Immerse yourself in Suzhou classical gardens
One Day Shanghai to Suzhou Round-Trip Tour
Make the most of your time to visit Suzhou and Tongli Water Town from Shanghai in 1 day!
In this Shanghai to Suzhou day trip, private transfer between Shanghai and Suzhou will make your time smart, and Suzhou UNESCO gardens and authentic experiences are arranged. Enjoy Suzhou's vivid and elegant charm!
Highlights
- Listen to the stories behind Suzhou's UNESCO gardens, and learn the implied meanings behind the design.
- Peep local life by having a rickshaw ride to explore little lanes and food market.
- Unveil the secret of herbal fragrance in Tongli Water Town, and relax on a rowing boat.
What Our Customers Said
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Wonderful Suzhou experience
We had another amazing tour with China Highlights. Cultural tour to Suzhou was so informative and fun with our amazing guide Mr Lin and our wonderful Wendy who brought us together. Many thanks to both of you! Looking forward to our next adventure. moreApr 2021, tiillly
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Beautiful garden city tour with Cathy and China Highlights
I've been to Suzhou many times on business but I wanted to explore more when my wife and I planned a two week trip to China. We took the train in from Xian - which gave us an opportunity to see the countryside while relaxing on the smoothest trip I've had by rail. China highlights took care of all the details for us. Our guide Cathy is very proud of her city and knows its history well. We enjoyed two days of tours including the Humble Administrators garden, Tiger Hill pagoda and gardens, a canal cruise, the silk museum and a rickshaw tour through a residential area with stops in the local markets. Throughout Cathy was able to highlight points of interest as well as answer any questions. The restaurants were great as well with a nice variety of foods to enjoy. moreOct 2019, Traveldad65
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Thank you China Highlights for Custom Tour to Suzhou, Wuhan and Hangzhou!
Penny got us safely on our high speed train in Suzhou and we traveled on our own to Wuhan. Michael of China Highlights found us when we disembarked the train station and couriered us to our hotel where we settled in for the night. Next day he took us to all the desired locations. A super friendly tour guide with great knowledge of the region. Michael couriered us to the Wuhan airport and we traveled on our own to Hangzhou. moreJun 2018, jengrinold
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Pleasant tour through the gardens and canals with knowledgeable guide
On October 26, China Highlights guide, John, picked us up in Shanghai and transported us to Suzhou and the next day to Tongli. John spoke excellent English and was very knowledgeable and clear in his answers to all our questions about modern Chinese history. One of our main reasons for our going to Suzhou was to go to the Suzhou Art Museum designed by I. M. Pei. Among other features, John was able to point out how the architect used doorways and windows to create painting-like images. For the same reason, we also enjoyed his guidance through the Garden of the Master of Nets. We especially enjoyed the rowboat cruise through the Grand Canal in Suzhou and our lunch at the tavern in the Tongli, where Sun Yat-sen and colleagues had first planned the overthrow of the emperor. Finally, we were especially grateful to John and the arrangements he was able to make about returning the ipad I had left behind accidently in the car upon our arrival back at the hotel in Shanghai. John was able arrange its return to me at the hotel by the next morning. moreJan 2018, Rocky H
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Suzhou & Gardens Tour
Our guide, Deng, met us at the train station and took us to our hotel. She was also our tour guide for the next two days, where we visited the many gardens of Suzhou (Lingering, Humble Administrators and Tiger Hill). Deng was friendly, knowledgeable and always on time. She gave us some excellent inside perspectives on the areas of Suzhou. We especially enjoyed the Night Tour of the Nets Master, where Deng made sure we were well positioned to see the next presentation. Suzhou is a wonderful city to visit and we enjoyed our time there. Thank you Deng. moreNov 2017, Robert C
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Suzhou was a pleasure to explore
I was fortunate to have Huang Min as my tour guide for Suzhou. His interest in traditional Chinese culture and Chinese design helped me to really appreciate Suzhou. When we visited buildings he would show me things like how the buildings were made and different techniques used back in the old times. He would also mention how many of the items and rooms I saw were used and their function in Chinese culture. I felt he went above and beyond in that respect. I felt like I was doing more than just spectating, and the tour felt more personal because of Huang Min. He had a lot of knowledge to pass on. The lunch was delicious at yangyang dumpling restaurant. I needed help to use chopsticks and Huang Min showed me how to use them. My hands got tired so I ended up using a fork anyway, but it was a pleasant experience with really tasty food. I loved Suzhou and I hope to visit again someday. I did many more things on the tour, but to summarize I would say Suzhou was special to me. Huang Min helped make it special. moreSep 2017, smael_nicolas
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Suzhou another place you just have to got to
The Gardens are incredible,bonsai by the 100,s and each one perfect.The locals in the park singing and dancing.Lunch was incredible (SO SO GOOD)The water town was like stepping back in time.I loved every minute i spent in this beautiful place. Can i say you need a guide to explain the reasons behind things and to show you things as simple as where to stand to get a photo. Well my guide Deng from china highlights a true local and an amazing guide with bucket loads of knowledge and a huge amount of patients for my hundreds of questions. moreJun 2017, cer75
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Suzhou a beautiful city of gardens
Arriving in Suzhou we were met by our very knowledgeable and experienced guide Ming who immediately took us to a famous dumpling restaurant for a delicious lunch. In spite of having grown over the years from a small city to a city in the millions of inhabitants, Suzhou retains in its center town the traditional architecture and feel of days gone by which makes it one to the loveliest places to visit. The highlight of a visit to Suzhou is its famous classical gardens, we started by visiting 'The Humble Administrator's Garden' where we learned that the important elements in a Chinese garden are not only the vegetation but also the water features, the rocks, and the buildings each with its own function making the garden an extension of the home. That same evening we went to a show at the 'Master of Nets' garden, it was magical to see the garden at night and the show was moving from building to building with the audience following and consisted of traditional music and singing, a short humorous play (which with Ming's help we could follow in spite of not understanding a word) , some dancing, and a short historical drama. Our hotel in Suzhou was a beautiful building in traditional Suzhou style around a lovely courtyard and was a few steps away from the 'Lingering Garden' which was my personal favorite, every element of the garden is uniquely chosen to form a perfectly harmonious whole. In addition to the gardens we visited the Pamnen ancient city gate and Tiger hill, which are both interesting and beautiful historical sites. We loved everything about our vist to Suzhou, our hotel, our guide Ming, the wonderful traditional restaurants, the old town historical streets, and most of all the gardens. Thanks to China Highlights for such a wonderful visit. moreJun 2017, Marylene P
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Suggested Itinerary
Here is a suggested itinerary. We are happy to customize a tour according to your interests and schedule.
Your private guide and driver will be waiting for you in your Shanghai hotel's lobby, so get ready to enjoy Suzhou.
It's about 1½ hours' drive to Suzhou from Shanghai. On the highway, you can see the typical outskirts and modern countryside of East China.
Visit a UNESCO garden - Lingering Garden. Your guide will tell you the history and some stories of this delicate traditional garden.
Explore Suzhou by taking a rickshaw ride alongside the ancient canal. You will go into little lanes and chat with locals in a food market.
Enjoy authentic Suzhou food in Pingjiang Road. Your guide will help you to order the dishes. The most famous dish in Suzhou is squirrel-shaped mandarin fish.
Lingering GardenTongli Water Town is only 30 minutes' drive from Suzhou. It's a small water town with lovely traditional architecture and bridges - the local people still live there. Visit a moxibustion academy and relax in a rowing boat.
Tongli Water TownTrip Notes
1. Customizing the Tour - According to Your Needs
This tour is very flexible. You can alter the itinerary and extend or shorten it to suit your schedule.
2. 144-Hour Visa-Free Transit Policy
A short stay (up to 6 days) in Shanghai and the surrounding cities is more convenient now as there is no need for a visa.
It's permissible to stay within the administrative areas of Shanghai municipality, Jiangsu Province, and Zhejiang Province for up to 144 hours. Contact us to find out more.
Price includes:
Start planning your tailor-made tour now. Your 1:1 travel consultant will reply within 1 working day.
