Suzhou Incredible Highlights from Shanghai

Because this is a private tour, your departure time is flexible: most guests find 9:30am works best. It’s around a 1 and 1/2 hour drive to Suzhou from downtown Shanghai, and your first stop will be the Panmen Gate and its surrounding scenic area.

• Suzhou has over 2,500 years of history, and much of it is encapsulated in this gate beside the moat that encircled the old city, with buildings that date back to the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. A local saying goes that ‘You should visit the Great Wall in Beijing and you must see Panmen in Suzhou’.

• From here, it’s a short drive to Shantang Street a historic street that encapsulates the leisured relaxation of southern Chinese life beside the water.
• Discover Suzhou’s unique cuisine and choose lunch options based on your interests and budget, complete with fantastic views over the canals if desired.

• Suzhou has long been famous for silk, so after lunch you’ll visit one of the best silk factories in China. Discover the history, culture, and art of silk, and learn how silk is made from the mulberry to the loom.
• Suzhou’s classical gardens are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so your final stop on this tour will be one of these stunning formal gardens. Built in 1342 by a Buddhist monk, its sculptural rock forms make this arguably the finest of the four UNESCO-listed gardens in Suzhou.

You’ll then drive back to Shanghai to arrive back at your hotel.