What should I pack for Hangzhou?

Waterproof walking shoes for West Lake's flagstone paths are the single most important item. The stone gets dangerously slick when wet, and in June it will be wet. Hangzhou's meiyu plum rain season runs roughly mid-June through early July, dropping 180-200 mm across 15-20 rainy days. The 15 km circuit around the lake has uneven sections near Baochu Pagoda on the north shore and steep steps at Leifeng Pagoda to the south. Lingyin Temple's grounds are mossy flagstone that turns treacherous after a downpour. Pack a rain jacket rather than an umbrella. You'll need both hands free on temple stairs and the narrow lakeside stretches between Broken Bridge and Su Causeway. If you're climbing through the tea terraces above Meijiawu to reach Longjing Village, the red-dirt trails become mud within 20 minutes of rain.

Three or four quick-dry shirts are the minimum for Hangzhou's humidity, which currently sits around 65% and climbs to 80% through July and August. Cotton stays damp all day in Hangzhou's summer air. Worth noting that indoor air conditioning runs aggressively cold here, around 18-20°C in the malls along Yan'an Road and restaurants near Wulin Square. A light long-sleeve layer saves you from shivering through a 2-hour lunch at Grandma's Kitchen on Hubin Road, where the weekend wait alone runs 30-45 minutes. Lingyin Temple, dating to 328 AD and still one of China's largest Buddhist monasteries, requires knees and shoulders covered. No strict enforcement at West Lake's open-air pagodas like Leifeng or Baochu, but Lingyin's gate staff will turn you away in tank tops or short shorts. The temple sits in a forested valley northwest of West Lake, where afternoon temperatures drop 5-10°C below the lakeshore.

Your phone is your wallet in Hangzhou. The city runs almost entirely on WeChat Pay and Alipay. Cash is technically accepted but expect confused looks at smaller noodle shops near Hefang Street and tea houses along Longjing Road. Set up WeChat Pay with an international card before you leave home. Tourists can now link Visa and Mastercard directly, a change that came in 2023. A portable battery pack of at least 10,000 mAh is non-negotiable. Amap navigation (Gaode Maps, the app that actually works in China) plus constant QR-code scanning for payments drains a phone by mid-afternoon. Install a VPN before you land at Xiaoshan Airport. Google Maps, Gmail, WhatsApp, and Instagram are all blocked behind China's firewall. Amap functions without a VPN but its English interface tends to be limited outside the West Lake tourist zone. The Type I outlet adapter handles China's 220V, 50Hz power. Leave 110V-only hair tools at home.

Skip packing an umbrella. Every FamilyMart, Lawson, and corner shop near West Lake sells them for 15-25 CNY, roughly 2-4 USD at the current rate of 6.77 CNY per dollar. Mosquito repellent is cheaper and better suited to local species at any Hangzhou pharmacy, 10-20 CNY for coils or stick-on patches. Sunscreen at Watson's runs close to Western prices, but the Japanese and Korean humidity-resistant formulas outperform most American drugstore options in Hangzhou's wet heat. Do not pack tea as a gift for anyone in Hangzhou. The city produces Longjing, one of China's 10 most famous teas, and you can buy it direct from growers in Meijiawu Village for 80-400 CNY per 50 grams depending on grade. That's roughly half what the same leaves cost at Xiaoshan Airport's departure shops. Meijiawu is a 30-minute bus ride from the West Lake Scenic Area on the Y3 route.