <\/p>\n

    What to see in Zhejiang?<\/h2>\n

    Despite not being as enriched with historical artifacts as Beijing and having fewer minority groups compared to the Western parts of China, you should pay a visit to Zhejiang and visit some of its major cities<\/a>, pagodas, museums, lakes, and mountains. Let\u2019s start with the provincial capital.<\/p>\n

    Hangzhou<\/h3>\n

    Hangzhou is normally the first stop for foreign travelers who fly in directly from abroad or go by train from one of China\u2019s bigger cities. Being one of the biggest cities in China, Hangzhou is a popular university town and major companies, like Alibaba, are based or operate here.<\/p>\n

    The city used to be China\u2019s capital and is famous for its lakes, green hills, temples, pagodas, and gardens.<\/p>\n

    West Lake<\/strong><\/p>\n

    You cannot visit Hangzhou without going to West Lake. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2011 and has been mentioned in Chinese poems written more than a thousand years ago.<\/p>\n

    The lake is surrounded by mountains and green landscapes, offering a relaxed and romantic atmosphere. Many Chinese couples who get married take wedding photographs at the lake. If you go to West Lake, you should pay a visit to a handful of the following places:<\/p>\n