Essence of Shanghai Tour

Yu Yuan (Yu Garden)

You will have your Western breakfast at your hotel. Your private driver, and guide will be waiting in the lobby after breakfast, prepared with drinks, snacks, and map, ready to maximize your time.

Your sightseeing begins with a visit to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai’s landmark standing across the Huangpu River from the Bund. There you will have a browse through Shanghai’s history in Shanghai History Museum, and will take a bird’s eye view of Shanghai from a floor more than 200 meters up.

Yu Gardern is your second destination. Built in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), it used to be a private garden. There you can experience the layout and style of a traditional Chinese garden, and appreciate classical Chinese architecture: pavilions, winding cloisters, decorated walls, dwellings, and the most unique building there — a ship-like living room by a pond.

Lunch: We recommend Home Restaurant near Nanjing Road, an authentic restaurant specializing in Shanghai cuisine. Your tour guide will help you order. After lunch, we will transfer you to the Jiangnan Silk Shop and Workshop, where you will see how glossy silk products are made from a tiny cocoon, and will learn how to spot a fake silk product at a time-honored silk store.

Braised pork in brown sauce

Shanghai Museum, one of the best museums in China, will be your last destination of the day. There you will see more than 120,000 precious historical relics, including the most precious two: a cooking vessel with a dragon pattern from the Shang Dynasty (1600–1046BC) (龙纹扁足鼎 Longwen Bianzu Ding 'Dragon-Pattern Flat-Foot Tripod') and an excessively-free cursive-style calligraphy work of the Red Cliff Ode (草书前后赤壁赋).

GOOD TO KNOW: If the traditional way of touring Shanghai does not attract you, why not try a fancy, cool way — touring Shanghai by a sidecar. You can contact us to have our travel advisor tailor-make a Shanghai tour to satisfy you.

Free-time ideas to maximize your enjoyment of Shanghai: During the evening, you can watch an awesome acrobatic show, or take an adventure in a Shanghai snack street (experience Shanghai’s pajamas culture and discover what Shanghai people eat).