Hangzhou: Practical Tips for 2026

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Before you go: China in 2026

  • Set up Alipay (and ideally WeChat) with an international Visa or Mastercard linked, before you fly. Passport and a home phone number are enough; no Chinese bank account required.
  • Install and test a VPN before you leave home. VPN provider sites and app stores are themselves blocked once you’re inside China, so you can’t get one after arrival.
  • The Great Firewall blocks Google (Search, Maps, Gmail), WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube. Use Amap or Baidu Maps, DiDi, and Trip.com instead.
  • Visa: two paths, not a blanket “visa-free.” About 50 countries get unilateral 30-day visa-free entry through 31 December 2026, but the US is not on that list. About 54 nationalities, including the US, UK, and Canada, get 240-hour transit visa-free entry with a confirmed onward ticket to a third country. US travelers making Hangzhou their sole stop need a standard L tourist visa.
  • Keep the trip to ordinary tourism. China’s elevated risk rating is driven by exit-ban and legal-dispute cases involving businesspeople and journalists, not street crime, but it’s a real category worth knowing about if you have any pending business or legal entanglement in China.

Is Hangzhou safe?

Yes, for the kind of trip most visitors take. China sits at US State Department Level 2, “exercise increased caution,” and the driver of that rating is exit-ban and arbitrary-detention risk tied to business disputes or legal entanglements, not street crime, which is low. Ordinary sightseeing carries very little of that risk. The bigger day-to-day friction is entirely practical: language, payment, and internet access, all covered above.

Money and payment

Hangzhou runs near-cashless. Alipay and WeChat Pay cover restaurants, transport, and ticketed sights; physical cash (¥) is still legal but plenty of vendors are cash-averse, and foreign physical cards rarely work outside big hotels and malls. Set up Alipay before you fly rather than on arrival; it’s a five-minute job at home and a frustrating one once you’ve landed and are trying to pay for your first metro ride.

Dining etiquette

Hold chopsticks near the top, and don’t rest them upright in a bowl of rice or point them at anyone. Wait for the host to start eating, and don’t fill your own bowl to the brim. If someone offers a toast, it’s polite to raise your glass and clink lightly before drinking. Tips aren’t expected in restaurants; rounding up is appreciated but not required.

Temple and public etiquette

Dress modestly at temples, shoulders and knees covered, and remove shoes where signs or staff indicate. Keep noise down inside temples and museums, and check for photography restrictions before shooting inside a hall rather than assuming it’s fine. Queueing can be informal; be patient and follow what locals around you are doing rather than expecting a strict single-file line.

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For the fuller version of the visa and payment prep above, see the main guide , or the 2-day itinerary for how it fits into an actual trip.