Here’s a summary of the transport for you to use to reach the city. Hangzhou can easily be reached by plane and train.
From Tokyo
Air China International, All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines International all run direct flights between Tokyo and Shanghai.
From Osaka
Air China International and Japan Airlines International run mostly indirect flights between Osaka and Hangzhou, with the latter operating direct flight to Osaka from Hangzhou, needing 3 hours only to cover the journey.
From Seoul
Air China International operates direct flight between Hangzhou and Seoul, capital of Korea. The flight time is 2 hours.
From Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a key hub of aviation. Many countries/regions have direct/indirect flights to Hong Kong, from where there is direct flight to Hangzhou every day. The Hong Kong-Hangzhou journey lasts about 2 hours. The extra advantage of flying from Hong Kong is that you can easily and quickly get a China visa at the many offices of China Travel Service across the territory, saving you the time of getting one at your home country.
To be on the cheap, you can consider going to Shengzhen, Hong Kong’s neighboring city in China, and flying to Hangzhou from there. Shenzhen airport can be conveniently reached from Hong Kong by train or ferry, taking about 2 hours. Hong Kong’s KCRC company operates Hong Kong-Shanghai through train on alternate days. The journey is about 26 hours and there are different sleepers for you to choose: hard sleeper, soft sleeper and deluxe soft sleeper. Once you are in Shanghai, it is easy and quick to reach Hangzhou (please see below).
From Shanghai
Shanghai is the biggest city in China with many direct/indirect flights from all over the world. Once you are in Shanghai, it is only 2 hours’ drive on expressway to reach Hangzhou. Shuttle buses are available every 90 minutes from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Hangzhou’s city center Wu Lin Men, costing RMB85.
There are also shuttle buses every 90 minutes from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Hangzou Dragon Sports Center, costing RMB100. So if you fly to Shanghai, it is very easy for you to reach Hangzhou. Here’s the schedule of the shuttle bus:
Pudong–>Dragon Sports Center:10:30, 12:00, 13:30, 15:30, 17:30, 19:00
Pudong–>Wu-lin-Men: 8:40, 10:10, 11:40, 13:10, 14:40, 1610, 17:50
If you are already in Shanghai, you can take bus or train. Buses depart every hour from Shanghai Long-distance Bus Station to Hangzhou Long-distance Bus Station. The ticket costs about 60 Yuan. Trains are available every hour between the two cities and the ticket costs about 50 Yuan. Express train takes 2 hours and normal train takes 3 hours.
From Beijing
Given the capital status of Beijing, flight connection to Beijing is excellent. Once you are in Beijing, you can connect a flight to Hangzhou, which takes about 2 hours.
You can also consider taking the train from Beijing to Hangzhou. The fastest train between the two cities takes about 13 hours, departing at 18:53, arriving at 8:23 the following morning.
Hangzhou Airport and Train Station
Hangzhou’s international airport, bright and spacious, is situated 27km of the town. A public bus costing RMB20 operates to the center of town from the airport.
The train station has recently been renovated and is a huge but efficient place. It takes about 10 minutes from the center of town to the station, and costs approximately RMB20-30 by taxi.
