Suzhou Tours: Private Layover Suzhou City Day Trip

Tour Itinerary

In the morning, our local Suzhou tour guide will pick you up at your hotel in Suzhou downtown or Suzhou train station, you will find a welcome signage "Suzhou Private Tour". And your Suzhou city day tour includes the following activities.

Our Suzhou Pick Up Sign "Suzhou Private Tour"

Your first destination is Lion Grove Garden, also named Shizilin, located on 23 Yuanlin Road, in the northeast of Suzhou - a city with profound cultural background and convenient developmental advantages. 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). As the representative garden of the Yuan Dynasty, the most noted and attractive scenery of the Lion Grove Garden is the labyrinthine rockery, which was mostly made of the limestone from Taihu Lake in Wuxi City. Reputed as the 'Kingdom of Rockery', the rocks were piled up skillfully and ingeniously, and most of them look like lions in different postures and verves: playing, roaring, fighting, sleeping, or even dancing. Walking through those numerous winding pathways and caverns of the anfractuous stone forest, one could easily lose one's way. With the age-old pines and cypress trees, the whole landscapes represent scenes of real mountains and forests.

Next to Pingjiang Historic Street. For an authentic taste of city life in old Suzhou, a stroll down Pingjiang Historic Street, which is a great way to get acquainted with the local vibe. Quiet, leafy and slow-paced, the street is lined with old Chinese houses as well as restaurants and teahouses serving traditional foods and drinks. What’s more, there are a variety of upscale cafes catering to the chic crowd at each corner. You can taste a few traditional Chinese snacks while your guide tells you more about the history of the street.

Then your tour guide will take you enjoy the Kunqu Opera show. Kunqu is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera, which said to be the "ancestor of all operas" in China. It evolved from the Kunshan melody, and dominated Chinese theatre from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Kun Opera is acknowledged as an orchid among all forms of Chinese performing art, due to the graceful lines and exquisite makeup. The singing skills of Kun Opera focus on the control of the voice, rhythm and speed as well as articulation. Moreover, Kunqu Opera has its own style of elaborate performance, involving singing? and dancing?. It has been playing a prominent role in the history of Chinese literature, traditional operas, music and dance. Moreover, Kun Opera was listed as one of the UNESO Intangible Cultural Heritages since 2001.

Move on to Panmen Gate. The history of the Panmen Gate dates back to 514 AD. Built by Wu State during the spring and autumn period, Panmen is the only ancient city wall still intact in Suzhou. this city gate is the most completely preserved part of the ruins of the ancient city of Suzhou. Stepping onto the top of the gate, you can see the Wumen Gate Bridge and the Auspicious Light Pagoda. Together, they are popularly known as the Three Scenes at Panmen Gate. 

The last stop is Suzhou No. 1 Silk Mill. It has a long and rich history of silk culture, including mulberry tree and silk worm cultivation and turning raw silk into beautiful fabric. Suzhou's climate and soil are perfect for silk production, and the city has been a center of China's silk trade for many centuries. The Suzhou No. 1 Silk Mill has been a proud steward of this heritage for over 80 years. It's more like a museum which shows you how the silk is made from cocoons from the beginning and the whole silk process. Not to be missed.

After the tour of Suzhou No.1 Silk Mill, you will be taken back to your hotel in Suzhou downtown or Suzhou train station and your tour come to the ends. Have a pleasant trip!

If you visit Suzhou from Shanghai
There are some useful Tips for you to puchase 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

Price Per Person in US Dollars