浙江省

Why this place

Zhejiang is the province of the classical Southern landscape: Hangzhou's West Lake, the Longjing tea hills, Shaoxing's canal lanes and rice wine, and the Buddhist island of Putuoshan. It is also China's private-business heartland, which shows in its well-kept towns.

What to see

• Hangzhou's West Lake, Lingyin Temple and the Longjing tea villages
• Shaoxing's canals, Lu Xun's lanes and the rice-wine cellars
• Putuoshan island and its Guanyin temples
• Ningbo's Tianyi Pavilion, the oldest private library in China
• Yandang Mountain and the Wenzhou coast; the terraces at Yunhe in Lishui

What to eat

• Hangzhou's Dongpo pork and West Lake fish; Longjing tea
• Shaoxing rice wine and drunken chicken; Ningbo and Zhoushan seafood
• Jinhua ham, used as a flavour rather than a dish

How to plan

A week: Hangzhou three, Shaoxing two, plus Putuoshan or Yandang.

Best time

March–May and October–November

Cities 11

杭州市 Hangzhou宁波市 Ningbo温州市 Wenzhou嘉兴市 Jiaxing湖州市 Huzhou绍兴市 Shaoxing金华市 Jinhua衢州市 Quzhou舟山市 Zhoushan台州市 Taizhou丽水市 Lishui