《Places You Don't Know》By-The-Month Travel Guide of Zhejiang

Seven-tenths mountains, plus another tenth of lakes and rivers. An iconic landscape that appears time and time again in Chinese landscape art. A picturesque province that unfolds onto the East sea.

Zhejiang has something to see and do no matter the season. Take a break for a minute and learn where you should be and when to go.

January

"Winter White and a Way Away from the Cold"

The North, the South.. it doesn’t make much difference. January in Zhejiang is.. less than comfortable. To people from drier climates, our rains chill to the bone. The season does bring some hope, however – January can bring snow, plus hopes of a delicate landscape dressed in white.

West Lake – ‘Thawing snow on the Broken bridge’

As if plucked from the pages of a storybook, the West Lake clad in silvery white is like a vision from a dream. Bundled in snow and ice, West Lake’s ‘broken bridge’ appears split in two, a sight that summons memories of ancient legends - those fated encounters and farewells between man, woman, and celestial beings.

Southern Zhejiang –Terraced Paddies in Snow

Summer or Winter, mountain areas mean harsher temperatures. A visit to the Nanxi river basin’s Ming’ao, or Lishui’s Yunhe or Nanjianyan scenic areas all offer the chance to see the hillside steps of spectacular terraced rice paddy fields. Show your camera some love. Don’t let it sit and freeze – get away, get out, and seek some Winter wonder.

February

"Togetherness, Tradition, and the Warmth of New Year’s"

Winter creeps out, Spring tiptoes in. Traditionally, the February Lunar New Year is a time for gatherings - family togetherness. The “stubborn” little rural townships are where you’ll find what has been forgotten in the big, cold city. Here the traditions burn bright and warm.

Anchang’s Temple Fete - New Year’s. The Spring festival.

Zhejiang’s Shaoxing region is home to a New Year’s bash that’s running for 749 years straight. Arriving at Spring festival, Anchang Old Town’s Chenghuang temple fete festival bursts to life. It’s called the “asking for happiness”; or “begging of the Big Buddha. Townspeople express appreciation to the gods and as well as wishes for smooth sailing in the year to come.

Swing in. Enjoy the atmosphere. Maybe watch a folk play from your mid-water seat on one of the local black-eave boats. This is south-of-the-Yangtze China – feel the vibes.

The Taishun ‘Hundred Family’ Feast

More than just a place to see cool Chinese wing-roofed corridor footbridges. Sankui Village keeps the fires burning with the ‘Hundred family’ New Year’s feast. Seeing how lively things are, over the past few years neighboring towns such as Zhouling have also started to rekindle their old feast too, making this perhaps the liveliest place to spend New Year’s in southern Zhejiang.

Haining Lantern Festival

A wave of energy dances into the city of Haining on two particular occasions. There’s the tidal bore, then there’s the Lantern Festival. The ‘Xiashi’ lanterns are a traditional handicraft, perfected over generations. Come and wander the streets through a sea of lantern light.

March

"Spring feel Hangzhou, Tea, and Buddha"

West Lake is the feel of Spring à la Hangzhou. The two causeways stretch long and thin across the water, willows and peach trees hug the banks all around. The lake is the place, and March is the time.

West Lake Longjing ‘Dragonwell’ Tea

In mid to late March, tea lovers do what they can to make the journey to the tea mountains of Hangzhou. Longjing tea can be picked throughout the year, but the new leaves of Spring make for a different tea experience entirely.

Putuo Mountain Ritual Celebration

February 19th of the Lunar calendar is thought of as the Buddha’s birthday. His followers gather like clouds on Putuo Mountian for ceremonial rites. It’s a public holiday, so the place tends to be overflowing with visitors, but it’s still a great way to spend Buddha’s birthday!

April

"Culture and Silkworms"

The nightingales fly, the grass grows tall. The life of Spring washes over the Southern Zhejiang. There’s no better time for a spring outing. North, south, east, west – everything’s beautiful.

Nanxun

Spring sunshine. The right light for admiring the fusion east-meets-west style courtyards and statue sculptures. There’s more uniqueness to be found at the Hanshan ‘Silkworm flower’ festival. Silk and textiles are Southern Chinese traditions – these are the roots of an old trade tradition that has thrived throughout the ages.

What is the “Hanshan Silkworm Flower?”

Every year silkworm farmers in different areas hold a folk festival. For those in the profession, it’s an opportunity to get on the Silk God’s good side, who will protect their worms and ensure lots of silk for the year to come. Zhejiang’s Hanshan ‘Silkworm Flower’ festival is as rich and lively as any other folk temple festival in the country. It begins with the Qingming tomb-sweeping festival and runs for three days. Traditional festival activities include going into the mountains for Spring outings, buying and selling of silkworm hatchlings, wearing “silk flower cocoon” decorations in your hair, praying to the silk god, water sports competitions, and more.

The ’Silkworm flower’: the so-called "silk flower” isn’t actually a flower, but a small, flower-like ornament worn on the heads of women from silk farming families. The ornaments are worn to pay homage to the source of their family’s livelihood – the silkworm. They can be made of colored paper, or use actual silk cocoons and silk.

Daji and Dajun

Located in Jingning County, April has everybody in the two famous She ethnic minority villages making their 5-colored rice and getting together with friends and family. There’s also She call-and-response folk singing – field songs, Chinese style.

The Shaoxing region - An old village built on the water.

The Dayu Tomb mound below Shaoxing’s Kuaiji Mountain holds a huge annual ceremony (with TV crews, government officials, ox heads.. the lot). Every year in mid-April there’s also the Lanting International Calligraphy Festival. Come and see the written and painted works of China and Japan’s contemporary calligraphy artists. Stock up on supplies, and inspiration!

May

"Mountains and Water"

Pleasant weather. Temperatures start trending upwards and there’s no sign of the Summer rains yet. Now is the time to get out: into the mountains; onto the water.

Qiandao ‘Thousand Island’ Lake

The water’s still a little icy, so a bike ride it is! Cycle through a scenic smorgasbord at Qiandao Lake – there’s mountains, shimmering waters, and an open sky out there just waiting to fill your eyes with color.

Nanxi River - Late Spring.

The colors that dress the tree branches are at their spriteliest, so whether you’re going on a roam through an old village or taking a light boat onto a stream, or perhaps departing on a hillside hike to see the rice paddy terraces, the Nanxi River basin provides; the Nanxi River basin satisfies.

June

"Flowers and Boats"

In June, the Zhejiang sun starts to scorch. Moisture hangs in the air. The Summer rains arrive, but people aren’t hung up on it – they wash some of the damp heat out of the city air. The sweet scent of waxberries that flood market streets, and lotus flowers unfolding on the waters of shaded garden ponds. Heat and humidity keep few people away.

Hangzhou

In June the Dragon boats hit the water. At the Hangzhou Xixi Wetlands park rowers and spectators gather for the annual Dragon Boat race – one of the largest scale boat races in the country.

On the other side of town, late into June, a lotus dream unfolds like a mist over West Lake. Their floating flowers are in full bloom, transforming the lake into giant’s lotus pond. Trust us, take a stroll on lakeside Beishan Road and you’ll forget the Summer heat.

Xin'an River

You know you aren’t limited to being a dragon boat spectator – climb in, learn how to row, become a teammate, spend the young days of a Zhejiang Summer gliding over cool, calm streams.

July

"Forests and Oceans"

Throw your hands up – it’s the Summer vacation!

From here forward temperatures go nowhere but up, so climbing up into the cool of the mountains, or perhaps down to the water seems like the two best options.

Nanji Island

Bring a tent for camping on the Eastern beachfronts. A night of starlight, and in the morning – sunrise over sands and the gentle ocean breeze.

Mount Mogan

Settle in at a stylish Mogan mountain-air boutique villa. The elegant, upper-class way to spend a cool summer’s night in the South.

Zhexi 'Big Bamboo Sea'

The bamboo forests are a classic element of any artwork featuring the southern Chinese landscape, but by no means are they exclusively aesthetic. In the height of Summer, they become the place to find the one thing everyone wants – the luxury of cool, crisp air.

August

"To the mountains, to the sea."

In August temperatures regularly break the 40° mark. Want to stay cool? Then you’re probably going to need to find some higher mountains or islands a little further off the beaten… coastline.

Dongji Island

There aren’t beaches but sailing on the sea into that soft ocean breeze as you look out onto the open horizons – that sounds like something that may help us forget the heat and spark some smiles.

Baishanzu and Fengyang Mountain

The tallest mountain peak in the whole region of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai – it is right here on our doorstep. 1800 meters – the Summer summit it feels great to conquer.

Tianmu Mountain

Peaks 1000-meters high. Deep deep valleys. A wild mountain that’s cool all over.

September

"Flowers, Festivals, Fishing and Tides"

September – or August if you’re using the traditional lunar calendar. The month when that bewitching wash of Autumn color paints the city hills, and that rich scent of Osmanthus flowers trickles into the breeze. Finally! Falling temperatures mean that the heavy summer heat has stopped stalking and just like in Spring, we’re free to roam far and wide through the frames of this province.

West Lake Osmanthus Festival

Truth be told, the Hangzhou’s Osmanthus are in bloom well before the West Lake Osmanthus Festival kicks off around the National Day holiday.

Early September and the Osmanthus at Manjuelong already have the entire area bursting with color and fragrance, so pick a quiet, non-weekend day and head over to enjoy a private session in this intoxicating atmosphere, without the crowds. Away from Hangzhou, in nearby Shaoxing’s Keqiao district, there’s also the Daxianglin ‘scent forest’, another choice destination when in the mood to admire some Osmanthus.

The Qiantang River Tidal Bore

It changes year to year, but around August 16th on the lunar calendar is the time to head over and see the powerful Qiantang River tidal bore. If you want to know exactly when to go, the riverside vendors and store owners are the people to ask.

Shipu Fishing Village

September! Seasonal fishing restrictions lifted, prayers to the sea god made, the boats scatter from the ports of villages dotting the coastline, out to sea, bringing a full catch of ocean-fresh fish back for us to enjoy.

October

"Hallelujah, Hiking!"

Heatwaves are finally gone. No annoying rains to bother us. The layers of Autumn are building. Yep, this is it: the ideal time for hiking outdoors.

Xianxia Ancient Trail

The thousand-year-old merchant’s foot trail. The ‘four pass’ checkpoint gates. The old villages. This trail on the borderline of three provinces in the thick of fall – a different experience entirely.

Tianmu Mountain

Traverse the trail East through West on Tianmu, witness the beauty of the Zhejiang-Anhui province high-mountain borderlands

November and December

"The Quiet Season – Low-key, Cheap, Cultured"

The Winter cold makes islands and high-altitude mountains unfriendly (most ferries and transport boats stop service, and mountaintop temperatures become icy) – but as we know, there are two sides to everything. It’s the off-season, so all those landmark sights that usually bustle with noisy crowds become quiet and still, plus the cost of a hotel room plummet.

Do your interests point more in the direction of the culture and architecture from history? Then you stand to gain.

Wuzhen and Xitang Water Town

The clamorous waterside walkways of Wuzhen and Xitang Water Towns can be trusted to be quieter around this time of year – maybe even really quiet, especially if you aren’t afraid of a little bit of Winter morning cold. Bright and early, by those waters, on those bridges, a little slice of old Southern China can be yours to enjoy, in private.

Cool Chinese roofed corridor bridges in Southern Zhejiang

The ‘road less traveled’ option is Taishun and Qingyuan - the better place to observe, inspect, and ponder the beauty of the past few hundred years of history. See the characteristically Chinese roofed walkway bridges, then go for a long soak in the Winter hot springs, then perhaps to Zhuchang village to eat fresh Winter bamboo shoots.

All the best ways to spend a year’s end in Zhejiang, find them here.

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