Hangzhou with Kids
Lake boats, pandas & a Song Dynasty show

This is the heart of a Hangzhou family trip. Children take a pavilion boat out to "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon" (三潭印月) in the middle of the lake, peering at the stone lanterns standing in the water and feeding the fish. Then cycle or walk the Su Causeway (苏堤), wide and shaded with willows — easy in a stroller, and older kids can rent a public bike. The slow, unhurried pace makes this the best opening day for a family.

Picture a theme park that recreates Hangzhou as it was 800 years ago under the Song Dynasty — stone pedestrian lanes, old-style shops, costumed performers wandering through, and street shows all day. The highlight is the Romance of the Song Dynasty (宋城千古情) show, which uses stage machinery, waterfalls and lighting to tell the city's legends; kids barely blink. It runs twice a day (afternoon and evening), about an hour each, and works as the centrepiece of a half- to full-day visit.

If your trip has one day for animals, this is the biggest hit. A huge safari park in Fuyang district with a drive-through zone (lions, tigers, bears, giraffes, zebras) and walk-through enclosures up close, plus animal shows and small-animal feeding areas. Children get far nearer the animals than at an ordinary zoo. Plan most of a day, and allow travel time since it sits outside the city.

For a rainy or too-hot day, the Changqiao Polar Ocean Park at Xianghu is an excellent indoor option. It has giant aquarium tanks, an underwater tunnel, a polar zone (penguins and a beluga whale), and dolphin and sea-lion shows that are the kids' favourite. It is over in Xiaoshan near the airport — handy on an arrival or departure day, or any day you want a break from walking.

Here is a zoo set in a real wooded hillside rather than concrete cages. Hangzhou Zoo sits on the slopes near Hupao, south of West Lake — shaded and easy to walk — with giant pandas (Chunsheng and Xiangguo) on loan from the Chengdu breeding base, red pandas and nearly a thousand other animals. Entry is just ¥20, and children under 1.2 m go free, making it a great-value half-day for families staying near the lake.

A good family trip needs a slower day, and Xixi Wetland is it — a large wetland on the city's west side where you ride a quiet electric boat through reed-lined canals, watching water birds and waterside cottages drift past. Toddlers love the stillness of the water, older kids learn a little about the ecosystem, and there are free walking sections and canal-side restaurants. A restful day after the theme parks.

A large science museum in Binjiang on the theme of energy and the environment, designed as a "second classroom" for children — with hands-on galleries you can touch and experiment in, a dome cinema and giant screen showing science films, and a renewable-energy zone kids can actually play with. The best part: entry is free (book ahead via WeChat). It is a fine air-conditioned retreat for a hot afternoon, and easily fills half a day.

For little ones too small for roller coasters, Hangzhou has several children's parks and lakeside parks that are free or very cheap. Expect kiddie rides, lawns to run on and small pedal-boat rentals; some sit right by a West Lake boat dock, so you can walk over straight after the boat ride. It is the afternoon where the kids recharge and the parents get to sit under a tree.

An old pedestrian street below Wushan Hill, fun for kids because every shop has something to look at — fresh local snacks (dragon-beard candy, fried dough, pulled sweets), wooden-toy and puppet shops, tea houses offering tastings, and sugar-blowers shaping candy into animals. There is no entry fee; you just wander, snack and look. A great early-evening stretch after a day out. Strollers are fine, though it gets busy at weekends.

One of Hangzhou's oldest temples, tucked into a bamboo-forested valley to the west. Children are fascinated by the Buddhas carved into the cliffs of Feilai Feng, thousand-year-old figures scattered through grottoes and rock crevices. The forest path is cool and shaded with streams and little bridges, and the distance is manageable for older kids — younger ones go in a carrier or on a parent's back. A day that blends nature and culture in one.