West Lake Cruise Boats
The West Lake Scenic Area has a number of cruise boats available, which fall into three main categories:
① The cruise boats that go around West Lake and don’t reach Xiaoying Islet are operated by Zhejiang Foreign Affairs Travel Co., LTD, which mainly consists of two types: ordinary gaily-painted pleasure boats and luxury gaily-painted pleasure boats;
② The cruise boats that reach the islet are operated by Hangzhou West Lake Pleasure Boat Co., LTD, and offer a wide selection: gaily-painted pleasure boats, leisure boats, large yachts, self-driving boats, and self-rowing boats;
③The rowing (sculling) boats are operated by local boatmen.
01 Lake Cruise: Zhejiang Foreign Affairs Boats
There are two main types of Zhejiang Foreign Affairs boats: ordinary gaily-painted pleasure boats and luxury ones, both of which are large vessels, each seating about 40 to 100 people. Ordinary gaily-painted pleasure boats can be boarded at the pier at “Viewing Fish at Flower Pond” and the pier at Kuahu Bridge (near Yue Fei’s Temple), while luxury ones can be boarded at the pier of No. 2 Lakeside Park. This type of boat tour includes only a cruise around West Lake, but not a visit to Xiaoying Islet.
/Pier at “Viewing Fish at Flower Pond”/
Boat type: Ordinary gaily-painted pleasure boats. The whole cruise takes about 50 minutes, with a retail price of 50 yuan/person, and an online booking price of 35 yuan/person. Booking tickets online in advance is recommended. Note that tickets sold online can only be used at the pier at “Viewing Fish at Flower Pond”.
/Pier at Kuahu Bridge/
Boat type: Ordinary gaily-painted pleasure boats. The whole cruise takes about 50 minutes, and the fare is 50 yuan/person.
/Pier at No. 2 Lakeside Park/
Boat type: The luxury gaily-painted pleasure boat, “the Pearl of West Lake”. The cruise route passes Su Causeway, Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, Leifeng Pagoda, the Broken Bridge and Music Fountain. The whole cruise takes about 50 minutes. These boats have two floors. The upper floor offers a “private visit to West Lake” activity with different-priced Longjing tea and tea ceremony performances available. These boats feature the best functioning performance, the highest comfort and the most beautiful appearance among the West Lake water sightseeing cruise boats.
02 Islet Tour: West Lake Pleasure Boats
If you choose to take a West Lake pleasure boat, there are different types of cruise boats to choose from at different piers. You can board at any pier and disembark at a different pier from the one you boarded at. After visiting the “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon”, you can choose the following piers to disembark (the boat fare includes the entrance fee to the islet), including the pier at Lakeside Park (near the downtown area), the pier at Hangzhou Hotel (near Yue Fei’s Temple, Beishan Street), the pier at “Viewing Fish at Flower Pond” (near Leifeng Pagoda, Prince Bay Park, and Su Causeway), and the pier at Zhongshan Park (near Louwailou, Zhongshan Park, and Bai Causeway).
/Pier at No. 1 Lakeside Park/
Boat type: Leisure boats;
Fare: 55 yuan/person (The boats can be chartered.)
Tel: +86 571 87035619
/Pier at No. 2 Lakeside Park/
Boat type: Luxury leisure pleasure boats, including the "Lanxie" gaily-painted pleasure boat and the "Quanrao" gaily-painted pleasure boat.
Fare: 70 yuan/person (The boats can be chartered.)
Telephone: +86 571 87063514
/Pier at No. 5 Lakeside Park/
Boat type: Luxury leisure cruise boats;
Fare: 70 yuan/person (The boats can be chartered.)
Telephone: +86 571 87028153
/Pier at No. 6 Lakeside Park/
Boat type: Self-rowing boats;
Fare: They are charged according to the standard of 30 yuan/hour/boat (starting at one hour, and an extra fee of 15 yuan/30 minutes/boat will be charged if more than one hour). You’ll need to pay a deposit of 300 yuan to rent the boat.
※ The boats need to be rented and returned at the same location, No.6 Lakeside Park. You can row the boat to the islet, but the distance is too far, so it is not recommended to do so.
Telephone: +86 571 87026538
/Pier at Children's Palace/
Boat type: Gaily-painted pleasure boats and leisure boats;
Fare: 55 yuan/person (The boats can be chartered).
Telephone: 86 571 87068226
/Pier at the Broken Bridge/
Boat type: Self-driving boats;
Fare:
4-seat self-driving boats: 20 yuan/a half hour (starting at half an hour during the day and one hour at night); Deposit: 200 yuan;
6-seat self-driving boat: 25 yuan/half hour (starting at half an hour during the day and one hour at night); Deposit: 200 yuan.
※Self-driving boats can be rented and returned at the pier at the Broken Bridge. The self-driving boats don’t reach the islet.
Telephone: +86 571 87967737
/Pier at Zhongshan Park/
Boat type: Leisure boat;
Fare: 55 yuan/person (The boats can be chartered).
Telephone: +86 571 87967598
/Pier at the Tomb of Yue Fei/
Boat type: Yanggong Causeway pleasure boat.
Note: It’s not for individual passengers and can only be chartered. A boat can seat up to 15 people and the price is 1900 yuan/hour/boat.
Telephone: +86 571 87978187
/Pier at Hangzhou Hotel/
Boat type: Leisure boats;
Fare: 55 yuan/person (The boats can be chartered.)
Telephone: +86 571 87978187
/Pier at “Viewing Fish at Flower Pond”
Boat type: Large yachts and leisure boats;
Fare: 55 yuan/person (The boats can be chartered.)
Telephone: +86 571 87986472
/Pier at King Qian’s Temple/
Boat type: Leisure boats;
Fare: 55 yuan/person (The boats can be chartered.)
Telephone: +86 571 87068224
Tips :
1. The West Lake Pleasure Boat Co., LTD offers West Lake cruises for both travel agencies and groups. The boats can be boarded at the pier at Hangzhou Hotel and the pier at “Viewing Fish at Flower Pond”. There are three routes:
[Route One] Pier at Hangzhou Hotel (Kuahu Bridge) — Pier at “Viewing Fish at Flower Pond”
Pier at Hangzhou Hotel (Kuahu Bridge) → The Solitary Hill Scenic Area (Zhongshan Park and Louwailou) → Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake → Ruangong Islet → Huxin Pavilion → Bai Causeway (Broken Bridge and Baochu Pagoda) → South Line → Three Pools Mirroring the Moon → Leifeng Pagoda → Pier at "Viewing Fish at Flower Pond"
[Route Two] Pier at "Viewing Fish at Flower Pond" — Pier at "Viewing Fish at Flower Pond"
Pier at "Viewing Fish at Flower Pond" → Leifeng Pagoda → Three Pools Mirroring the Moon → South Line → Bai Causeway (Broken Bridge and Baochu Pagoda) → Ruangong Islet → Huxin Pavilion → Su Causeway → Three Pools Mirroring the Moon → Pier at "Viewing Fish at Flower Pond"
[Route Three] Pier at "Viewing Fish at Flower Pond" — Pier at Hangzhou Hotel (Kuahu Bridge)
Pier at "Viewing Fish at Flower Pond" → Leifeng Pagoda → Three Pools Mirroring the Moon → South Line → Bai Causeway (Broken Bridge and Baochu Pagoda)→ Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake → Ruangong Islet → Huxin Pavilion → The Solitary Hill Scenic Area (Zhongshan Park and Louwailou) → Hangzhou Hotel (Kuahu Bridge)
2. The West Lake Pleasure Boat Co., LTD offers West Lake night cruise service from May to October every year. The business hours are generally 17:00-21:00 from Sunday to Thursday, and 17:00-21:30 on Friday and Saturday. You can take the cruise boats at the pier at No. 2 Lakeside Park, the pier at No. 5 lakeside Park, the pier at Children’s Palace, and the pier at the Broke Bridge. The recommended route: by way of the Broken Bridge and Bai Causeway → Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake → Su Causeway → Three Pools Mirroring the Moon (stop for 5 minutes) → Orioles Singing in the Willows → Lakeside Park → Return to the pier.
It takes about 50 minutes to go around the lake.
3. Regarding the three islets in the lake, currently only Xiaoying Islet (Three Pools Mirroring the Moon) is open to the public. The outline of the islet is like the Chinese character “田 (field)”. The outer ring of the islet is a beautiful Jiangnan garden, and the interior is divided by a cross of land and bridges, forming four small lakes. The islet is full of poetry and picturesque flavor. In addition, Ruangong Islet was closed in the late 1990s, and Huxin Pavilion was closed in 2010.
03 Rowing Boats
The rowing boats are priced at 150 yuan/hour/boat, while the sculling boats are 180 yuan/hour/boat. They are charged according to time, starting at one hour. A rowing boat can seat up to six people; while the sculling boat 11 people.
If the time exceeds one hour, you’ll be charged at a rate of 75 yuan/half an hour/boat and 90 yuan/half an hour/boat respectively for a rowing boat and a sculling boat; If less than half an hour, you’ll be charged as half an hour. The charging standard remains the same during holidays.
If you want an islet tour, you need to pay an additional entrance fee to the islet, and the islet touring time will also be included in the boat rental time.
If you visit West Lake during non-statutory holidays, you can take a rowing (sculling) boat at the following 27 piers:
1. Pier at No. 2 Lakeside Park; 2. Pier at the No. 4 Lakeside Park; 3. Pier at No. 5 Lakeside Park; 4. Pier at the south side of Shengtang Gate; 5. Pier at the Broken Bridge; 6. Pier at the east side of Jindai Bridge; 7. Pier at the west side of Jindai Bridge; 8. Pier at “Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake”; 9. Pier at Zhejiang Provincial Museum; 10. Pier at Zhongshan Park; 11. Pier at Louwailou; 12. Pier at Hangzhou Hotel; 13. Pier at Kuahu Bridge; 14. Pier at "Viewing Fish at Flower Pond"; 15. Pier at Majia Bay; 16. Pier at Juhu Teahouse; 17. Pier at Shuinan Banyin; 18. Pier at “Orioles Singing in the Willows”; 19. Pier at King Qian’s Temple; 20. Pier at Yongjin Gate; 21. Pier at Wolong Bridge; 22. Pier at Huxin Pavilion; 23. Pier at the north of Xiaoying Islet; 24. Pier at Zuibailou; 25. Pier at Gaijiaotian; 26. Pier at Yu Qian Ancestral Hall; 27. Pier at Wuzhuangyuan.
If you come to West Lake on a legal holiday, you can take a rowing (sculling) boat at the following ten piers:
1. Pier at No. 2 Lakeside Park; 2. Pier at No. 5 Lakeside Park; 3. Pier at the Broken Bridge; 4. Pier at Zhongshan Park; 5. Pier at Louwailou; 6. Pier at Hangzhou Hotel; 7. Pier at Majia Bay; 8. Pier at “Orioles Singing in the Willows”; 9. Pier at King Qian’s Temple; 10. Pier at Xiaoying Islet.
There are both rowing boats and sculling boats available in the above red-marked piers, while the rest of the piers are for rowing boats only. During the night cruise operation period (from early May to early October each year), there will be no reduction or adjustment for the opening of the piers.