3 Days In-Depth Suzhou Essence Tour with Tongli Water Town from Shanghai

Day 1 Shanghai-Suzhou

Pick up service is arranged at your hotel in Shanghai (based on your requirement) with a welcome signage "Suzhou Private Tour". Drive you to Shanghai train station to catch the train to Suzhou. 

Our Pick up Sign "Suzhou Private Tour"

Your tour will start with Humble Administrator's Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the finest gardens in southern China. The art of the Humble Administrator's Garden has a prominent position in the history of China's garden creation. It represents the historical characteristics and achievements of south-east China's private gardens.

Then visit the Suzhou Museum. Founded in 1960 and originally located in the national historic landmark, Zhong Wang Fu palace complex, Suzhou Museum has been a highly-regarded regional museum with a number of significant Chinese cultural relics. The new Suzhou museum designed by world famous architect I.M.Pei was completed in October 2006. Not only does the museum become a monumental design building in Suzhou, but also a significant construction, merging the traditional Chinese architectural design with the future. It enhances the protection of Suzhou cultural heritages, and enables Suzhou Museum to turn on a new page.

After lunch at a great local restaurant, continue your tour to the Panmen Gate. Pan Gate, Pan Men, or Panmen is a historical landmark in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China. It is located on the south-west corner of the Main Canal or encircling canal of Suzhou. Originally built during the Spring and Autumn period in the state of Wu, historians estimate it to be around 2,500 years old. It is now part of the Pan Gate Scenic Area. It is known for the "three landmarks of Pan Gate". They are the Ruiguang Pagoda, the earliest pagoda in Suzhou built in 247, the Wu Gate Bridge, the entrance to the gate at that time over the water passage and the highest bridge in Suzhou at the time, and Pan Gate. The Ruigang Pagoda is constructed of brick with wooden platforms and has simple Buddhist carvings at its base.

Then visit Pingjiang Historic Street, which is a great way to get acquainted with the local vibe. Quiet, leafy and slow-paced, the street is lined with old Chinese houses as well as restaurants and teahouses serving traditional foods and drinks. What’s more, there are a variety of upscale cafes catering to the chic crowd at each corner. You can taste a few traditional Chinese snacks while your guide tells you more about the history of the street.

Kunqu Opera Museum, Kunqu is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera, which said to be the "ancestor of all operas" in China. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

Drive you back to your hotel in Suzhou.

Day 2 Suzhou

After breakfast, you will take in the sights at famous Tiger Hill, which boasts impressive rocks, deep dales, 3 matchless scenes, 9 suitable occasions for enjoyment, 18 scenic spots,and changing scenery at all times.

Take in the sights at The Master of Nets Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and well-renowned garden. It is the smallest of the Suzhou residential gardens, yet it is the most impressive because of its use of space which creates the illusion of an area that is much greater than its actual size. The garden is divided into three sections: a residential section, the central main garden and an inner garden. It also boasts an impressive garden and nightly Kunqu opera performances, but it’s best known for its architectural splendor. The garden is especially fancied by overseas visitors and is praised as the most ornate and intact private gardens in Suzhou. 

Then you will have a chance to take a private cruise on the Grand Canal, get close to real life of locals. Dancing or singing on the public parks or just have a comfortable talk with locals, know the local culture and history from our local tour guide. Then go to take a Boat Ride on Grand Canal (also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the longest canal or artificial river in the world and a famous tourist destination. Starting at Beijing, it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the city of Hangzhou, linking the Yellow River and Yangtze River. The canal is a communication artery connecting north and south China, it is the oldest and longest artificial waterway in the world.

Visit the Suzhou No.1 Silk Factory, also named Suzhou Silk Factory, which was founded in 1926, it is a near one hundred year old state-owned factory in Suzhou, the silk city in China. This Suzhou Silk Factory gains a good reputation in China silk for its traditional skills to make silk and the exhibitions of culture and history of silk in China, it has been a leader in local silk production. A complete silk manufacturing facility, the No. 1 Silk Factory handles every facet of production from raising silkworms and cocoon boiling to reeling and packing.

Drive you back to your hotel after the tour.

Day 3 Suzhou-Tongli-Shanghai

After breakfast, our tour guide meet you at your hotel lobby and drive you to Tongli Water Town directly, it takes around 40 minutes for one way.

Residential House: Tongli Water Town deserves its name of a "museum of ancient architectures" as there are many homes and temples dating from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Designed along the riverside and embellished with carved windows, porcelain furniture, figured clay bricks, flying eaves, dapper gardens and tiny stairs leading all the way down to the water, these complexes named Tongli Water Town could be a shining pearl among the water townships south of Yangtze.

Retreat and Reflection Garden (Tuisi Garden): designed by the retired official Ren Lansheng throughout 1885 and 1887, is that the most spectacular in Tongli Water Town. Its name, Tuisi, suggests being meditative upon the previous faults when away from officialdom. The ingenious style for Tuisi Garden conforms to the native landforms and conditions and covers 700 square meters. Compact and harmonious, the garden is made from two parts. The garden within the east has verandas, ponds, waterside pavilions, Marble Boats, halls, kiosks, rockeries and bridges. 

In conjunction with flourishing trees and colorful flowers the garden greets guests with its beauty and charm regardless of the season. The residential area to the west consists of an outer house and inner house together with the tea hall, the sedan hall, 2 buildings forming the particular dwelling and a main reception hall.

Ancient Bridge: Taiping Bridge was built in 1747 during the Qing dynasty. Changqing Bridge, also named Guangli Bridge, was rebuilt by Xiezhen in the Ming dynasty. Siben Bridge, built in the Southern Song dynasty, is the oldest bridge in Tongli town. Dubu Bridge, 5 feet in length and 3 feet in width, is the smallest bridge in the town.As a character of Tongli, these ancient bridges today is reputed as the witness of the history, telling the story of the past.

After the tour ends, drive to Suzhou train station to catch your high-speed train to Shanghai. When you arrive, your will be taken back to your hotel in Shanghai (based on your requirement).

Price Per Person in US Dollars