The walk around the lake in Hangzhou, exploring all the many areas to the side, can easily take a whole day. It is crowded, sometimes very crowded, and those little tourist vans that creep up from behind are awful. But for all that the lake and the gardens are exquisite, a highlight of any visit to China.

Suzhou has some touristy areas with narrow streets that can also become exceptionally crowded.

Bottom line: if you don't like crowds, China is not a good place to visit.