Hangzhou · Zhejiang · Experience

Misty Longjing Tea Trails

A free, uncrowded half-day hike through Hangzhou's Jiuxi valley, Longjing tea terraces, and Shili Langdang ridge panorama.

Written and signed by Ivy Chen

3.5-6 hoursDuration~10 km point-to-pointDistanceMar to May; Sep to early NovBest time

What it actually is

A free, uncrowded half-day hike threading the spring-fed Jiuxi valley, Longjing (Dragon Well) tea terraces, and the Shili Langdang ridge panorama.

Editor's take

Ivy ChenWritten and signed by

The verdict

If you have one free half-day in Hangzhou and you want to see the side of the city that the West Lake tour buses miss, this is the walk. Skip it if you need a loop, if your knees cannot take ~2,000 uneven steps, or if you only have weekends and cannot start before 8 AM.

What's great

One of the rare Hangzhou walks that is genuinely free, genuinely uncrowded if you start before 9 AM, and packs three distinct landscapes (stream valley, terraced tea, ridge panorama) into a single half-day.

Longjing Village makes the otherwise abstract tea-region geography tangible: you drink the same tea grown on the terraces you just walked through.

The Shili Langdang ridge is the only place inside the West Lake area where you can see the lake basin laid out end-to-end, which is worth the climb on its own.

Worth knowing

It is a point-to-point, not a loop. If you do not arrange transport at the Yunqi or Meijiawu end, you will be paying for a DiDi (Chinese ride-hailing app) back into town.

The stone steps on the climb out of Longjing Village are steep and uneven; people with knee issues should plan a shorter variant that turns around at the village.

Weekends and the cherry-blossom window (late March to early April) get visibly busier, and the ridge can feel like a queue rather than a hike.

There are very few toilets and almost no shade between Jiuxi and Longjing Village, so plan water and a hat accordingly.

Grounded in 93+ traveller reviews. Distilled by our editors from traveller reviews on Xiaohongshu and Douyin.

Essentials

BudgetCNY 20-80: free entry. CNY 20-30 for a cup of Longjing tea in the village, plus water/snacks and an optional taxi back

Getting aroundStart at Shuicheng Qiao Metro Line 4, then take bus K4 to Jiuxi stop. Most of the route is on foot; the 5 km Jiuxi-to-Longjing stretch has rough stone paths, so less-fit walkers can take a taxi or

Good to know

Carry a little cashSmall village tea houses and snack stalls in Longjing may not accept foreign cards; have CNY 50-100 in cash or use Alipay/WeChat Pay with a linked foreign card.

Bring water and sun protectionThere are very few toilets and almost no shade between Jiuxi and Longjing Village; carry at least 1L of water and a hat, especially in summer.

Rough steps and no lightingThe climb out of Longjing Village has about 2,000 steep uneven stone steps; the ridge has no lights, so be off the trail by 5 PM.

Wear trail shoes, not sneakers

Skip the day after heavy rain, stone slabs get slick

Start at Jiuxi Stop, finish at Yunqi or Meijiawu

Refill water and buy snacks in Longjing Village

Off the trail by 5 PM, the ridge has no lights

Jiuxi to Yunqi Zhujing classic ridge walk

Free 10 km point-to-point crossing three landscapes in one half-day. Start at Jiuxi bus stop before 9 AM, finish at Yunqi Zhujing or Meijiawu. Recommended start: 08:30.

1
Jiuxi Bus Stop (trailhead)· ~15 min
Step off the bus at the stone bridge, cross the stream, and follow the Jiuxi Road signpost uphill. The first stretch is a wide stone path shaded by camphor trees.
From Shuicheng Qiao Metro Line 4, take bus K4 to Jiuxi Stop (~10 min)
2
Jiuxi Yanshu (Nine Streams Smoky Trees)· ~30 min
One of West Lake's Ten New Scenes: a jade pool framed by maples and old stone bridges. Slow-shutter your camera here in spring when the mist hangs over the cascade.
Walk ~1 km along Jiuxi Road, ~20 min, mostly flat stone path
3
Jiuxi Shiba Jian (Eighteen Gorges)· ~45 min
The classic stepping-stone section: cross small wooden bridges and flat rocks over the stream repeatedly. Cooler than the road, with dragonflies over the rapids in summer.
Continue uphill along the same stream, ~2 km, ~45 min
4
Longjing Village tea terraces· ~45 min
The village that gives Dragon Well (longjing, literally Dragon Well) tea its name. White-walled houses ringed by tiered tea fields; most families will serve you a cup of pre-Qingming Longjing (mingqian longjing, picked before the April 5 Qingming festival) for CNY 20-30.
Climb ~1.5 km from Jiuxi Shiba Jian, ~35 min, last stretch is stone steps
5
Shili Langdang ridge (Sanfencha three-way fork)· ~40 min
Take the left (NOT right to Faxi Temple) at the fork. Roughly 2,000 stone steps climb to the ridge, where you get the trail's signature view: terraced tea fields spilling into the West Lake basin.
~2,000 stone steps, ~30-50 min; pace yourself on the descent

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Jiuxi Yanshu, the smoked-trees pool

One of West Lake's classic Ten Scenes: a still jade pool wrapped in old maples, with stepping stones and a slow cascade. In spring the morning light filters through the new leaves and you can hear nothing but the water; in late autumn the maples turn the whole pool red.

Longjing Village, birthplace of Dragon Well tea

Longjing (Dragon Well) Village (longjing cun, literally Dragon Well Village) is the terroir that gives China's most famous green tea its name. White-walled houses sit inside tiered tea fields; almost any family will pour you a cup of pre-Qingming Longjing (mingqian longjing, hand-picked before the Qingming festival on April 5) for CNY 20-30, and you can sit and look out at the same terraces the leaves came from.

Yunqi Zhujing bamboo cathedral

The trail's final act is Yunqi Zhujing (Cloud Lodge Bamboo Path), a 1 km avenue of mature moso bamboo so dense the light goes green. The famous 'lone tree' composition lives here; the wind in the canopy sounds like rain on a tile roof. Step out at the north gate to catch bus 87 back into town.

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