When choosing a house in Hangzhou, the easiest way to waste time is to first ask "Which district is the best?" The more useful questions for the person living in the apartment are: where will they be going every day, who will need care in the family, what is the total budget available, and how many years they plan to stay there. If you're looking at Hangzhou Chengbei, Chongxian is worth arranging an on-site comparison. Cheuk Nang Riverside is located in LinpingChongxian. The official website of the project shows four types of units of about 65, 67, 88 and 138 sq m, as well as real scenes of buildings, parks and waterfront environments; the northern end of the first phase of Metro Line 15 is located in Chongxian. One visit allows you to understand the location, spatial scale and living environment at the same time.
Step 1: Write down two non-negotiable conditions
1. The place of work cannot just be written as “city center”
Write down the places where family members must go more than three times a week, including companies, schools, elderly residences or fixed medical treatment points. The address must be specific to the subway station or intersection.
Don’t just look at kilometers on a map. Hangzhou For journeys across rivers, districts, railways or expressways, even if the straight-line distance is similar, the morning and evening rush hour experiences may be different. During the regional preliminary screening, at least four tests are conducted: 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning on weekdays, and 17:30 and 18:30 in the afternoon. Self-driving and public transportation are recorded separately, and weekend road conditions are not used to replace working days.
If the couple commutes in opposite directions, you can change "the shortest time for one person" to "the shortest total weekly commuting time for the whole family". This is closer to real life than accommodating one of them one way.
2. The family support radius is more specific than the paper package
If you have children or the elderly, first confirm who can be home in case of emergency: to pick up the children, accompany the doctor, or take care of sick family members. The so-called "mature supporting facilities" cannot replace family support.
Schools, hospitals, and shopping malls must also distinguish three statuses: open, under construction, and planning public announcement. Only the first one can be calculated as currently available; the latter two can only be used as observations. Admission requirements and school districts are based on the education department documents of the current year and cannot be promised by a salesperson or an article.
Step 2: Use total cost to limit choices and don’t use unit price to create illusions
Before comparing areas, set aside four pockets in your budget: down payment, taxes and certification fees, renovation or soft furnishing costs, and at least 6-12 months of family reserve funds. What remains is the total price range available for home purchase.
The same total price may correspond to different areas, age and delivery status in different areas. Don’t directly equate “lower unit price” with “more cost-effective”, and don’t push your monthly payment to the edge of your family’s cash flow just for one more room.
You can use the following table to do a round first:
| comparison item | Candidate A | Candidate B | Candidate C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenditure including taxes and decoration | |||
| Total weekly commuting time for couples | |||
| Public transportation currently available | |||
| Number of bedrooms available | |||
| Support radius for the elderly or children | |||
| Open living facilities | |||
| Planning projects that need to wait |
Items whose data cannot be filled in will not be scored and marked as "to be verified". This prevents a planning message from receiving the same weight in the table as the status quo.
Step 3: Look at Hangzhou according to the direction of life, without ranking the administrative districts first
The current administrative divisions of Hangzhou include Shangcheng, Gongshu, West Lake, Binjiang, Xiaoshan, Yuhang, Linping, Qiantang, Fuyang, Lin'an and other municipal districts. Administrative districts are related to services, education and public services, but the daily activities of home buyers do not strictly follow the administrative boundaries.
The following is not a ranking of pros and cons, but the first round of screening methods:
| Direction of daily activities | Scope of research that can be prioritized | What to check first |
|---|---|---|
| Work and family are in the core city | Existing urban areas with more stable commuting | Whether the area is sufficient, age or delivery standard, parking cost |
| Work is concentrated in the west of the city | West of the city and areas directly connected to the workplace | Peak congestion, number of transfers, commuting by the other half of the household |
| Jobs are concentrated in Binjiang and Xiaoshan | Jiangnan and areas with convenient existing river crossings | River crossing time, transfer after arrival at work place |
| Work is concentrated in Chengdong, Qiantang or Linping | East of the city and Linping direction | The terminal transportation from the industrial park to the residence not only sees the time in the urban area |
| Family activities are mainly in the north of Gongshu, Liangzhu, and the north of Linping | Candidate blocks in multiple administrative districts in the north of the city | Current rail and bus lines, cross-district roads, and realized packages |
Hangzhou The 2026 Government Work Report proposes optimizing the spatial pattern of the land and linking the cultural corridor in the north of the city with Liangzhu, the Grand Canal and other resources. Planning direction can help understand long-term construction priorities, but it cannot replace the verification of the current situation around a specific community.
If the candidate range is in the north of the city, how should Chongxian be put into the table?
Chongxian is located in Linping district, adjacent to the north of Gongshu. For home buyers, it is not a synonym for "Hangzhou Chengbei", but a specific living area among the candidates for Chengbei.
Suitable for people who have priority to go to the scene to see, usually meet one or two of the following conditions:
- The family or work is originally located in the north of Gongshu, Linping or the north of the city;
- They are more concerned about the choice of small area to improved area within the same project, and hope to see different scales at one time;
- Willing to consider the subway under construction as a future option, but the current commuting solution itself is also acceptable;
- Rather than renderings, I want to see the on-site status of the building, park and waterfront environment.
It is not recommended to make a decision based solely on “Future Metro”. If your daily destination is in Binjiang, southern Xiaoshan, or deep west of the city, you should first test the door-to-door commute before deciding whether to retain Chongxian.
Taking Cheuk Nang Riverside as an example, the official website shows four house types: 65 sq m with one bedroom, two living rooms and one bathroom, 67 sq m with two bedrooms, two living rooms and one bathroom, 88 sq m with three bedrooms, two living rooms and one bathroom, and 138 sq m with three bedrooms, two living rooms and two bathrooms. You don’t have to look at all four houses for the first time: for one or two people, first compare 65 sq m and 67 sq m; for a family of three, focus on checking the storage, dining table and bathroom peaks of 88 sq m; to improve the family, look at the 138 sq m double bathroom and public space.
The official website of the project shows that it is about 400 meters straight away from the relevant stations of Metro Line 15. When visiting on-site, you can walk through the park entrance, road crossings and daily walking routes together to get a more intuitive feel for the project location.
Looking at three areas in one day, how to arrange it so that the more you look at it, the more chaotic it will be?
Don’t look at six or seven projects in one day. A more effective arrangement is: only look at one representative project in each candidate area, and leave 30-45 minutes to walk around.
Before arriving at the station
Record the actual time from common departure points to the project gate, including waiting for buses, transfers, parking and walking. The time provided by the agent or salesperson is for reference only.
When looking at a house
Use the same ruler to measure three things: whether the net size can accommodate the existing furniture; the lighting when the lights are not turned on during the day; and the noise when the windows are closed and opened. Project licenses, property status, prices and delivery standards must be based on valid documents on site.
after leaving
Go to the nearest market or supermarket, bus station and public spaces you use daily. Fill out the comparison form after you get home, instead of giving full marks to the area on the spot at the sales center.