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Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Villages - Tour from Shanghai

Instant confirmation Available in English Hotel Pick up included

Activity Schedule

  • When does it run?

    Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday

  • Duration

    10 hours

  • Start time

    07:30am

  • Meeting Point
    Pick up from your hotel. (Please mention your hotel name and address at the time of booking. If you do not have this information now, our customer service executives will get in touch and confirm the details)
  • Ending Point

    Your hotel in Shanghai

Key Highlights

  • Stroll through the smallest and most beautiful garden in Suzhou
  • See the 900-year old classic courtyards and brick archways in Zhouzhuang

Overview

Experience two picturesque towns outside of Shanghai, Suzhou and Zhouzhuang, each unique in the splendors they reveal.

Suzhou is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze basin. With its interconnected waterways and beautiful environment, the city is often referred to as ‘The Venice of the East.’ The Classical Gardens of Suzhou are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among them, the Garden of the Master of the Nets (Wang Shi Yuan) is one of the smallest, most beautiful, and most perfectly proportioned residential garden in Suzhou.

Zhouzhuang is well-known for its beautiful environment and simple architecture and has been well preserved for over 900 years. Nearly 100 classic courtyards and 60 carved-brick archways are still in use. In this water village, locals live life on waterways, still doing everyday activities from washing clothes to shopping from vendors in boats.

Itinerary

You will be picked up from your hotel and taken in an air-conditioned coach for an excursion outside Shanghai to the water villages of Suzhou and Zhouzhuang. An English-speaking guide will accompany you on this tour. The drive from Shanghai to Suzhou takes approximately two hours.

Arrive in the old city of Suzhou, one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze basin, founded in about 600 BC.

The first visit will be at the Net Master’s Garden. This is the best and most celebrated Ming Dynasty Garden in all of Suzhou. The Garden of Master of the Nets is a typical private garden which combines a residence and is the smallest of all Suzhou's gardens. Rock arrangements and beautiful fish pools balance each other as well as the house and garden. The garden also contains many examples of using lattice windows to frame scenes of flowers or bamboo.

Proceed to view the Ancient City Wall, the Grand Canal. The Pan Gate was the only entrance to the ancient city wall built in 514 B.C. that surrounded and protected Suzhou. This well preserved water-and-land city gate consists of the land city gate, the water city gate, the city gate tower, the Weng City and the city wall on both sides. The double water city gate is a pioneering work in architectural history.

This will be followed by a tour of a silk spinning factory to see how Chinese silk has been produced since the 14th century.If the time allows, we will also have the chance to visit Suzhou Museum & Zhong Wang Mansion (Not available on every Monday).

After lunch, visit the water town of Zhouzhuang. See its simple architecture that has been well preserved for over 900 years. The majority of the town’s residences were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and nearly 100 classic courtyards and 60 carved-brick archways are still in use. See how the locals still live life on waterways, doing everyday activities from washing clothes to shopping from vendors in boats. Board a Chinese-style gondola to cruise the waterways of the city.

At the end of the tour, you will be dropped back at your hotel in Shanghai.

Inclusions

  • Hotel pick-up and drop-off
  • Transportation in an air-conditioned coach
  • Professional driver
  • English-speaking tour guide
  • Transportation tax, tolls, parking fees
  • Entrance fee
  • Chinese style lunch
  • Gondola ride

Exclusions

  • Drinks
  • Tips

Additional info

The confirmation voucher includes the local activity operator’s contact details and local telephone numbers at the destination. They will happily answer any logistical questions you may have

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