At 8.00 am, our driver will pick up you at the hotel lobby of the centrally located Shanghai hotels (exclude Shanghai Pudong airport area), then drive 2 hours to Suzhou where your guide will meet you.

Suzhou was the capital of Wu culture 800 years ago and is one of China's leading historic cities. The city was developed around the Grand Canal that forged much of China's traditional north-south commerce. Suzhou is built around a series of canals inspiring Chinese to consider it the "Venice of the East". Now a modern thriving city, Suzhou maintains a traditional core surrounded by a moat and is world famous as a UNESCO world heritage site for their traditional Chinese gardens.

You will first visit one of China's most exquisite gardens, The Humble Administrator's Garden. This Cultural Heritage site includes both a residential quarter and a delicately landscaped garden. You will learn the beauty of this well-known Suzhou garden while wandering around the pavilions, bridges, houses, etc. 

After lunch at a local restaurant, you next visit Shantang Street, a good example of the water town in Southern China with well-preserved traditional architecture. You can wander around the old street to view the Opera Stage, Boat Museum etc. Then you will take a boat on the Grand Canal for about 40 minutes to view the scenery.

After the boat ride, you will then travel to the Suzhou Silk Museum. This museum exhibits the history of Chinese silk from ancient time to modern time. It features demonstrations, samples of patterns, and explanations of how silk was important to both Chinese culture and trade.

After the museum, that will wrap up your day in Suzhou. Your driver will drive you back to your Shanghai hotel where the trip concludes.

10 hours

Shanghai, China