A Normal Day, Line by Line

For a typical traveler eating local food and using the metro, a comfortable day lands around ¥150–250 RMB ($20–35). Here's where it goes:

- Breakfast: ¥8–15 (豆浆 soy milk + 煎包 pan-fried buns, or a bowl of noodles) - Lunch: ¥25–40 (a bowl of 片儿川 noodles or a simple 盖浇饭 rice bowl) - Dinner: ¥60–80 (a proper 杭帮菜 spread at a local chain) - Coffee: ¥20–30 (Luckin and Manner are ¥10–25; Starbucks is ¥30–40) - Metro: ¥2–5 per ride - Short DiDi: ¥15–25 - Snacks and water: ¥10–20

So the floor is about ¥100–120 if you eat noodles all day; ¥200–250 if you add a nicer dinner and a couple of coffees. Prices below are current as of 2026 and can shift, so double-check before you budget.

Food — Where the Value Is

Hangzhou food is cheap if you eat where locals eat. My full list is in What to Eat in Hangzhou, but the short version: skip the lake-view restaurants (you're paying ¥150 for a ¥50 dish and a view) and go to the local chains — 外婆家, 绿茶, 新白鹿 — where a generous meal for two with 东坡肉 (Dongpo pork), 龙井虾仁 (Longjing shrimp) and vegetables runs ¥150–200 total. The real move is 片儿川, the local noodle soup that costs ¥15–20 and is the dish almost no tourist orders.

Getting Around

The Hangzhou metro now reaches every major attraction, and it's ¥2–5 a ride — a full day of moving around rarely exceeds ¥15. DiDi (China's Uber, works inside Alipay) is ¥15–25 for a typical 15-minute hop, and it's worth it at night when you're tired. Taxis are metered and honest.

Shared bikes are the cheapest way to see the lake. Use the Hellobike (哈啰) mini-program inside Alipay, scan the QR on the bike, and you're rolling for ¥1.5–3 a ride. The full West Lake loop is about 15 km — a lovely 60–90 minutes in good weather. One local catch: the Su Causeway and Bai Causeway are often bike-restricted at peak times, so ride the west-side Yang Causeway (杨公堤) path instead, where you'll have the road almost to yourself.

Attractions — Mostly Free

This is where Hangzhou wins on value:

- West Lake — free (the whole lake, causeways, and most scenic spots) - China National Tea Museum, Zhejiang Museum, most parks — free - Lingyin Temple + Feilai Peak — ~¥75 total (¥45 Feilai Peak + ¥30 temple incense ticket) - Leifeng Pagoda — ~¥40 (optional; see my note below)

So a full day of sightseeing can cost you ¥75 or literally nothing, depending on what you choose.

Paying in China (The Part Everyone Asks About)

Yes, linking a foreign Visa or Mastercard to Alipay works. Set it up before you arrive — add the card in the Alipay app, and it works at roughly 95% of places by scanning the merchant's QR code. There's a small fee (a few percent) on larger transactions. WeChat Pay also accepts foreign cards, but Alipay is the more reliable one for foreign visitors.

Still carry ¥300–500 in cash as a backup. A few small noodle shops, temple donation boxes, and some taxi drivers are cash- or China-card-only. For ATM withdrawals, a no-foreign-fee card (Wise, Revolut) gives you the best rate and a fee-free monthly allowance — useful, but not essential if Alipay is working.

The one mistake I see travelers make: not telling their bank they're going to China, then having the first Alipay top-up declined. A quick call to your bank before you fly saves a headache on day one.

What a Private Guide Costs (vs. DIY)

DIY is genuinely cheap — you can see West Lake, the tea villages and eat well for ¥200–300 a day. What a private guide buys you isn't the sights, it's the interpretation and the routing: the lake and its bridges are full of poetry and history you won't get from a map, and a local knows the quiet trails and the right restaurants. For that, my private tours run $225 per day (weekday) / $240 (weekend & holiday) for up to 4 guests, vehicle included — which, split four ways, is often comparable to a family's DIY transport + admission + the hours you'd spend lost. See the classic 1-day itinerary →