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Suzhou City and Water Town Exploration: A UNESCO-Labeled Garden and Tranquil Canals Discovery
4.9
10 Ratings
Suzhou
Discover the enchanting city of Suzhou and its UNESCO-labeled gardens. Explore charming water towns, stroll along tranquil canals, and visit ancient houses and stone bridges. Flexible itinerary with pickup and drop-off included.
Discover the enchanting city of Suzhou and its UNESCO-labeled gardens. Explore charming water towns, stroll along tranquil canals, and visit ancient houses and stone bridges. Flexible itinerary with pickup and drop-off included.
Duration:
8 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
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The Classical Gardens of Suzhou - Your local friendly guide and the driver will pick up you at the downtown Suzhou downtown hotel or Suzhou railway station, we usually starts at 9.30 a.m., if you prefer another time please mention in the special requests when make the booking
Your tour will start by visiting one of the elegant gardens: Humble…
- The Classical Gardens of Suzhou - Your local friendly guide and the driver will pick up you at the downtown Suzhou downtown hotel or Suzhou railway station, we usually starts at 9.30 a.m., if you prefer another time please mention in the special requests when make the booking
Your tour will start by visiting one of the elegant gardens: Humble Administrator’ Garden,admire the charming ancient Chinese architecture and artistic lime stone rookeries and beautiful ponds and listening to the stories and history from your local knowledgeable guide.
- The Lingering Garden - If you prefer lesser and more peaceful garden , you could choose to visit the UNSECO listed Ligering garden. Appreciate the exquisite Taihu Rockeris, ponds , ancient pavilions .
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Tiger Hill - You will also have the option to enjoy fun visit to Tiger Hill scenic area, admire the thousand year old leaning pagoda after the one from Italy Piazzal and the wonderful scenies along the way.
Or visit Suzhou’s best-known silk factory, located in the former Japanese concession and housed in what was the Japanese consulate. See the process used to produce China’s famous silk, from the tiny silkworms to the beautiful finished garments. - Pingjiang Road - After the wondeful Suzhou morning activities, you will take a break and enjoy a delightful local lunch. Your guide will help you recommend the dishes based on your own dietary requirements.
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Tongli Town - After lunch, continue your afternoon visit to one of two best well-known ancient water town Tongli or Zhouzhuang.
If you choose to visit Tongli water town, you wil visit old Ming & Qing Dynasty street, immerse yourself with the local flavors in this little lane streets and visit UNESCO listed classic garden house-“TuiSi Garden” or “ Garden of Retreat and Meditation”, walk cross the three ring lucky bridges .Continue the walking through the canal areas with stone bridges while appreciate the picturesque view of the town.
If you choose Zhouzhuang option, renowned as No.1 water town in China, you will admire its ancient twin bridges. Plus, visit Mr. Shen Wansan’s House, the courtyard residence of a 14th-century tycoon whose wealth inspired the envy of the first of China’s Ming emperors. Admire the classical architecture of Shen’s House as you learn about his fascinating life. Experience the fantastic ancient town scenery with amazing culture from your guide.
What's Included
- Entrance fee to 1 selected Suzhou city attraction
- Transport by private vehicle and driver
- Up to 8-hour private tour
- Entrance fee to Tongli with ‘Suzhou+Tongli’ option
- Entrance fee to Zhouzhuang with ‘Suzhou+Zhouzhuang’ option
- Pickup and drop-off at Suzhou downtown hotel or Suzhou Railway Station
- Local guide with great expertise
- Entrance fee to 1 selected Suzhou city attraction
- Transport by private vehicle and driver
- Up to 8-hour private tour
- Entrance fee to Tongli with ‘Suzhou+Tongli’ option
- Entrance fee to Zhouzhuang with ‘Suzhou+Zhouzhuang’ option
- Pickup and drop-off at Suzhou downtown hotel or Suzhou Railway Station
- Local guide with great expertise
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
- Addtional entrance fees in Suzhou city
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
- Addtional entrance fees in Suzhou city
Additional Information
Discovery the charming Suzhou by exploring its enchanting garden and the bridges and visit one of the UNESSCO garden such as Humble Administrator’s garden or Lingering based on your preferences, afternoon choose to visit Zhouzhuang or Tongli, two ancient water towns famous for their stone bridges, tranquil canals, and Ming and Qing era houses. Enjoy a…
Discovery the charming Suzhou by exploring its enchanting garden and the bridges and visit one of the UNESSCO garden such as Humble Administrator’s garden or Lingering based on your preferences, afternoon choose to visit Zhouzhuang or Tongli, two ancient water towns famous for their stone bridges, tranquil canals, and Ming and Qing era houses. Enjoy a flexible itinerary ,with central Suzhou hotel or Suzhou railway station pickup and drop-off included.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Please wear comfortable shoes
Location
The Classical Gardens of Suzhou
No.12 Gongyuan Road, Canglang District,
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(10 Ratings)
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Harry_f
Sep 19, 2024
Highly recommend this Suzhou and Zhouzhuang tour. - Lulu our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable about the history of Suzhou and Zhouzhuang. Would definitely recommend the tour and Zhouzhuang water town.
Review provided by Viator
Cheungs
May 9, 2024
Special Suzhou - It was our first time to Suzhou and Lulu was an excellent guide. We visited Tongli water town in the morning and enjoyed a very pleasant boat ride through the canals. Lulu provided us with a lot of interesting historical information, and gave us many great suggestions for places to eat and special Suzhou gifts to bring home. We spent the afternoon at a beautiful Chinese garden and then relaxed with a cup of tea at a wonderful Pipa music show. Thanks very much Lulu for also helping us find the perfect souvenir - a fan with Chinese calligraphy of a special and personal poem. A very memorable day; we will treasure this for a long time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gabriel_t
Dec 2, 2023
Great first experience to Suzhou - Very insightful tour given by Lulu, our tour guide and driver also was very friendly. Flexible arrangements, able to change itinerary on the fly - We went for tea tasting in between our visit to Tongli and Liu Yuan.
Review provided by Viator
H3901rupauls
Nov 5, 2023
Great tour! - We had a great day with Lulu! We really liked Tongli water-town. So authentic! Suzhou garden is also really a must see. Great lunch as well (tip: do not order too much). If you stay at least 4 days in Shanghai, I recommend to book 1 day to Suzhou.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Paulinet77
Dec 29, 2019
Highly customised tour - Great explanation of the Suzhou history n attractions by Sophie. Don’t think I’ll appreciate that much of the Humble Administrator and Zhou Zhuang without the guide. Also, I like it as a private tour customised to our needs.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Losangeles5967
Dec 1, 2018
Great Fun! : Suzhou and Tongli Day Tour with Sunny - We spent an incredible day with Sunny last week touring Suzhou and Tongli Water Town. Suzhou was our final stop on our China trip, and we came to see the gardens and the local water towns.
November is a wonderful time to travel to China, as the weather cool and crisp, and the crowds are low. Sunny was very communicative in setting up our trip, and arrived to our hotel early for our tour. Her English is perfect, and she is positive and extremely knowledgeable about the history and the local culture. She took care of everything, and had our driver waiting to take us to our first stop The Humble Gardens. The gardens, one of the top 4 gardens in China is not to be missed! Sunny told us details all through out the gardens, and gave us the history and cultural facts. She also stopped at many places to take our photos, and emailed us them after the tour, which I found to be very thoughtful. Plus she is an excellent photographer, and knew the best places to get photos!
We then made another stop at another garden, the Master of Nets. I had found a contemporary art gallery called True Colors, that was on the way to Tongli, and Sunny said no problem, and took us there! If you love contemporary art and architecture, this private museum is not to be missed. I found it on trip advisor, and it was a highlight, as I love contemporary art. Sunny shared in discovering this museum with us, it's a very large museum three floors, and in the middle of nowhere. So happy Sunny took us there, as it would have been hard to get there by subway, although it is possible!
We were then off to Tongli, with Sunny and our private driver. The car was always stocked with bottled water for us to enjoy, which was so nice. Got to stay hydrated! Tongli exceeded our expectations, a small quaint water tower, bridges and small water canals everywhere. Since it was November, the crowds were very low. Sunny took us to her favorite lunch time restaurant, but because we took too much time at the True Colors Gallery, the chef had already left for the day. But Sunny asked the owner, and the chef came back to make us a delicious lunch. It was these small details that made you feel like you are hanging out with a local! Btw, get the slow cooked pork at this restaurant, it is incredible, and local dish. The meat falls off the bone, and the owner of this tiny restaurant is proud of her food, it shows in the details.
On the way back to Suzhou, we mentioned to Sunny that we wanted to get a massage, so instead of dropping us at our hotel, they dropped us in the city center a block away from the massage place. It's China, don't forget the incredible massages!!
Sunny is a 5 out of 5 tour guide. She is funny, knowledgeable about history, smart, and just fun to hang out with. I can see that she would be great with many different types of clients, and next time we are in Shanghai we will most definitely take another tour.
If you are traveling to Suzhou and Tongli, you are in for a great trip. We could not recommend these towns enough. We stayed in Suzhou for 4 nights at Little Folk House Hotel, and loved every minute of it. Suzhou is a great town to explore, so many amazing shops, an Tongli exceeded our expectations as a very small water town.
Thank you again Sunny!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jewelsglasgow
Oct 30, 2018
Fantastic Tour Guide - We were only in Shanghai for 3 nights and wanted to make the most of our time. We spent one day with Sunny visiting Suzhou and Zhouzhuang and also booked the evening tour with an acrobatic show followed by dinner.
Everything was exceptionally well organised and we thoroughly enjoyed both tours. Sunny is a very informative and entertaining guide. The restaurants were lovely and she helped us sample some traditional dishes but also took notice of our personal tastes.
We would highly recommend Sunny Tours to anyone visiting Shanghai!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rawlyfingerz2023
Dec 16, 2023
Very Good Tour Experience - My family and I had a tour with Sunny Journey Tours in which we had a flexible day trip around Suzhou and Zhouzhang Water Town. We set it up the night before using our WeChat app which made it very easy to coordinate with Sunny. The next morning, we were picked up at our hotel by a driver who was very courteous and patient. We met our tour guide, Lulu, at the first site who was helpful and informative about the sites around Suzhou and Zhouzhang Water Town. We recommend this tour operator and tour guide. Do not pass up the Humble Administrator's Garden which is a marvel.
The only advice we would give when booking is to devise your own list of recommended sites to offer to the guide so that you and the guide can negotiate between what's on your bucket list and some of the less known historical or cultural sites in and around Suzhou. It's a flexible trip but it takes time to get around the city. That means you need to be clear about whether you are more interested in history and Suzhou cuisine or you also want to spend time engaging with local merchants.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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