Gate of Yuquan Campus of Zhejiang University

So you’ve just arrived in beautiful Hangzhou for your term studying abroad at Zhejiang University. You’re tired and a bit overwhelmed by everything around the Yuquan campus and don’t know where to get toilet paper. If you’re anything like I was as a student, class is only part of the reason you came to China. So when you finish class for the day, don’t just go back to your dorm room to watch reruns online. No, instead, join me in a walking tour around your new campus. You’re going to be here for several months, maybe longer, and the sooner you settle in and find the things you need, the sooner you will really start to enjoy China. We’re walking because you probably don’t have a bike (don’t worry, we’ll find one) and because with a slower pace you’ll see things you wouldn’t have seen otherwise. So get your walking shoes on and let’s go!

First, let’s head out the back gate. It’s the one on your right when you leave the Yuquan international student dorm and it opens onto Xixi Lu.  If you look left and across the road, you can see IFE coffee shop and Panini, which have already been covered on this website, here. They’re both great and make fine regular study haunts.

Xixi Ziwei

Hang a right and walk for a minute or so; once you get past the brick wall that marks the edge of Yuquan campus, you’ll see a canal and a rather fancy looking place called Xixi Ziwei. Don’t let the décor intimidate you: this place offers some pretty good Hangzhou cuisine at reasonable prices. However, it certainly isn’t as cheap as the noodle shop next door to the left that is always crowded at lunch and dinner times.  Both places have a picture menu for those of us who are just starting the humbling adventure that is learning Chinese.

If you continue down Xixi Lu toward the traffic lights, you’ll see a couple of very good Korean restaurants, which, if you haven’t tried Korean cuisine, are best first experienced with Korean friends who know what to order.  Following those is Hangzhou’s newest Middle Eastern Restaurant, M-2 Tiba Café. This place does good kabob, falafel and shawarma wraps, and their hummus is tough to beat. Even tougher to beat are their prices: no wrap costs over 15 RMB, so you’ll easily get out spending under 50 RMB even if you’re super hungry.

 
No Name Café

Take a right at the light onto Yugu Lu. If you had taken a left and walked for about 10 minutes, you’d stumble into one of the biggest electronics markets in Hangzhou, where you can have DVD! DVD! screamed at you by eager intellectual property pirates.  Continue to walk along the canal and you’ll find a tennis place, if you’re into that. When you get to the light at Qiushi Lu, take a left down that road instead of going back into campus through the gate on the right (which closes early in the evening—keep that in mind when you stay out late). As you walk down Qiushi Lu, you’ll see an office park on the left. If you go into the courtyard, you’ll see that you can go down some steps to get to The Grandma’s, a great, affordable restaurant that does Hangzhou cuisine proud.  There’s also the funky little No Name Café there.

Trust-Mart, Huanglong  Branch

However, we’re not going to The Grandma’s. Keep walking and eventually you’ll see the Yellow Dragon Stadium on the left. Around the stadium are loads of good restaurants and clubs worth checking out, but the most useful place is a little bit further on. At the corner of Qiushi and Shugang Lu you’ll see that you can go down some steps toward the stadium. Yes, there’s the McDonalds, but you should also go into the mall and check out Trust-Mart; you can get just about anything you need for your dorm room at this cross between a giant convenience store and a grocery store.  You can get a decent bike here too.

So you’ve got everything you need at Trust-Mart? Good. Let’s cross Shuguang Lu, take a right and take a break at Maya bar, probably the most popular expat hangout, on the left. We’re going to continue away from the stadium on Shuguang Lu, on which you can’t spit without hitting a bar. It’s a pleasant tree-lined walk, so take your time. When you get to Zheda Lu, take a right at the light and you’ll be heading back toward the university. The first alleyway on the right on Zheda Lu is home to the new and popular Ellen’s Café. Ellen’s is a smoky dive that caters to international students like you, so it has an English menu with some good from-home classics, hookah and lots of cheap beer. Make sure to write your name and the best pithy catchphrase you can think of on the wall while you’re there.

Head back out onto Zheda Lu and take a right to head back to campus. You’ll see the main gate in front of you. Head in and stroll up alongside the grassy quad. Once Hangzhou starts heating up in the spring, this is a great place for a picnic. Give the Mao statue a wave before you turn right down the main road, which you can follow all the way back to the international student dormitory. Welcome home.

Venue information:

Xixi ziwei西溪滋味View In Map

Add: 405 Xixi Lu, Hangzhou
地址：杭州市西溪路405号
Tel: 0571 8898 0519
Opening hours: 09:00-23:00

M-2 TibaView In Map
Add: 393 Xixi Lu, Hangzhou
地址：杭州市西溪路393号
Opening hours: 10:00-01:00

The Grandma’s (Gongyuan Branch) 外婆家, 公元大厦店View In Map
Add: 8 Qiushi Lu, under the Gongyuan Office Complex, Hangzhou
地址： 杭州市公元大厦下沉式广场， 求是路8号
Phone: 0571 8763 5916
Opening hours: 10:00-14:00, 16:00-21:00

No Name Café无名咖啡 View In Map
Add: 8 Qiushi Road, under the Gongyuan Office Complex, next to The Grandma’s
地址：杭州市求是路8号公元大厦中庭地下1楼(外婆家旁边)
Opening hours: 10:30-23:00

Trust-mart, Huanglong Branch好又多黄龙店 View In Map
Add: Dragon Square, the intersection of Qiushi Lu and Shuguang Lu, Hangzhou
地址：杭州市求是路和曙光路口
Phone: 0571 8763 1095

Ellen’s CaféView In Map
Add: On Zheda Lu, Opposite Waidongshan Alley, Hangzhou
地址：杭州市外东山弄对面
Phone: 0571 8694 8093
Hours: 09:30-02:00

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Keywords: Yuquan campus guide Hangzhou study abroad Hangzhou guide Zhejiang University campus guide Zheda University campus guide