Meet your tour guide in the lobby of your Suzhou hotel or Suzhou Railway Station. Then hop on your private vehicle and start your Suzhou adventure.
Your first stop is the UNESCO listed garden in Suzhou: Humble Administrator's Garden, which is the largest and most prestigious garden in Suzhou. Admire magnificent halls, delicate pavilions, lush flowers, zigzagging bridges, bamboo groves, and fragrant lotus ponds while listening to the stories and history from your local knowledgeable guide.
During peak season, the Humble Administrator's Garden can be very crowded. If you prefer a less crowded and more peaceful garden, you will visit the Lingering Garden instead.
Lingering Garden is one of nine "Classical Gardens of Suzhou" on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and is praised as one of China's four famous gardens. With a history of more than 400 years, the Lingering Garden has changed hands several times. Each owner did his best to perfect it.
Follow your guide to explore the beautiful gardens and immerse yourself in the ancient charm while listening to the interesting commentary from your guide.
Move on to Pingjiang Road, which dates back to the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Extending for almost 2 kilometers through the heart of Suzhou’s Old Town, this narrow flagstone street and the lanes extending from it are lined with well-preserved traditional architecture, shops, teahouses, guesthouses, and local homes that lend the street an authentic, ancient atmosphere.
After lunch at a local restaurant, continue your afternoon visit to one of two well-known ancient water towns: Tongli or Zhouzhuang.
Tongli: Reputed as the “Oriental Venice”, Tongli has more than 1000 years of history. It is made up of seven islands, 12 canals or rivers, and 49 bridges to connect the town. Here you can see beautiful examples of traditional architecture, bridges, homes, gardens and canals.
Here you can take a sculling boat (at your own cost) to feel the excitement of watching the ancient buildings and people passing by
Zhouzhuang is the most popular, developed, and commercialized water town in China. The town is built amid canals, ponds, and lakes. What makes it special are the old buildings and bridges, boat rides, crafts, and the quaint water town scenery. The canals that crisscross Zhouzhuang have many stone bridges, about fourteen of these were built in the imperial era about 150 years ago or more.
No matter which water town you will visit, you will be amazed by its fantastic ancient town scenery and learn its amazing culture from your guide.
The tour ends with drop-off at your Suzhou hotel or railway station.
