Saturday, 7 March 2026

SH-Hangzhou Day 3: Train to Shangri-La Hangzhou Horizon Club & West Lake

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I had a much better sleep last night than the one before and woke up at 7.30am instead of my usual 5am! ๐Ÿ˜… When we were ready, we took the complimentary shuttle for hotel guests to Disney Town for breakfast.

Most of the restaurants only open at 10am so we had to settle for Paper Stone Bakery for breakfast.

Paper Stone Bakery
(Where's the scissors? As in scissors, paper, stone? Geddit?!? Hahaha ๐Ÿคฃ)
Ordered a simple bread and my favourite Hong Kong milk tea!
Can't live without my Asian milk tea! ๐Ÿ˜„
The Twin needs her coffee and got a cup from both Manner Coffee and % Arabica!

By chance, we discovered the Chua Lam's Dim Sum outlet at Disney Town! Having tried the franchise in Guangzhou and loving the food, we decided to order BBQ pork buns for takeaway as we didn't have enough time to dine in.

The BBQ pork buns were soooo good!

We returned to our hotel just in time to check out at 11am.

Photos at the hotel before we left

We hailed a DiDi (CN¥122) to Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station to catch our train to Hangzhou.

Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station

We had pre-booked our Shanghai to Hangzhou High Speed Rail tickets via Klook about 2.5 months in advance, with actual tickets confirmed only 15 days prior to travel (this was the standard for all high speed rail bookings). There were many routes to choose from but we chose the 12.56pm train as the joinery was only 52 minutes and cost S$16.14 per adult.

Boarding our train early;
Trains leave on time so don't be late!
View of another similar train from inside our train

The train was so fast that 50 minutes flew by and in a blink of eye, we had arrived at Hangzhou East Station!

Arrival at Hangzhou East Station after a comfortable ride

We walked to the ride-hailing area to hail a DiDi and discovered that we had to follow a set of instructions to facilitate pick up. The system was easy to use once we got the hang of it. 

Instructions on how to insert the driver's car plate number into a separate website to track their arrival 
This screen informed us that our driver has entered the carpark and the lot that he was parked at. We would then exit the waiting area to board the car.

Our DiDi (CN¥40) to Shangri-La Hangzhou took 45 minutes, longer than usual due to the multiple congestions on the road! Despite not being a peak period for travel, West Lake was still super crowded!

Arrival at Shangri-La Hangzhou

I found a good members' deal via the Shangri-la Circle app and booked a Horizon Hillview Room at just CN¥1138 (S$210) per room per night, inclusive of breakfast (more details in the next post), evening canapรฉs, all-day lounge access and other Horizon Club benefits! It was the cheapest Horizon Club room I have ever booked! ๐Ÿคญ

Of course the downside was the dated rooms and the lack of a view from our room. Other than that, the room had all the amenities of a typical Shangri-La hotel.

Our Horizon Hillview room
Amenities in our room, especially the contour pillow for side sleepers that I requested via the app! ๐Ÿ˜€
Complimentary tea, coffee and fruits
View of the forest from our window
(Almost regretted not choosing a room with the view of West Lake until I remembered how much it cost!)
Bathroom with bathtub
Usual Shangri-La amenities

The hotel had a simple gym and indoor pool but the latter was closed for renovation.

We were super hungry and headed to the Horizon Club at Level 1 for afternoon tea.

Horizon Club with very old school decor!
Simple spread of snacks and drinks
More snacks in the fridge (left);
Tried the famous West Lake Lotus Root Starch dessert and wasn't a fan (right).
Food was good! ๐Ÿ˜‹

Once we were full, we headed out to explore West Lake. Shangri-La Hangzhou was located right beside the Xiling Bridge (see map below).

Photo credit: travelchinaguide.com

We crossed Xiling Bridge to explore the closest island to us on West Lake.

Xiling Bridge is 1 of 3 lovers' bridges in West Lake
Xiling Bridge
View of Shangri-La Hangzhou from Xiling Bridge
View of the Crossing Rainbow Bridge from Xiling Bridge
The best time to see West Lake is just before sunset!
We took so many beautiful photos!
Statue of heroine Qiu Jin, a renowned revolutionary and feminist who advocated for women's independence (left);
China Seal Museum near Xiling Bridge (top right).
Stone Archway at the Back Hill, bearing the words "Xiling Seal Engravers' Society"
Strolling along the shores of the North Inner Lake and enjoying the view of many Weeping Willows; they remind me of the period C-dramas that I love! ๐Ÿ˜
Red Plum Blossom Trees in the park were adopted by different individuals/groups
One of the smaller islands in West Lake
You can also pay to ride one of these tour cars that will introduce you to all of the sights of West Lake

The best time to visit West Lake is close to sunset but be warned that it's also when it is the most crowded! 

Though I can understand why West Lake is so famous (and crowded); it's really so beautiful!!! ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿคฉ

More photos of the lake as the sun was setting
Yuehu Lake
McDonald's and other restaurants at a little town
Of course we had to load up on essentials at Lawson!
Bought souvenir snacks from Hangzhou Gift shop ่ฎงๅ—ๅ››้›…

We returned to the Horizon Club for evening canapes.

Evening canapes included alcohol ๐Ÿ˜Š
They had my favourite cheese!
Couldn't wait to dig in!
Greater selection of food! Super yummy!

We took a walk along the neighbouring areas of our hotel after our meal to aid with digestion (we were so full!). Compared to the evening, it was much more deserted at night, perfect for those who hate crowds.

The neighbourhood looks very different at night!
Captured this beautiful photo with my Honor Magic V5
Yuehu Lake at night
Yu Dai Bridge

It's a good totally different experience exploring West Lake at night. I'd definitely recommend staying close to the lake for the convenience! ๐Ÿ˜€

It was a great way to end our day!


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P.S: We're proud Shangri-la Circle members; read about our Shangri-La experiences around the world:


Continue to >> Shanghai-Hangzhou Day 4: Hangzhou Museum, Taiziwan & Su Causeway
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