Hangzhou is a picturesque and popular tourist destination within easy reach of Shanghai residents - but there is much more to the place than just beautiful West Lake.

Many Shanghai people find Hangzhou a "cliched" tourist destination - close and easy. But it's hard to think of a better place to resign yourself to countryside pleasures.

Two weeks back my wife and I ventured into the mountains around Hangzhou that are low enough for a three-hour trek but still high enough to make you gasp.

That was exactly what we wanted: a healthy dose of weekend exercise - not too much, not too little - to cure the ills of a week's sedentary office work.

In this golden season of tourism (April and May), it is wise to avoid the crowds at Hangzhou's hugely popular West Lake, even though it is wondrous in many ways. If you have never been to Hangzhou, you should visit the lake, otherwise perhaps follow our footsteps along a largely unbeaten track deep into the mountains and to the discovery of a rich tea culture.

All you need is a bit of daring.

There are many bullet trains from Shanghai South Railway Station to Hangzhou each day. We booked tickets for a train that departed at 9:30am and arrived in Hangzhou at 10:46am on Saturday. Actually it takes more than two hours for many of my work colleagues to travel from home to the office in Shanghai every day.

If you take Metro Line 1 from People's Square, you will get to Shanghai South Railway Station in 20 minutes. Another hour and you will be in Hangzhou. Another 20 minutes by taxi will take you to Zhejiang Hotel, a state-run five-star hotel at the foot of Santai Mountain. The hotel is wedged between the famous Longjing Road that leads to the China Tea Museum and Santaishan Road, leading to Santai Mountain and Southern Peak.

Zhejiang Hotel was built in the 1970s, initially as a temporary dwelling for Marshal Lin Biao. Guests of the hotel can visit the old 1970s facilities for free.