Spend a gentle, legend-filled day among the hills and temples that have shaped Hangzhou for over a thousand years – entirely private and at your own easy pace. Your English-speaking guide and private driver collect you from your Hangzhou hotel, so you skip the crowds and early starts.

You begin at Wushan Cultural Square, where locals gather for morning exercise, then climb to the Chenghuang (City God) Pavilion, dedicated to Hangzhou's guardian deity. From the top you look out over the whole of West Lake, with Leifeng Pagoda shimmering in the distance – the very landscape of the famous White Snake legend. Your guide shares the romantic tales attached to spots like the Crane-Watching Pavilion, where the poet Lin Hejing once lived “with plum trees as his wife and cranes as his children”.

The day continues up gentle Yuhuang (Jade Emperor) Hill, one of the highest peaks beside West Lake, where the ancient Jade Emperor Temple still draws incense and prayers. You explore the cool, atmospheric Zixia Cave, the Fuxing Temple of the gods of fortune, longevity and happiness, and the serene thousand-year-old Tianlong Temple. The day ends at the Bagua Field, farmland laid out in the eight-trigram pattern since the Southern Song dynasty – a living symbol of the old idea of harmony between people and nature.

A relaxed local lunch is included and walking is light and optional. With private transport, personal guiding and no strenuous hiking, this is authentic China at a calm, story-rich pace, perfect for travellers who love history, temples and beautiful views.