Hangzhou: Silk, Tea & Alibaba — 4 Days
Marco Polo’s favorite city
In the 13th century, Marco Polo visited Hangzhou and called it “the most beautiful and splendid city in the world.” Eight centuries later, the West Lake he described is still here — a landscape so beautiful it was the subject of Chinese poetry for a thousand years.
But Hangzhou is also the city that built Alibaba. The cashless payment you’ll use throughout your China trip? Invented here. The e-commerce that reshaped global retail? Started in a Hangzhou apartment.
Where ancient meets digital
In four days you’ll see:
- West Lake — UNESCO-listed, unchanged for centuries
- Dragon Well tea terraces — where China’s most famous green tea is grown, by hand
- Liangzhu — a 5,000-year-old jade civilization that predates writing
- The Alibaba district — the urban laboratory where tomorrow’s digital economy is being tested
Why Hangzhou is the perfect study tour
It compresses the full arc of Chinese civilization — jade age to digital age — into a single, walkable, beautiful city.
Day-by-day itinerary
- 1
Day 1: Arrival & West Lake at Dusk
Check in. Sunset boat ride on West Lake — the landscape that inspired Chinese poetry and painting for 1,000 years.
- 2
Day 2: Tea & Silk
Morning in the Dragon Well tea terraces — meet the farmers, taste the fresh leaves. Afternoon at the China Silk Museum, then a working silk workshop.
- 3
Day 3: Liangzhu & Alibaba's City
Morning at Liangzhu — a 5,000-year-old jade civilization now UNESCO-listed. Afternoon walk through Hangzhou's tech district, the city Alibaba built.
- 4
Day 4: Departure
Free morning, airport transfer.
Frequently asked questions
Did Marco Polo really call Hangzhou the most beautiful city in the world? +
According to his writings, yes. He visited in the 13th century and described it in superlatives. The West Lake scenery he saw is largely preserved today.
Is this where Alibaba is from? +
Yes. Jack Ma founded Alibaba in Hangzhou in 1999. The city is now the epicenter of China's e-commerce and digital payments revolution — the cashless society you'll experience started here.
What is Liangzhu? +
A 5,000-year-old civilization discovered near Hangzhou, famous for exquisite jade artifacts and an early urban water system. It was added to UNESCO in 2019 and rewrites what we know about early Chinese civilization.