Short answer
Hangzhou has one airport and three railway stations worth knowing, and the metro links all of them. Xiaoshan International Airport sits about 27 km southeast of the lake; the fast way in is Metro Line 19, a sky-blue express that reaches Hangzhou East Railway Station in roughly 35 minutes for under ¥10.
Hangzhou East is the station nearly every high-speed train uses. From there Line 1 drops you at Longxiangqiao on the north shore of West Lake in about 20 minutes for around ¥4. Hangzhou Railway Station, called Chengzhan by locals, is the closest of the three to the lake. Hangzhou West is far outside the city.
Two mistakes cost visitors real money: landing after the last metro, and accepting a ride from someone who approaches you inside the arrivals hall. Line 19's last train leaves the airport around 23:14. The official taxi queue and the ¥20 airport bus are both fine options. The man with a laminated sign is not.
The four arrival points and what each is good for
Book your onward plan around the hub you actually land at, not the one that sounds closest to West Lake.
| Arrival point | Metro lines | Journey to West Lake | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xiaoshan International Airport (HGH) | 19, 1, 7 | 50–65 min, one change, around ¥8 | Line 19 is the express and the one to take |
| Hangzhou East Railway Station | 1, 4, 6, 19 | About 20 min on Line 1 to Longxiangqiao, roughly ¥4 | Boarding is inside the station hall; most high-speed trains stop here |
| Hangzhou Railway Station (Chengzhan) | 1 | About 10 min by taxi | Closest station to the lake; fewer of the big intercity services |
| Hangzhou West Railway Station | 3, 19 | Long ride; use Line 19 and change | Well outside the built-up area, avoid for a short trip |
Xiaoshan Airport by metro: three lines, one clear winner
The airport station is served by Lines 1, 7 and 19. They are not equivalent.
Line 19 runs from Hangzhou West Railway Station out to Yongsheng Road, with 17 stations and a full end-to-end trip of about 60 minutes on a maximum fare of ¥10. From the airport it calls at Hangzhou East Railway Station after five stops — roughly 35 minutes — then continues to West Lake Cultural Square at about 45 minutes. Trains run every 6 minutes at peak and every 7.5 minutes at most other times. The trains carry luggage racks, which were put in for exactly this airport-to-station run.
Line 1 also serves the airport and pushes straight into the old city — West Lake Cultural Square, Wulin Square, Hangzhou Railway Station and Binhe Road. It costs less thought than Line 19 and more time: the same journey takes 50 to 60 minutes. If your hotel is on the Wulin Square side, Line 1 saves you a change.
Line 7 is the option for Xiaoshan district addresses and for Yongsheng Road, not for the lake.
Timings move with the season. The last Line 19 departure from the airport towards West Railway Station is around 23:14, and Line 1 out of the airport finishes earlier, near 22:30. Check the official channel for the day you arrive rather than trusting a schedule you saved weeks earlier.
Airport buses: cheap, slow, and useful at midnight
The bus ticket desk and boarding area sit in the Ground Transportation Center at Terminal 4.
- Wulinmen line, ¥20. The downtown route, with a stop at Pinghai Road close to West Lake. Allow about an hour to the city centre in traffic.
- Hangzhou East Railway Station line, ¥40. This is the late-night service, running after the metro has stopped — the point of it is the 00:00 to 02:30 window. If you land at 01:00 with a suitcase, it is the cheapest way to reach a station-area hotel.
- Nearby cities. Direct coaches run to Wuzhen and Tongxiang (¥55) and Yiwu (¥72–100).
Departure times on the downtown lines alternate between fixed departures and a fill-up-and-go pattern. Ask at the desk when you buy the ticket, and check the official channel for the current timetable.
Taxi and ride-hailing from the airport
Official taxis wait outside Gate 14 of the T3 arrivals hall and on the west side of the T4 Ground Transportation Center. A Hangzhou taxi runs on the meter — refusing to use it is not a thing you have to accept, and neither is sharing the car with a stranger who is going "the same way".
| Destination from HGH | Rough fare | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Wulin Square / downtown | About ¥120 | 40–50 min |
| Hangzhou Railway Station (Chengzhan) | ¥100–110 | About 40 min |
| Hangzhou South Railway Station | ¥70–80 | 25–30 min |
| West Lake north shore hotels | ¥100–130 | 40–60 min |
The meter starts in the low teens of yuan for the first 3 km and adds a per-kilometre rate afterwards, with a surcharge late at night that pushes fares up by roughly a fifth. The tariff card posted in the cab is the authoritative version of those numbers.
Ride-hailing works well from HGH, with one catch: the airport has designated pickup zones rather than kerbside pickup, so the app will route you to a specific level or gate. Read the in-app message, not the driver's phone call, and have your hotel name written in Chinese to show.
Arriving by train instead
If you are coming from Shanghai Hongqiao, the high-speed train takes about an hour and puts you into Hangzhou East. From the station hall, Lines 1 and 4 board inside the building, and Line 19 is the fastest path out to the airport or the west side.
Hangzhou Railway Station, the old Chengzhan station, sits a short ride from the lake and is the better arrival if you have booked around West Lake. Hangzhou West is a hub for trains towards Huangshan and the interior — fine if that is your route, inconvenient if it is not.
Once you are in the city, the Hangzhou travel guide covers the practical layer: which sights need a reservation, and how the lake, the temples and the tea hills fit together over a stay of a few days.
Paying for the metro when you land
Hangzhou metro gates take QR codes and stored-value transit cards. Bank cards, foreign or domestic, do not open the gates. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with a transport code before you fly, because the queue behind you at the gate is not the place to be troubleshooting an app.
- Single-journey tickets are sold at machines in every station, and the machines take cash and QR payment.
- Buying a ticket at the airport adds a few minutes but requires no setup — a reasonable choice for a first arrival.
Common mistakes at Hangzhou arrivals
- Assuming Line 19 stops at the lake. It does not. West Lake Cultural Square is the transfer point, not the destination; Longxiangqiao on Line 1 is your stop for the north shore.
- Booking a hotel next to Hangzhou East for its name. The station is a 20-minute metro ride from West Lake, which is fine for an overnight stop and wrong for a two-day sightseeing trip.
- Landing after 23:00 and expecting the metro. Plan the ¥40 night bus or a taxi in advance instead of discovering it at the platform.
- Booking a train into Hangzhou West to save a few yuan. The transfer back into the city eats the saving and a chunk of your evening.
Timing your arrival and departure
Land before about 22:00 and the metro handles everything. Land after 23:00 and you are choosing between a taxi and the night bus.
If your time in the city is short, our two-day Hangzhou itinerary is built so that the first morning starts at the lake rather than at a ticket desk, and the West Lake guide explains which stops on Line 1 map to which shore.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a metro straight from Xiaoshan Airport to West Lake?
No single line reaches the lake itself. Take Line 19 to West Lake Cultural Square, change to Line 1 and ride two stops to Longxiangqiao, on the north shore. Allow 50 to 65 minutes and about ¥8 in fares. Line 1 also reaches the airport, but it is slower than the Line 19 express.
Which metro line from Hangzhou Airport is fastest?
Line 19, the sky-blue airport express. It reaches Hangzhou East Railway Station in roughly 35 minutes and West Lake Cultural Square in about 45 minutes, against 50 to 60 minutes on Line 1. The airport station also connects with Line 1 and Line 7.
How much is a taxi from Hangzhou Airport to downtown?
Expect roughly ¥100 to ¥120 to the Wulin Square and West Lake side of town, and 40 to 50 minutes depending on traffic. The meter starts at around ¥11 to ¥13 for the first 3 km with a per-kilometre rate after that, plus a late-night surcharge after about 23:00. The tariff card posted in the cab is authoritative.
What is the last metro from Xiaoshan Airport?
The last Line 19 train leaves the airport heading towards West Railway Station around 23:14. Line 1 out of the airport finishes earlier, near 22:30. Exact times shift with the season, so check the official channel on the day you fly.
Can I use a foreign bank card at the Hangzhou metro gates?
No. The gates read QR codes and transit cards, not foreign cards. Set up the Alipay or WeChat Pay transport code before you fly, or buy a single-journey ticket from the machines in the station.
Should I book a train into Hangzhou East or Hangzhou West?
Hangzhou East unless your ticket says otherwise. It sits on Metro Lines 1, 4, 6 and 19, with boarding inside the station hall. Hangzhou West is well outside the built-up area and a long ride from the lake.
Is the airport bus better than the metro?
Only in two cases: after the metro stops, and if you are staying near Wulin Square, where the ¥20 Wulinmen bus drops you close to your hotel. Otherwise the metro is faster, cheaper and unaffected by traffic.
How far ahead should I leave for a flight out of Hangzhou?
Budget 50 minutes to the airport by metro or 40 to 50 minutes by taxi, then the standard three hours before an international departure. Line 19 trains carry luggage racks, which makes the metro workable with a suitcase.
Do I need cash for taxis in Hangzhou?
Drivers take QR payments and most prefer them, so no. Carry a few hundred yuan in notes as a fallback for the rare driver whose terminal is out, and keep small notes rather than large ones.
Related reading
The same trip, one layer down: the Longjing tea plantations are the usual second-day destination, and both are easier to reach once you know which line serves your hotel.
Compiled from Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport ground-transport information, Hangzhou Metro line and timetable references for Lines 1, 7 and 19, and airport transfer pages cross-checked 29 September 2026. Fares, first and last train times and bus departures change with the season and with network works — the fare chart at the station, the tariff card in the taxi and the airport's own transport desk are the authoritative versions. Nothing on this page is travel or financial advice.