# Liuhe Pagoda, Hangzhou > Liuhe Pagoda (the Six Harmonies Pagoda) is a 60 m octagonal tower on Yuelun Hill above the Qiantang River, 7–8 km south of central Hangzhou. Park entry is about ¥20 and the climb to the seventh floor another ¥10 (unofficial). Open daily, roughly 7:00–17:30. Allow about an hour. Web page: https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/liuhe-pagoda - City: [Hangzhou](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou), China - YesGo score: 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h - Entry: ¥20 + ¥10 to climb the pagoda - With kids: Fine with kids - Park entry: Unofficial: ¥20; half price for students and seniors, free under 1.2 m - Climbing the pagoda: Separate ticket, unofficial ¥10; stairs only, no lift - Hours: Daily about 7:00–17:30, last entry around 16:55 - Closed: Open every day - Time needed: About an hour; 1.5–2 hours with the pagoda model garden - Bus: No. 4 from Longxiangqiao to Liuhe Ta (六和塔) stop, 30–40 min - Taxi or DiDi: 20–30 min from West Lake - Payment: Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign Visa/Mastercard; carry some cash - Address: 16 Zhijiang Road (之江路16号), Xihu District - Chinese name: 六和塔 (Liùhé tǎ), Six Harmonies Pagoda - Coordinates: 30.19833, 120.12667 - Facts checked: 05.11.2026 ## Key facts - **970** — first pagoda on the site, built under the Wuyue kingdom; today’s brick core is 12th-century (source: English Wikipedia; Wikidata; Hangzhou News) - **13 / 7** — thirteen roof tiers outside, only seven floors inside — every other tier is sealed (source: English Wikipedia; Hangzhou News) - **59.89 m** — height of the octagonal tower (source: English Wikipedia; Wikidata; Travel China Guide) - **Tide tamer** — tradition says it was built to calm the Qiantang River’s tidal bore (source: English Wikipedia; CNSJW) - **Lighthouse** — lamps in its windows guided boats to night anchorage, per Joseph Needham citing the Hangzhou gazetteer (source: English Wikipedia) - **1961** — listed in China’s first batch of nationally protected monuments (source: Wikidata; Hangzhou News) - **Late 1800s** — the wooden galleries and eaves outside date from a late-Qing rebuild (source: English Wikipedia; Hangzhou News) - **104** — iron bells hanging from the corners of the eaves (source: Travel China Guide; Ruqin Travel) - **≈ 100** — 1:10 models of famous Chinese pagodas in the garden beside the tower (source: Travel China Guide; English Wikipedia) - **1937** — the Qiantang River Bridge next door opened — Mao Yisheng’s design, China’s first home-built double-deck road-rail bridge (source: English Wikipedia; CNSJW) > **The climb is narrow and steep** There’s no lift: a tight spiral staircase takes you up seven floors, and passing people coming down is a squeeze. Take care with small children, long skirts or heels. On weekends between 2 and 4 pm the tower gets crowded and staff may briefly stop selling climbing tickets — come in the morning. ## Is Liuhe Pagoda worth visiting? Yes, if you have a second day in Hangzhou and want a genuinely old pagoda you can climb on foot. Unlike [Leifeng Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/leifeng-pagoda), which is a modern rebuild with escalators, Liuhe is a 12th-century brick core wrapped in wooden galleries, and the view is of the broad Qiantang River and its historic bridge rather than the lake. Skip it if you only have one day: it’s 7–8 km from the centre, up to 40 minutes each way by bus, and you can’t see West Lake from the top. It’s also not for anyone who dislikes tight stairs. The tower stands on **Yuelun Hill** (月轮山). The first pagoda went up here in 970 under the Wuyue kingdom, whose capital was Hangzhou. It was later rebuilt: the brick core dates from the Southern Song dynasty in the 12th century, and the timber eaves you see outside were added in the late 19th century. It has been a nationally protected monument since 1961. ## Tickets and opening hours There are two tickets. Entry to the park around the pagoda is about **¥20**, and climbing the tower is a separate **¥10**. Guides list half price for students and seniors and free entry for children under 1.2 m and people over 70 — bring your passport. Three guidebooks agree on these prices, but we couldn’t load the official page, so treat them as unofficial. The site is **open every day**, roughly 7:00–17:30, with last entry around 16:55. On busy days the climb is capped: staff hold people at the bottom when it’s full upstairs. Pay with Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign Visa or Mastercard, or in cash — keep small notes in case a scan fails. ## How to get to Liuhe Pagoda 1. Take **Metro Line 1** to **Longxiangqiao** (龙翔桥) by the Hubin lakefront. Exit A leads to the Longxiangqiao bus station next to the metro. 2. **Bus 4** runs south past Wushan Square, Changqiao and Hupao to the Qiantang River bridge and stops at **Liuhe Ta** (六和塔) — 30–40 minutes. Pay with the Alipay transit QR code or exact cash. Route numbers change, so check Amap or Apple Maps on the day; Google Maps is unreliable in China. 3. **From Leifeng Pagoda**, catch the same bus 4 at Jingsi stop on Nanshan Road and ride on south. The two pagodas are 4 km apart as the crow flies. 4. A **taxi or DiDi** from the lake takes 20–30 minutes. Show the driver **六和塔**. You can book DiDi inside Alipay with a foreign card. 5. **There’s no metro station at the pagoda.** Ruqin Travel suggests Line 4 to Shuichengqiao on the far bank and bus 314 back across the bridge, but we found only that one source for it. ## What to see at Liuhe Pagoda - **The climb to the seventh floor** — the main event. Each floor has a walkway with windows on all sides, and the ceilings are carved and painted with animals, birds, flowers and figures. - **The river view** — the Qiantang widens towards the sea, and right below runs the long steel **Qiantang River Bridge**, opened in 1937. The fifth floor frames the bridge best; the seventh has the widest view. - **The pagoda model garden** (中华古塔博览苑), north-west of the tower — about a hundred 1:10 models of China’s famous pagodas, including Leifeng and Xi’an’s Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, with English labels. - **The bells** — 104 iron bells hang from the eaves; on a windy day you hear them best from the upper galleries. - **The stele pavilion and bell** — north of the pagoda, on the way from the garden down towards the river. - **The riverside path** at the foot of the hill, where you get the whole tower in one frame. ## Can you see the Qiantang tidal bore here? Yes, in the right season. The Qiantang is famous for its tidal bore: twice a day the incoming tide funnels into the narrowing estuary and rolls upriver as a wall of water. It’s strongest in autumn around the full moon of the eighth lunar month; the traditional viewing day is the 18th of that month, usually in September or early October. From the pagoda you watch it from above, but by Hangzhou the wave is smaller than downstream — the biggest bores are seen near Haining. Tide times shift every day, so check a local tide table. On bore days the riverbank gets busy; stay behind the barriers. ## Liuhe Pagoda vs Leifeng Pagoda | | Liuhe | Leifeng | | --- | --- | --- | | Setting | Yuelun Hill above the Qiantang River | Hill on West Lake’s south shore | | The tower | Historic: 12th-century brick, timber galleries | 2002 rebuild over 10th-century ruins | | Height | 59.89 m | 71.68 m with spire | | Getting up | Narrow stairs to the 7th floor | Escalator and lifts | | View | The Qiantang River and bridge | West Lake, causeways, islands | | Ticket | ≈ ¥20 park + ≈ ¥10 to climb | ≈ ¥40 | Both prices are unofficial guidebook figures. With one day in Hangzhou, pick Leifeng — it’s on the lake loop. Save Liuhe for a second day if you want a real climb. ## Before you go Tick off what’s ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Alipay or WeChat Pay working with my foreign card - [ ] Some small yuan notes - [ ] 六和塔 saved in my map app - [ ] Flat shoes for the stairs - [ ] Arriving in the morning, not 2–4 pm - [ ] Tide time checked, if I’m coming for the bore ## Hangzhou sights with a view Hangzhou places with a view, scored by YesGo. - [West Lake](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/west-lake) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Free; island boat ¥55 - [Leifeng Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/leifeng-pagoda) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ¥40 - [Longjing Tea Village](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/longjing-tea-village) — YesGo score 34/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free; Imperial Tea Trees ¥10 - [Liuhe Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/liuhe-pagoda) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ¥20 + ¥10 to climb the pagoda ## Two pagodas and the south shore The West Lake waterfront in the morning, then Leifeng Pagoda and the Silk Museum next door, and after lunch the bus south to Liuhe Pagoda above the river. Add it to your route and YesGo sets the times and walks. 1. [West Lake](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/west-lake) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Free; island boat ¥55 2. [Leifeng Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/leifeng-pagoda) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ¥40 3. [China National Silk Museum](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/china-national-silk-museum) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 15 min · Free, passport required 4. [Liuhe Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/liuhe-pagoda) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ¥20 + ¥10 to climb the pagoda > **Climb first, garden later** Head up the tower as soon as you’re in, while the stairs are quiet, and save the model garden and the riverside for afterwards. The seventh floor has the widest view; the fifth frames the bridge best. ## Don’t confuse Liuhe and Leifeng are different towers: Leifeng stands on the south shore of [West Lake](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/west-lake) and belongs to the White Snake legend, while Liuhe is 4 km further south above the river. ‘Six Harmonies Pagoda’, ‘Liuhe Pagoda’ and ‘Liuheta’ are all the same place — ‘ta’ simply means pagoda. ## Tips - Arrive at opening or before lunch: on weekends there’s a queue for the climb between 2 and 4 pm. - The climbing ticket is separate from park entry — if you want to go up, buy both at once. - The staircase is tight; carry your backpack in front so you can pass people coming down. - No flash and no lighters inside, and don’t sit on the window ledges — staff patrol every floor. - Bus 4 runs back north past Leifeng Pagoda to the lake, so it’s easy to pair the two. - If you hit bore season in autumn, be at the river half an hour before the tide-table time. ## Questions ### How much is the Liuhe Pagoda ticket? About ¥20 for the park and another ¥10 to climb the tower (unofficial). Students and seniors pay half; children under 1.2 m go free. ### How do I get to Liuhe Pagoda from West Lake? Metro Line 1 to Longxiangqiao, then bus 4 to Liuhe Ta stop — 30–40 minutes. A taxi or DiDi takes 20–30 minutes. ### Can you climb Liuhe Pagoda? Yes, with a separate ticket — up a narrow spiral staircase to the seventh floor. There’s no lift and no wheelchair access. ### What are Liuhe Pagoda’s opening hours? Daily, roughly 7:00–17:30, with last entry around 16:55. On crowded afternoons the climb may be paused for a while. ### How long do you need at Liuhe Pagoda? About an hour for the climb and the view; 1.5–2 hours with the model pagoda garden and the riverside. ### Why does it have 13 tiers but only 7 floors? Every other tier on the outside is sealed, so the 13 roofs you see wrap only seven usable floors inside. ### Is Liuhe or Leifeng Pagoda better? Leifeng is a modern tower with lifts and a lake view, close to the centre. Liuhe is the old one, climbed on foot, with a river view — better for a second day. ### When can you see the Qiantang tidal bore? In autumn around the full moon of the eighth lunar month, usually September or early October. Times change daily, so check a local tide table. ### Why is it called the Six Harmonies Pagoda? Liuhe means ‘six harmonies’; the name is said to come from six Buddhist principles of harmony. ## How we checked The ¥20 entry and ¥10 climbing prices match across three guides (Travel China Guide, China Xian Tour, Ruqin Travel) and search snippets from the West Lake scenic area’s site, but the westlake.hangzhou.gov.cn and wgly.hangzhou.gov.cn pages wouldn’t load, so prices and hours are marked unofficial. Hours differ between sources (6:30–17:30, 7:00–17:30, and earlier closing in winter); we give 7:00–17:30 with last entry around 16:55, as a booking platform lists. Sources date the brick core’s rebuild to 1152, 1163 or 1165, so we say ‘12th century’; the timber shell is dated 1899 or 1900, so we say ‘late 19th century’. Bus numbers vary between guides; bus 4 is named by several sources and a route listing, and matches our Leifeng page, but we saw no official timetable. The Shuichengqiao route rests on one source. The bore date follows tradition (18th of the eighth lunar month); English Wikipedia says around the 15th. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Liuhe Pagoda — history, height, 13 tiers and 7 floors, tidal-bore tradition, Joseph Needham on the lighthouse, ceilings, model garden - Wikidata Q1195294 — coordinates, 970, height 59.89 m, national protection since 1961 - Hangzhou News (hznews.hangzhou.com.cn): restorations, sealed even tiers, Qing-era timber shell; holiday free entry excluding the climb - Guangming Daily (gmw.cn): climb limits at peak times, rules inside, the bore on the 18th of the eighth lunar month - Travel China Guide: Six Harmonies Pagoda — prices, hours, buses, bells, model garden - China Xian Tour: Liuhe Pagoda — prices and concessions, hours, buses 4 and 318 - Ruqin Travel: Liuhe Pagoda — prices, payment, Shuichengqiao route, walking loop, views by floor - English Wikipedia: Qiantang River Bridge; Qiantang River — the 1937 bridge, Mao Yisheng, the bore - CNSJW: Liuhe Pagoda and the Qiantang River Bridge - YesGo Hangzhou and China notes: Longxiangqiao metro, bus 4, Alipay payment --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.