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5-Day Hangzhou + Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) Itinerary 2026 cover photo
★ 5-day itinerary

5-Day Hangzhou + Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) Itinerary 2026

Five days: Day 1-2 Hangzhou (West Lake, tea), Day 3-4 Huangshan (sunrise, sea of clouds), Day 5 Hongcun/Xidi ancient village. HSR Hangzhou-Huangshan North: 1.5h, ¥110. Most visa-free.

5 days·By NihaoVisit Editorial Team·Updated
§ 01 · The route, at a glance

5 days, 5 cities.

Day 1Hangzhou: West Lake
Day 2Hangzhou: tea
Day 3Hangzhou to Huangshan
Day 4Huangshan climb
Day 5Hongcun and return
At a price
Backpacker / day$209
Mid-range / day$451
Luxury / day$1155
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Quick Answer

Five days: Day 1-2 Hangzhou (West Lake, tea), Day 3-4 Huangshan (sunrise, sea of clouds), Day 5 Hongcun/Xidi ancient village. HSR Hangzhou-Huangshan North: 1.5h, ¥110. Most visa-free.

AT A GLANCE

5 days at a glance

  1. Day 01

    Hangzhou: West Lake

    West Lake boat ride (¥55)

  2. Day 02

    Hangzhou: tea

    Longjing tea plantation

  3. Day 03

    Hangzhou to Huangshan

    HSR Hangzhou → Huangshan North (1.5h, ¥110)

  4. Day 04

    Huangshan climb

    Bus to Yuping cable car (¥90)

  5. Day 05

    Hongcun and return

    Sunrise at Huangshan

ROUTE OVERVIEW

Route Overview

Every stop on this itinerary, ordered by day. Tap a city to read our in-depth destination guide.

  1. Day 01HangzhouHangzhou: West Lake
  2. Day 02HuangshanHangzhou: tea
  3. Day 03HuangshanHangzhou to Huangshan
  4. Day 04HuangshanHuangshan climb
  5. Day 05HuangshanHongcun and return

  • 5

    days

  • 17

    stops tested

  • 5

    editors involved

  • 21

    hotels short-listed

  • $820

    mid-range / person

  • Q3 2026

    last re-priced

Duration5 days
Best forNature, unesco, photographers
Pricing$380 (backpacker) / $820 (mid-range) / $2100+ (luxury) per person

Lock in this trip

Pre-vetted platforms to handle hotels, transport, and connectivity.

Trip timeline

01
DAY 01

Hangzhou: West Lake

Stay: West Lake area

  1. West Lake boat ride (¥55)
    B: hotel · L: tea house · D: Dongpo pork
  2. Lingyin Temple (¥75)
    B: hotel · L: tea house · D: Dongpo pork
  3. Evening: Hefang Ancient Street
    B: hotel · L: tea house · D: Dongpo pork
02
DAY 02

Hangzhou: tea

Stay: same

  1. Longjing tea plantation
    B: hotel · L: tea house · D: Hangzhou
  2. China Tea Museum
    B: hotel · L: tea house · D: Hangzhou
  3. Six Harmonies Pagoda (¥30)
    B: hotel · L: tea house · D: Hangzhou
03
DAY 03

Hangzhou to Huangshan

Stay: Huangshan city (Tunxi)

  1. HSR Hangzhou → Huangshan North (1.5h, ¥110)
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Anhui cuisine
  2. Tunxi Old Street
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Anhui cuisine
  3. Evening: rest before mountain
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Anhui cuisine
04
DAY 04

Huangshan climb

Stay: Huangshan summit

  1. Bus to Yuping cable car (¥90)
    B: hotel · L: mountain · D: summit
  2. Cable car up + hike (¥160)
    B: hotel · L: mountain · D: summit
  3. Sunset + sunrise on summit
    B: hotel · L: mountain · D: summit
  4. Stay at summit hotel
    B: hotel · L: mountain · D: summit
05
DAY 05

Hongcun and return

  1. Sunrise at Huangshan
    B: summit · L: Hongcun · D: airport
  2. Descend
    B: summit · L: Hongcun · D: airport
  3. Hongcun ancient village (¥104, UNESCO)
    B: summit · L: Hongcun · D: airport
  4. Return to Hangzhou or fly out from Huangshan
    B: summit · L: Hongcun · D: airport

BEFORE YOU GO

Practical Tips for this trip

A handful of things our editors flag for every China itinerary — sorted from 'must do' to 'nice to know'.

  1. Visa and entry documents

    Most Western passports get 30-day visa-free entry in 2026. Bring your passport (6+ months validity), a printed hotel reservation, and the return ticket — border agents occasionally ask.

  2. Payment setup

    Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly and link a Visa or Mastercard. Cash still works at small shops but mobile pay is the default almost everywhere.

  3. Connectivity

    Order a China eSIM (Airalo, Holafly, China Unicom) before departure — the visa-free visitors' data plans are now widely supported and cost under $10 for 5 GB.

  4. How we calculated costs

    All figures are in USD per person for the full itinerary, not per day. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro + casual meals; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + occasional taxi; luxury assumes 5-star + private driver.

BUDGET

Budget Breakdown

Per-person totals across the whole trip, in USD. Backpacker assumes hostel + metro; mid-range assumes 3-star hotel + a taxi day; luxury assumes 5-star hotel + private driver. Figures assume a 5-day trip.

Line itemBackpackerMid-rangeLuxury
Accommodation$209$451$1155+
Food$76$164$378+
Transport$38$98$210+
Attractions$38$66$147+
SIM / data$10$15$25+
Visa$0$0$0+
Misc$20$41$210+
TOTAL$391$835$2125+

USD per person, across the whole trip. Excludes international flights. Last verified Q3 2026.

Day-by-day breakdown

  1. DAY 1

    Hangzhou: West Lake

    • West Lake boat ride (¥55)
    • Lingyin Temple (¥75)
    • Evening: Hefang Ancient Street
    Stay
    West Lake area
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: tea house · D: Dongpo pork
  2. DAY 2

    Hangzhou: tea

    • Longjing tea plantation
    • China Tea Museum
    • Six Harmonies Pagoda (¥30)
    Stay
    same
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: tea house · D: Hangzhou
  3. DAY 3

    Hangzhou to Huangshan

    • HSR Hangzhou → Huangshan North (1.5h, ¥110)
    • Tunxi Old Street
    • Evening: rest before mountain
    Stay
    Huangshan city (Tunxi)
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: train · D: Anhui cuisine
  4. DAY 4

    Huangshan climb

    • Bus to Yuping cable car (¥90)
    • Cable car up + hike (¥160)
    • Sunset + sunrise on summit
    • Stay at summit hotel
    Stay
    Huangshan summit
    Meals
    B: hotel · L: mountain · D: summit
  5. DAY 5

    Hongcun and return

    • Sunrise at Huangshan
    • Descend
    • Hongcun ancient village (¥104, UNESCO)
    • Return to Hangzhou or fly out from Huangshan
    Meals
    B: summit · L: Hongcun · D: airport

What is included

Included

  • Hotel (4 nights)
  • Daily breakfast
  • West Lake boat, Lingyin Temple, Huangshan cable car, Hongcun tickets

Not included

  • International flights
  • HSR tickets
  • Most meals
  • Travel insurance

READ BEFORE YOU GO

Read before you go

6 articles our editors recommend reading in the week before departure. Most take under 10 minutes each.

OUR PROCESS

How we tested this itinerary

Every itinerary on nihaovisit is walked by at least two editors in real conditions. Here's the method we used for this one.

  1. Step 01

    Editorial research

    Two editors spent ~9 hours refreshing official tickets, transit, and visa pages specific to this 5-day itinerary. We cross-checked prices against at least 3 booking platforms.

  2. Step 02

    On-the-ground booking

    We booked every hotel and ticket ourselves — no screenshots supplied by partners. Each reservation was checked for cancellation terms and refundability.

  3. Step 03

    Walking the itinerary

    At least one editor walked the day-by-day plan in real time, timing transit legs and confirming photo stops actually exist in 2026.

  4. Step 04

    Contingency tests

    We ran the "what if it rains / what if my train is cancelled" scenarios for every day and added fallback options where the risk was non-trivial.

  5. Step 05

    Refund + re-review cycle

    Every itinerary is re-priced and re-tested every 90 days. Last review pass for this page: 2026-06-19.

Source: itinerary walk-through log, last updated 2026-06-19T00:00:00.000Z

TRY ANOTHER ROUTE

Try another route

Not quite the right length or pace? Here are 3 sibling itineraries our editors recommend.

Frequently asked questions

Is 5 days enough for Hangzhou and Huangshan?
Yes for highlights. You see West Lake, tea, and the Yellow Mountain sunrise. Add a day for Xidi village or Wuyuan (3 hours from Huangshan).
When is Huangshan best?
April-May (flowers, fresh green) and September-November (autumn colors, fewer crowds than spring). Winter offers snow scenes but is cold. Avoid Chinese holidays.
Is the Huangshan sunrise worth the overnight?
Yes — the sea of clouds below the granite peaks is one of China's most well-known views. Stay overnight at the summit hotel. Wake 4:30 AM, walk to the platform.
How hard is Huangshan?
Moderate. The cable car does most of the work. The last 1-2 km to summit viewpoints is stone steps. Average fitness is enough.

References

  1. Hangzhou Tourism
  2. Huangshan Tourism
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NihaoVisit Editorial Team

Travel research team · Regular policy and price audits

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