Yangtze Delta · 5-6 Days

Hangzhou, Wuzhen & Moganshan: Tea, Water Towns & Mountain Retreats

Hangzhou\'s tea terraces at dawn, Wuzhen\'s lantern-lit canals after the day-trippers leave, and Moganshan\'s bamboo forests — a slower, deeper Yangtze Delta.

Route Overview

Duration
5-6 days
Route
Shanghai → Hangzhou → Wuzhen → Moganshan → Shanghai
Budget
\$600-900/person

This route skips Suzhou\'s crowded gardens for something quieter: Wuzhen, a water town that is best experienced overnight when the day-trippers are gone, and Moganshan (Mount Mogan), a bamboo-covered mountain retreat where Shanghai\'s elite built stone villas in the 1920s. It is a slower, more atmospheric Yangtze Delta — tea at the source, canals after dark, and bamboo forests in the clouds.

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1: Shanghai → Hangzhou

Take the 1-hour train from Shanghai to Hangzhou. Afternoon: West Lake — walk the Su Causeway, visit the Leifeng Pagoda (¥40) for the lake panorama, and sit at a lakeside tea house. Evening: dinner at Louwailou (楼外楼, est. 1848) — Hangzhou's most famous restaurant, serving West Lake vinegar fish and dongpo rou on the lake shore.

Local tip: Louwailou is expensive by Chinese standards (¥200-300/person) and some say it is resting on its reputation. But the location — right on the lake with views of the pagoda — is unbeatable. Book a window table. The West Lake vinegar fish (西湖醋鱼) is the dish to order.

Day 2: Hangzhou Tea Culture

Early morning: cycle to Longjing tea village (龙井村) before the tour buses arrive. Walk through the tea terraces to the China Tea Museum. Midday: lunch at a tea farmer's house — they will cook simple Hangzhou dishes and serve their own tea. Afternoon: visit Meijiawu (梅家坞), a less touristy tea village further into the hills. Learn to brew Longjing tea properly — 80°C water, not boiling, steeped for 2-3 minutes in a glass cup so you can watch the leaves unfurl.

Local tip: Longjing tea should be brewed at 80°C, not boiling. Boiling water scalds the leaves and makes the tea bitter. If you are at a tea farmer's house and they pour boiling water on the tea, they are serving you low-grade leaves that can handle the heat. Good Longjing is brewed with water cooled for 2-3 minutes after boiling.

Day 3: Hangzhou → Wuzhen

Take a 1-hour bus from Hangzhou to Wuzhen (¥35). Wuzhen (乌镇) is one of China's six famous water towns, but the only one truly worth staying overnight. Check into a hotel inside the West Gate scenic area (book 2-4 weeks ahead). Afternoon: explore the West Gate — the indigo fabric workshop, the wedding museum, the ancient bed museum (surprisingly interesting). Walk the canals, cross the stone bridges. Evening: this is why you came. After 5pm, the West Gate empties of day-trippers. The lanterns come on. The canals become mirrors. Walk the bridges in near solitude. Dinner at a canal-side restaurant.

Local tip: Wuzhen West Gate entrance: ¥150. If you stay inside the scenic area, you pay once and can come and go. The hotels inside are run by the Wuzhen management company — consistent quality but not cheap (¥600-1,500/night). Book on the official Wuzhen website or Trip.com. The cheaper guesthouses outside the gate mean you miss the empty night-time canals, which is the entire point of Wuzhen.

Day 4: Wuzhen → Moganshan

Morning: visit Wuzhen's East Gate (东栅, ¥110) — older, less polished, with residents still living in the old houses. The East Gate has a lived-in quality the West Gate lacks. After lunch, take a Didi to Moganshan (1.5 hrs, ¥300). Moganshan (莫干山) is a bamboo-covered mountain at 700m where Shanghai's colonial elite built stone villas in the 1920s to escape the summer heat. It is now China's most famous mountain resort — boutique guesthouses, bamboo forests, and hiking trails. Check into a guesthouse and walk the villa trail.

Local tip: Moganshan is a 1.5-hour drive from Wuzhen. There is no train — you need a private car or Didi (¥300). The mountain road is winding — take motion sickness pills if you are prone. The temperature is 5-8°C cooler than Hangzhou — it genuinely is a summer escape.

Day 5: Moganshan → Shanghai

Morning: hike the Bamboo Forest Trail (2-3 hours) — a network of stone paths through dense bamboo groves that filter the light into green. Visit the Moganshan Villa (蒋介石官邸), where Chiang Kai-shek stayed in the 1930s, and the Sword Pond (剑池), a waterfall and pool where swords were supposedly forged 2,500 years ago. Afternoon: drive back to Shanghai (2.5 hrs, ¥400 by Didi) or take a bus from Deqing to Shanghai (2.5 hrs). Fly out in the evening or stay the night.

Local tip: Moganshan is about atmosphere, not sights. The villa trail, the bamboo forest, the morning mist — it is a place to slow down, not check off a list. The best guesthouses (naked Retreats, Le Passage Mohkan Shan) are ¥1,500-3,000/night and book out weeks in advance. Mid-range guesthouses (¥400-800) are still excellent.
Practical Info

Planning This Route

Getting There

Shanghai-Hangzhou: high-speed train (1 hr, ¥75). Hangzhou-Wuzhen: bus from Hangzhou East Bus Station (1 hr, ¥35). Wuzhen-Moganshan: private car/Didi (1.5 hrs, ¥300). Moganshan-Shanghai: bus from Deqing (2.5 hrs, ¥80) or private car (2.5 hrs, ¥400).

Where to Stay

Hangzhou: near West Lake ($50-120/night). Wuzhen: inside the West Gate scenic area (¥600-1,500/night). Moganshan: boutique guesthouses in the bamboo forest ($60-400/night depending on luxury level). Book Moganshan 2-4 weeks ahead for weekends.

When to Go

March-May and September-November. Moganshan is at its best in April (bamboo shoots emerging) and October (autumn colours). Summer (June-August) is Moganshan's high season for the mountain cool — prices double. Winter is quiet but cold and damp — many guesthouses close.

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Richard Du
Chinese native, based in the UK. 50+ trips back to China. I build tools to make sure your first 48 hours are magical, not a logistical nightmare.