Private Tour: One day Suzhou Essence Highlights Tour

Tour Itinerary

In the morning, pick you up from your hotel lobby or train station with a welcome signage "Suzhou Private Tour". One day tour in Suzhou includes the following attractions and activities.

Our pick up sign"Suzhou Private Tour"

You'll start the day with the Humble Administrator's Garden, which 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.

Then head to Panmen Gate (also known as Pan Gate), it is a famous historical landmark in Suzhou.It is Located in the southwest of Suzhou city, It was first built in B.C.514 as one of eight city gates in the Spring & Autumn Period (770-476 BC) when Suzhou was the capital of the Wu Kingdom,that surrounded and protected Suzhou. It was the only entrance through the wall to ancient Suzhou. The architecture of the wall is truly amazing.The present gate was reconstructed in 1351, and consists of Water and Land Gates.It is also known in China for its architecture complex of both land and water city gates. Therefore it is also often called the "Land and Water Gate".On the top of the gate, you can see the Wumen Gate Bridge and the Auspicious Light Pagoda, which are popularly known as the Three Scenes at Panmen Gate together with Panmen Gate. The Auspicious Light Pagoda is the oldest Buddhist pagoda in the area, on the top of which you can enjoy a panoramic view of the picturesque Yangtze River Delta.

Continue the tour to Tiger Hill is also famous as Surging Sea Hill because of its natural beauty. The hill extends over an area of 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres) and is 36 meters (118 feet) in height. Though small in size, Tiger Hill is provided with a great many gorgeous scenes, historical sites, numerous towering ancient trees, and a Tiger Hill Pagoda on the top of the hill. You will find lots of historical sites some of which can be traced back over 2500 years to the founding of Suzhou. The Tiger Hill has been known as No. 1 Sight of Suzhou. It is a must for tourists. The great Song literary man Su Dongpo said, "It would be a pity if you had been to Suzhou but didn't get to visit the Tiger Hill." As a showcase of Suzhou and one of the first ten exemplary civilized tourist attractions of China.

Then visit 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.

The last stop is Suzhou No.1 Silk Factory 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.

Drive you back to your hotel or Suzhou train station and your tour ends.

If you visit Suzhou from Shanghai, there are some useful tips for you to purchase Train Ticket:

From Shanghai to Suzhou:
Option 1: G7104 Shanghai Hongqiao Station to Suzhou Station: Depart at 08:54AM and arrive at 09:30AM
Option 2: G7006 Shanghai Station to Suzhou Station: Depart at 09:00AM and arrive at 09:25AM
Please choose one of the above options according to your hotel location

From Suzhou to Shanghai
Option 1: G7119 Depart at 17:56 from Suzhou Station and arrive at Shanghai Hongqiao Station at 18:32
Option 2: G7243 Depart at 18:02 from Suzhou Station and arrive at Shanghai Station at 18:27

Note: You can ask your hotel help you book it or you can book it online by yourself (www.trip.com). By the way, we provide train ticket booking service as well. (Plz book the train ticket in advance in case sold out, especially on weekend or public holiday.)

Optional Activities
We provide off the beaten track Suzhou activities as below to enhance your tour experience. You can choose some of them to customize the above tour. Or if time permits, you can add one or two of them in the above itinerary (Only additional entrance fee required. And some are free charge of entrance fee).

A Touch of Life in Suzhou - Morning Wet Market Experience    (Free of Charge)
Visit the local wet markt is an oppotunity to experience the local's life in the hidden parts of the city, avoiding the beaten tracks or fully packed tourist sites. You will be immersed in the local culture as we make our way through the hustle and bustle of narrow alleyways surrounded by the buzzing of vehicles and yelling of street vendors. For the time being the Wet Market scene in Suzhou is all still very much "old China"and is very much alive.

Getting into Suzhou Tiger Hill Wedding Gown Street    (Free of Charge)
If you want to look gogorgeous on your wedding day but don't want to splurge your entire life savings on your wedding, then Suzhou Tiger Wedding Gown Street is a paradise for you. It is a street after street of endless shops selling nothing but wedding stuff with affordable price but good design & quality. Think of it as a one stop solution to all your wedding day needs.

Delvo into the brillant culture of Su Embroidery     (Free of Chagre)
Gian a comprehensive cultural introduction of Su Embroidery with your guide by visiting the Su Embroidery Research Institute. Su Embroidery is one of the four major styles of Chinese embroidery. Here you'll be able to learn the process of how to make the most exquisite silk hand embroidery - Su Embroidery.

Shopping Like A Local   (Free of Charge)
Shopping at Suzhou is not only enjoy the materials, but also to receive a kind of taste and culture. The rivers and lakes at the south of the Yangtze River bring intelligence to the Suzhou people, which make them produce particularly delicate goods. Just follow your tour guide, enjoy your shopping in Suzhou, you'll get a feeling of leisure.

Experience Chinese rickshaw ride at Suzhou old Town      (100RMB/rickshaw, max: 4 people)
If you want to travel Suzhou in-depth, riding on a rickshaw at Suzhou old town is fantastic. See the narrow lanes, the open markets and the local people's life more clearly. And the professional rickshaw pullers are often familiar with Suzhou’s history, culture and folk customs, from whom you will gain a more understanding of traditions and cultures of this famous garden city.

Private Boat Ride on Grand Canal      (180RMB/boat, max: 6 people)
Enjoy a private boat ride on Grand Canal in Suzhou to appreciate the ancient black-tiled-roof houses, old bridges, and get a fell for the life of the locals. Tranquil, peaceful and historical, just like a time machine to take you back to the old era when ancient people communicated mainly by shipping on the waterway. 

Act as A Local - Enjoy A Cup of Tea at Local Teahouse    (80RMB/person on average)
Drink tea and enjoy the Suzhou opera in an old-world ambience is a prat of local's life. The local teahousw is famous for its tea and "Ping Tan" (a Chinese form of storytelling accompanied with music played by stagers.) You'll definitely be attracted by the architecture and the Ping Tan nice sound from inside. It is a good way of appreciating the Suzhou culture by drinking tea and listening to the traditional Ping Tan. 

Experience Pottery in Suzhou   (100RMB/person)
If you are interested in Chinese ceramics culture, why not take a short class to learn how make a pottery in your way.  Your teacher will teach you how to make a good pottery artwork even you are the first time to experice the ceramic pottery making, our tour guide will translate to you. 

Learn How to Perform Suzhou Kunqu Opera        (Price is TBA)         
Kunqu Opera in Suzhou is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. Under the guidance of your teache, get your own way to know how to use Kunqu style body language to show your emossion.  you'll wear the Kunqu dress and learn how to act the Kunqu Opera. Also, you could have chance to learn how to do Kunqu Opera style make-up.

Price Per Person in US Dollars