You will meet your guide holding a sign with your name at your Shanghai downtown hotel around 8 am (You will be contacted to reconfirm the exact pickup time one day ahead of the travel date). You will be taken to Suzhou city to visit Humble Administrator’s Garden, Panmen Gate and Grand Canal. We drive you back to your Shanghai hotel when the tour is over.
Your hotel in Shanghai downtown area
Around 08:00 (Also flexible if you advise)
This day tour will help you to have an understanding of the city which has been called “a paradise on earth” by literati since ancient times and also marveled as “Oriental Venice” by Mark Polo. Encounter the garden that is honored as one of China’s four famous gardens. Learn the profound background of Panmen from your accomplished guide, and take an antique boat to cruise along the Grand Canal which will definitely give you an memorable travel experience.
The guide will pick you up at 8 am holding a name-board at your hotel in Shanghai downtown and drive 1.5 hours to Suzhou. Renowned as “Venice of the East” and “Heaven on Earth”, Suzhou is famous for its unique, elegant gardens, its network of rivers and canals as well as its silk production. Among the numerous gardens in Suzhou, the Humble Administrator’s Garden is the largest and most famous one due to its unique design and the way how its beauty harmonizes with the natural landscape. The garden is centered on water, surrounded by scattered rockery and exquisite courtyard buildings. The slope north of the city wall provides a good vantage point to see Panmen Gate. There are many ancient gates in China and the unique feature of Panmen Gate is the only existing amphibious gate in China.
After lunch at a local restaurant, relax on the boat ride along the Grand Canal which flows through the city. The grand canal is the longest and largest ancient canal in the world. Together with the Great Wall and Karez, it is called three great ancient projects in China, and has still been in use today. Afterwards, you will learn about Suzhou’s specialty-Suzhou embroidery at the No.1 Silk Spinning Mill.
When the whole day tour is completed, we drive you back to your Shanghai downtown hotel.
