Best Suzhou Tour of Garden Exploration From Shanghai By Bullet Train

Tour Itinerary Suzhou from Shanghai by Bullet Train

In the morning, pick you up at your Shanghai hotel and transfer you to the train station. And you will take a bullet train from Shanghai to Suzhou, it takes only 25 minutes. Upon arrival, our tour guide will pick you up at the exit of Suzhou train station with a welcome signage “Suzhou Private Tour”. And start your tour in Suzhou.

 
Our Suzhou Pick Up Sign "Suzhou Private Tour"

Your first destination is Lion Grove Garden. The garden is famous for the large and labyrinthine grotto of taihu rocks at its center. It is one of the four most famous and representative gardens of ancient classical style in Suzhou City. The other three are Canglang Pavilion (Blue Wave Pavilion), Lingering Garden (Liu Yuan) and Humble Administrator's Garden (Zhuozheng Yuan). The name of the garden is derived from the shape of these rocks, which are said to resemble lions. The garden is recognized with other classical gardens in Suzhou as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Next to Humble Administrator's Garden, it is the largest private garden in Suzhou with a total area of 51,950 square meters (5.2 hectares) in the northeastern part of Suzhou. It has been listed as one of the four most famous national classic gardens together with the Summer Palace, Mountain Summer Resort in Chengde and Lingering Garden of Suzhou. The garden consists of Eastern, Central and Western sections as well as some residences of the former owners. The art of the Humble Administrator's Garden has a prominent position in the history of China's garden creation. It represents the historical characteristics and achievements of south-east China's private gardens.

Enjoy lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, our tour guide will give you best recommendations on spot.

In the afternoon, continue your tour to the Canglang Pavilion, it variously translated as the Great Wave Pavilion, Surging Wave Pavilion, or Blue Wave Pavilion, is one of the Classical Gardens of Suzhou that are jointly recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the oldest among the existing classical gardens in Suzhou and also one of the four most famous gardens in the city -- the others being the Shizilin (Lion Grove), Zhuozhengyuan (Humble Administrator's Garden) and Liuyuan (Lingering Garden). Situated in the southwest quadrant of the city, it is located directly to the west of the Confucian temple. The garden underwent numerous renovations in the centuries to follow, but retains its essential form.

Move on to Shantang Street. It also called Seven-mile Shantang, is located in the northwest of Suzhou, and the total length of it is about seven li (3.5 kilometers). Shantang Street in Suzhou attracts many tourists from home and abroad. Most of them prefer traveling along the canal, enjoying beautiful scenery. Owing to its distinguished geographic location and convenient water and land transportation, Shantang Street was one of the streets which trade and culture were most highly developed in Ming and Qing dynasties, regarded as “the No.1 Ancient Street in China”. The renovated Shantang Street becomes the place which shows the essence of natural views and human landscapes of Suzhou, which is rated as “the miniature of old Suzhou and the window of Wu culture”. There is a folk song, singing “There is a paradise in heaven, but there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on the earth. Hangzhou has the West Lake while Suzhou has Shantang. Both are good places with boundless sceneries”, which is the vivid image of Shantang.

Your final stop is Suzhou No.1 Silk Factory. It was built in Suzhou in 1926. It is divided into three parts: the exhibition hall which showsthe history of Suzhou silk and some ancient collections; the working spot, where you can see how the silk is made; and the product exhibition hall, exhibiting the main products of this factory, the silk wadding quilts. The factorygains a good reputation in the silk industry for its complete technical process of silkworm raising, cocoon sorting,cocoon boiling, and silk reeling, rewinding and packing. Suzhou first silk mill provides magic silk production and fashion show the whole process, so as to prove the Chinese silk glorious history. At the same time,it also describes the history of the development of Chinese silk response which further profound Chinese culture.In this factory you can not only see how the silk is processed from worm to the final product, but also learn some histories of silk in China.

After the visit of Suzhou No.1 Silk Factory, drive you to the train station and you'll take train return to Shanghai. Once you arrive in Shanghai, you will be taken back to your hotel.

Price Per Person in US Dollars