4 Days Suzhou Highlight Tour

Day 1

Arrival Suzhou
Arrive in Suzhou. Be met at the train/bus station and transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.
Meals: No meal
Accommodation: In Suzhou

Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze Basin. And Suzhou remains one of the most beautiful cities in China with its blue web of interlocking canals and classical gardens that inspired the Chinese to name it 'paradise on earth' and Marco Polo to call the city the 'Venice of the East' during his visit.

Day 2

Suzhou
After breakfast, you will start your city tour to Tiger Hill, Panmen Gate and Humble Administrator Garden.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Suzhou

Tiger Hill, once an isolated island created by a volcanic eruption, is also known as the Surging Sea Hill. It is a large hillock, standing 36 meters high and covering an area of some 14,100 square meters. There are a number of historical sites, including some from 2,500 years ago, as old as the city. It is also the home to the 1000-year-old slanting pagoda which is the symbol of Suzhou.

Near the Tiger Hill, you have another important spot to view – Panmen Gate. Suzhou, like many other Chinese cities, was surrounded by a ring of walls and gates from ancient time. Since commence and transport of the entire city depended heavily on its canal network, land transportation of the city was impractical. As a result Suzhou created a system of 'water gate'- small forts that opened for both land and water tariff. Panmen Gate belongs to this type, and it is the oldest one preserved in China today.

Humble Administrator Garden (Zhuozheng yuan) is the best representation of Chinese classical gardens of the Ming Dynasty. Its design is duplicated in many gardens throughout China, and there even a replica in the New York Metropolitan Museum. In total, the garden contains 48 different buildings with 101 tablets, 40 stelae, 21 precious old trees, and over 700 Suzhou-style Penza. In 1997, Zhuozheng Yuan, along with other classical gardens of Suzhou was proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 

Day 3

Suzhou  Tongli
Today, you will enjoy a leisure trip to Tongli Water Town, a delicate water village near Suzhou.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Suzhou

Originally named Fushi, Tongli is an old but very well preserved water township with a history of more than 1,000 years. Built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, it encloses 5 lakes and 15 canals dividing the town into 7 islands which are connected by 20 ancient bridges of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.  Tongli is famous for its one garden, two halls and three bridges. One garden refers to Tuisi Garden. Two halls are Chongben Hall and Jiayin Hall. Three bridges are Taiping Bridge ('Safety' in English), Jili Bridge ('Good luck' in English) and Changqing Bridge ('Longevity' in English). Local tradition calls for those celebrating a Wedding or Birthday to pass over all three bridges.  

Day 4

Departure Suzhou
After a short visit to the Silk Factory, you will be transferred to the train/bus station for your next destination transportation.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Silk has a history of some 4,500 years in China, so they have become adept at producing many different types of silk, as well as dyeing it and weaving different patterns into the fabric. Suzhou is famous for its silk production. In the Silk Factory you can see a display of the life-cycle of the silk worm and demonstrations of how the silk is harvested from the cocoons and eventually woven into fabric. It is quite astonishing to learn that one cocoon can produce about 2 km of silk strand, and that several of these strands are twined together to make a single thread. The process is so slow and painstaking; it comes as no surprise that genuine hand-made silk articles are so expensive.

Service Ends 

Full price of this tour (per person in US$):

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