# Wuzhen Water Town near Hangzhou > Wuzhen is a canal town about 80 km from Hangzhou and a full-day trip. Its two paid zones are compact Dongzha (¥110, 7:00–17:30) and larger Xizha (¥150, 9:00–22:00, best after dark); a combo is ¥190. Getting there takes 1.5–2 hours: a direct coach from Hangzhou’s Coach Center, or a fast train to Tongxiang plus a bus or taxi. Web page: https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/wuzhen - City: [Hangzhou](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou), China - YesGo score: 16/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 4 h - With kids: Fine with kids - Tickets: Dongzha ¥110, Xizha ¥150, combo for both ¥190 (valid one day) - Discounts: Under 1.2 m free; ages 6–18, students and 60–69 half price; 70+ free - Hours: Dongzha 7:00–17:30 (to 18:00 June–September), Xizha 9:00–22:00, no closing day - Boat ride: Dongzha ¥30, Xizha ¥60 per person one way; private boats cost more - Where to buy: Gate ticket offices (passport), the 乌镇景区 WeChat mini-program, or Trip.com with a foreign card - From Hangzhou: Coach from Coach Center (Metro Line 1), about 1.5 h; or train Hangzhou East → Tongxiang, then bus K282 or a taxi - Payment: Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign Visa/Mastercard; carry some yuan in cash - Time needed: A full day: Dongzha 2–3 hours in the morning, Xizha from lunch until after dark - Coordinates: 30.74269, 120.48796 - Facts checked: 05.11.2026 ## Key facts - **≈ 80 km** — from Hangzhou to Wuzhen; Suzhou is the same distance, Shanghai about 140 km (source: Chinese Wikipedia (乌镇)) - **2 zones** — paid Dongzha (east) and Xizha (west), 1.5–2 km apart with separate gates (source: Trip.com; China for Travelers; Chinatripedia) - **No station** — Wuzhen has no railway station; the nearest high-speed stop is Tongxiang (source: Chinese Wikipedia (桐乡站); Travel China Guide; China for Travelers) - **¥190** — combo ticket for both zones on one day; ¥110 and ¥150 separately (source: Trip.com; China for Travelers; Sina) - **1896** — the novelist Mao Dun was born here; his family house in Dongzha is a museum (source: Chinese Wikipedia (乌镇); English Wikipedia (Mao Dun)) - **503** — the year Prince Xiao Tong is said to have studied here — the origin of Zhaoming Academy in Xizha (source: Chinese Wikipedia (乌镇), citing the local gazetteer) - **998** — Xiuzhen Taoist Temple founded; the old opera stage opposite it is a Dongzha landmark (source: Chinese Wikipedia (乌镇); Chinatripedia) - **5A** — China’s top tourist-site grade, held by the Wuzhen scenic area (source: Chinese Wikipedia (乌镇)) - **7th century** — when encyclopedias date the town’s main building, under the Tang dynasty (source: English and Russian Wikipedia) - **71.19 km²** — area of the whole township; the old canal quarters are a small part of it (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia) ## Is Wuzhen worth a day trip from Hangzhou? Yes, if you have three or more days in Hangzhou and want to see a classic Jiangnan water town: canals instead of streets, stone bridges, timber houses with dark tiled roofs and boats rowed by a single oar. Xizha after dark, with every bridge and eave lit, is one of the best-looking evenings in the region. Be clear about what it is, though. Both zones are restored, ticketed scenic areas rather than lived-in villages, and getting there and back eats three to four hours. YesGo’s take: worth a full day once you’ve done West Lake, but if Hangzhou gets only one day, give it to [West Lake](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/west-lake). ## Dongzha vs Xizha: which zone should you pick? | | Dongzha (东栅, East) | Xizha (西栅, West) | | --- | --- | --- | | Feel | Compact, close to an open-air museum | Large, polished, resort-like | | Ticket | ¥110 | ¥150 | | Hours | 7:00–17:30, to 18:00 in summer | 9:00–22:00 | | Night lights | No — closes before dark | Yes — the main event | | Highlights | Mao Dun’s house, bed museum, indigo dye yard, Bridge within a Bridge | Zhaoming Academy, Bailian Pagoda, Mu Xin Art Museum, lit canals | | Hotels inside | No | Yes, with re-entry for guests | | Time needed | 2–3 hours | 4–5 hours including the evening | Only one zone? Choose Xizha and arrive by 15:00–16:00 for daylight and the lights. Both? Dongzha in the morning, Xizha from lunch. Prices and hours are unofficial — we couldn’t load the official site. ## How to get to Wuzhen from Hangzhou 1. **Direct coach.** From the Hubin lakefront (Longxiangqiao, Line 1) ride Line 1 east to **Coach Center** (客运中心), 11 stops. Next to it is **Hangzhou Passenger Transport Centre** (杭州客运中心, the Jiubao coach station). Coaches to Wuzhen leave several times a day, take about 1.5 hours and cost roughly ¥25–45 (unofficial). 2. The coach ends at **Wuzhen Bus Station** (乌镇汽车站). From there, local bus K350 or a 10-minute taxi takes you to the Xizha gate; take a taxi to Dongzha. 3. **Train.** Take Line 1 from Longxiangqiao to **Hangzhou East** (16–20 minutes), then a high-speed train to **Tongxiang** (桐乡站) — 17–35 minutes, with frequent departures through the day. Rail tickets are sold against your passport on Trip.com, the 12306 app or at the station. 4. **From Tongxiang station.** Bus **K282** (or K281) runs to Wuzhen Bus Station in 30–60 minutes for a few yuan, roughly until 17:00–18:00; change to K350 for Xizha. Faster: a taxi or DiDi, 20–40 minutes and around ¥50–100 (unofficial). 5. **Between the zones.** Dongzha and Xizha are 1.5–2 km apart with separate gates — about 10 minutes by taxi. Trip.com also mentions a free daytime shuttle between them; ask at the gate. 6. **Coming back at night.** After Xizha’s lights, buses to Tongxiang may have stopped. Take a taxi or DiDi to the station and check the last train to Hangzhou in advance; a DiDi all the way to central Hangzhou takes about an hour and one guide quotes ¥200–260. 7. **Guided tour.** A tour from Hangzhou handles the transfers and the late ride back — the easy option on a first visit to China. > **Xizha stays open until 22:00, but the buses don’t** The return leg is the catch. Xizha is at its best after sunset, yet bus K282 to Tongxiang station reportedly stops around 17:00–18:00. If you stay for the lights, sort out your way back before you go: taxi or DiDi to a late train, a coach to Hangzhou if one is still running, or a night in a hotel inside Xizha. ## Wuzhen tickets: prices, discounts and where to buy Both zones charge entry: **Dongzha ¥110, Xizha ¥150, combo ¥190**. Trip.com, China for Travelers and the Chinese news site Sina all give these figures, but we couldn’t load the official site, so treat them as unofficial. Two sources say the combo is valid for one day only; one older guide says two — check at the counter. Discounts, per China for Travelers: children under 1.2 m or aged six and under are free; ages 6–18, students and visitors aged 60–69 pay half; 70 and over are free. A ticket allows one entry. Only guests at hotels inside Xizha can come and go, and they get a cheaper combo. Boats (¥30 in Dongzha, ¥60 in Xizha, one way) and the Mu Xin Art Museum are extra. Buy at the gate ticket office with your passport, through the 乌镇景区 mini-program in WeChat, or on Trip.com, which takes foreign cards. The turnstiles read Chinese ID cards easily but often fail with passports, so use the staffed lane. ## What to see in Dongzha - **Mao Dun’s Former Residence** (茅盾故居) — the two-storey timber house where the author of *Midnight* was born in 1896, kept as it was in his childhood. Reportedly closed on Mondays. - **Hongyuantai Dye Workshop** — the home of Wuzhen’s blue-and-white printed cotton, with long cloths drying on tall poles in the yard; one of the most photographed spots in town. - **Hundred-Bed Museum** — carved antique beds from across the Jiangnan region; nearby, the old Xu family mansion holds a **wood-carving museum**. - **Bridge within a Bridge** — the Tongji and Renji bridges meet at a right angle, so one arch frames the other. - **Xiuzhen Temple opera stage** — the Taoist temple dates to 998; the open-air opera stage opposite was built in the 18th century. - **A boat ride** — ¥30 per person one way; short, but the houses look best from the water. ## What to see in Xizha - **The canals at night** — houses and bridges are lit from around sunset until roughly 22:00–23:00. This is the reason to come to Xizha. - **Zhaoming Academy** (昭明书院) — tradition says Prince Xiao Tong, compiler of a famous literary anthology, studied here in 503; today it’s a courtyard behind a Ming-era stone gateway. - **Bailian Pagoda** — on an island, the tallest building in Wuzhen, with views over the rooftops and canals. - **Mu Xin Art Museum** — a modern building on the water devoted to the Wuzhen-born painter and poet; separate ticket, reportedly closed on Mondays. - **Workshops** — an old forge and a plant-dye workshop you can drop into as you walk. - **Oar-rowed boat** — ¥60 per person one way, leaving once enough passengers are aboard. > **Seeing both zones in one day** Leave Hangzhou by 8:00. Do **Dongzha** first, for 2–3 hours before the tour groups arrive. Have lunch, then taxi to **Xizha** for 13:00–14:00: daytime lanes, a boat, Zhaoming Academy, then the lights at dusk. Settle the ride home before you set off — late in the evening it’s taxi or DiDi only. ## Best time to visit Wuzhen Spring and autumn are the most comfortable — mild days and less humid air on the water. In summer Dongzha stays open half an hour later, until 18:00. Weekends and Chinese public holidays make Xizha’s bridges crowded in the evening, so go on a weekday if you can. Neither zone has a closing day. Inside, Mao Dun’s house and the Mu Xin Art Museum reportedly close on Mondays, so avoid Monday if they matter to you. Rain is no reason to cancel: many lanes are covered, and the canals look even moodier in drizzle. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Decided: both zones or Xizha only - [ ] Passport with me for train and gate tickets - [ ] Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to my foreign card, plus some yuan - [ ] A plan for getting back to Hangzhou after 18:00 - [ ] Offline map or Amap — Google Maps is unreliable in China - [ ] “乌镇西栅” and “乌镇东栅” saved to show a taxi driver ## Hangzhou by the water compared Lakes, canals and water towns around Hangzhou, rated by YesGo. - [Grand Canal in Hangzhou](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/hangzhou-grand-canal) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · Free; water bus ¥3 - [West Lake](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/west-lake) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Free; island boat ¥55 - [Liuhe Pagoda](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/liuhe-pagoda) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ¥20 + ¥10 to climb the pagoda - [Wuzhen](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/wuzhen) — YesGo score 16/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · Xizha ¥150, Dongzha ¥110, both ¥190 ## Two days by the water: lake, pagoda and Wuzhen Day one for West Lake and Leifeng Pagoda, day two for Wuzhen, finishing with Xizha’s lights. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and travel. 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. [Wuzhen](https://yesgo.io/china/hangzhou/wuzhen) — YesGo score 16/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 4 h · Xizha ¥150, Dongzha ¥110, both ¥190 ## Good to know Wuzhen (乌镇) is not Zhouzhuang or Xitang — those are other water towns in the region. Tongxiang (桐乡站) is a high-speed station on the Shanghai–Hangzhou line; Wuzhen itself has no railway station. Dongzha is the east zone and Xizha the west, with separate gates and tickets. ## Tips - Only one zone? Pick Xizha and arrive by 15:00–16:00 to catch both daylight and the lights. - Be at Dongzha when it opens at 7:00, before the coach tours arrive. - Save 乌镇西栅 and 乌镇东栅 in Chinese characters — any taxi driver will understand. - A ticket is one entry only: leave and you can’t go back in unless you’re staying inside Xizha. - A night in a Xizha hotel solves the ride home and gives you the canals almost empty in the morning. - Pay with Alipay: stalls and boat counters in Wuzhen are close to cashless. ## Questions ### How do I get from Hangzhou to Wuzhen? Take a direct coach from Hangzhou Passenger Transport Centre (Coach Center, Metro Line 1) — about 1.5 hours. Or ride a fast train from Hangzhou East to Tongxiang (17–35 minutes), then bus K282 or a 20–40-minute taxi. ### Is there a train station in Wuzhen? No. The nearest high-speed station is Tongxiang (桐乡站); from there take bus K282 or a taxi to Wuzhen. ### How much are Wuzhen tickets? Dongzha ¥110, Xizha ¥150, or ¥190 for both on the same day. These are unofficial figures from several travel sources. ### Dongzha or Xizha — which is better? For one zone, Xizha: it’s bigger, open until 22:00 and lit up at night. Dongzha is smaller and quieter, with Mao Dun’s house, and best seen in the morning. ### What are Wuzhen’s opening hours? Xizha 9:00–22:00; Dongzha 7:00–17:30, until 18:00 from June to September. Both open every day. ### How long do you need in Wuzhen? A full day including travel: 2–3 hours for Dongzha and 4–5 for Xizha with the evening. Xizha alone fits in half a day. ### Can you do Wuzhen as a day trip from Hangzhou? Yes, it’s a standard day trip. The hard part is getting back after Xizha’s lights — buses stop around 17:00–18:00, after that it’s a taxi or DiDi. ### Can foreigners buy Wuzhen tickets online? Yes, on Trip.com with a foreign card, or at the gate with your passport. The WeChat mini-program works too if your WeChat Pay is set up. ### How much is a boat ride in Wuzhen? ¥30 per person one way in Dongzha and ¥60 in Xizha. You can hire a whole boat for more. ## How we checked The official site wuzhen.com.cn would not load (certificate error), so prices, hours and discounts come from independent sources and are marked as verifying: ¥110, ¥150 and ¥190 match across Trip.com, China for Travelers and Sina. Chinatripedia gives a single 9:00–22:00 for the whole town, while Trip.com and China for Travelers give Dongzha 7:00–17:30/18:00; we follow the latter. One guide says the combo lasts two days, two say one; we show one. Sources give bus K282 at ¥2–5 and differing taxi and coach fares, so we show ranges. We found no railway station named Wuzhen. Russian Wikipedia gives Mao Dun’s birth year as 1891; Chinese and English Wikipedia say 1896, which we use. ## Sources - Chinese Wikipedia: 乌镇 (distances, area, Mao Dun, Zhaoming Academy, Xiuzhen Temple, 5A grade), 桐乡站 (line, buses K281/K282) - English Wikipedia: Wuzhen, Mao Dun, Line 1 (Hangzhou Metro); Russian Wikipedia: Учжэнь; Wikidata Q1371343 - Trip.com: Wuzhen guide — tickets, hours, boats, discounts, route via Tongxiang - China for Travelers: Wuzhen Ancient Town — prices, discounts, hours, lights, passports at the gates, buses and taxis - Chinatripedia: Wuzhen Water Town — sights in Dongzha and Xizha, Tongxiang station - Travel China Guide: Tongxiang Railway Station; Hangzhou transport to nearby cities - MyChinaGuide: Shanghai–Wuzhen–Hangzhou transport (bus K282, taxis, coach to Jiubao, DiDi) - Sina: combo discount for Xizha hotel guests, boat and Mu Xin museum prices --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.