What’s different here, and the few things that quietly cost people a morning.
Metro Line 19 to Hangzhou East in about 26 minutes (¥7); to West Lake change to Line 1 for Longxiangqiao, about 53 minutes in total.
For a taxi, use T3 arrivals Gate 14 or the T4–Ground Transportation Centre corridor on Level 1. App-booked cars collect on B2 at lift lobbies 2, 3 or 4: from T3, leave arrivals Gate 14 and go down; from T4, descend from the transport centre on Level 2. Choose the matching pickup zone in your app.
Line 1 runs direct to downtown and West Lake (Longxiangqiao). Line 19 boards from a separate East Plaza station outside the main concourse.
Use the Hangzhou Metro ride code in Alipay, or a WeChat ride code if your account can activate it. A cash-topped Hangzhou transit card is a backup; plan on a code or transit card rather than foreign-card tapping.
The metro does not reach Lingyin Temple, the western hills or the Longjing tea villages; plan a taxi or bus for those.
Assuming the metro gets you to the temple and tea hills.
Give that day a taxi or bus plan, and keep the lakeside walk for the evening.
“West Lake” is not one fixed-length complete circuit.
Choose one confirmed 1–2 hour causeway walk; reserve a separate block for the other side or a boat.
Lingyin’s reserved admission cannot be left to the same day.
Reserve at least a day ahead and visit the temple first, before the open lake walk.
255–390 minutes for the full block
Keep the lake segment to the public Bai Causeway; a boat, museum or separate attraction needs its own time.
Keep the full afternoon and early evening for this outing.
2–3 hours
