3 Days Private Shanghai & Water Town Tour

►  Discover diversity of Shanghai: the Bund, Yu Garden, Huangpu River
►  Explore the most picturesque water town of your own choice.
►  See comparisons of traditional culture and Chinese modernization.
►  Flexible private tour solely for your group with experienced guide and driver.

Hereunder please find a sample itinerary. Our travel experts will be happy to customize a tour for you to meet your interests and needs.

Welcome to Shanghai! Your English-speaking guide will warmly greet you at the airport, then your 3 day Shanghai tour will begin. We can also pick you up from the port or railway station if you need.

Our first stop today is the world’s highest bookstore, Duo Yun Bookstore, which is on the 52nd floor of China’s tallest building Shanghai Tower, from where you will enjoy a stunning panoramic view of the city and Huangpu River. The Shanghai World Financial Center, the Jinmao Tower and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower can also be seen from a distance when you have a drink here and enjoy the scenery leisurely.

After that, we'll go to the Bund. Instead of private transfer, we will specially arrange for you to take a public ferry as locals do and cross the Huangpu River to reach the Bund. You will find not only people on the ferry, but bicycles and motorcycles are also allowed to take with. It is only an about 10 minutes’ ride, but this is really a good opportunity to see real life of the locals.

As the most popular landmark of Shanghai, the Bund is a section of the waterfront along the Huangpu River, known as the World Wide Exhibition of Architecture with various buildings in different styles, such as gothic and baroque. Besides, the Bund is also a good place to take photos of Lujiazui, which is the most prosperous area in Pudong. You will have some free time here to wander around. When you finish the visit, a comfortable drive will take you to the hotel in downtown location.

► Where to explore the night life of Shanghai?
As a lively city full of diversity, Shanghai’s night life is gentle, elegant and colorful. If you are interested, try some of Shanghai's popular bars. When the trip is completed, we can transfer you to some popular bars like M1NT with sharks in front of the dancing floor as its feature, or VUE Bar on the top of Hyatt on the Bund, where you can get a great view of both sides of the Huangpu River. If you would like to be dropped off at a bar, you will need to get back to hotel by taxi.

Today, we will drive out of Shanghai for around 1.5 hours to the Tongli Water Town, which has a history of more than 1,000 years. The various styles of stone bridges, old residential houses as well as rich cultural history of the town attract visitors from all over the world.

Known as the "Little Venice of the Orient", Tongli is surrounded by lakes on all four sides. The whole town of Tongli is divided into seven islands by 15 rivers, and 49 ancient bridges link the islands together. Escorted by your private tour guide, walk around the ancient town and experience the unique beauty of it.

It will be an unforgettable experience to take a boat ride, see the local people going about their daily lives and enjoy the beauty of this charming town from a different view. The brown wooden sculling boat with local features shuttles between the water lanes. In the past times, such boat was the main means of transportation for local people. Besides, people used the boat for rice transplanting and harvest, as well as digging up river silt. Nowadays, the boats are used for tourism, which brings benefits to local people.

When you wander around the town, you may see local residents washing vegetables and clothes by the river. The white-haired old lady, sitting on a cane chair, knits a sweater in the tender sunshine. The old man lights the stove for cooking. The artist plays the Erhu (a kind of musical instrument) beside the stone bridge. They still maintain their traditional way of life, which reflects the core of Chinese traditional culture, harmony and peacefulness.

►  There are many famous water towns around Shanghai. If you are not interested in Tongli, you also have the flexibility to choose one from the following two towns, and we will make arrangement for you without any extra charge.

Zhouzhuang Water Town: The No. 1 Water Town in China. You will appreciate unique water lanes and stone bridges along the riverside. In addition to water town scenery, Zhouzhuang is also known for its profound culture. The ancient buildings like Shen House, Milou Tower and Chengxu Taoist Temple enjoy very high historical and cultural value. Being the most popular one, it is also the most crowded and commercialized town.

Xitang Water Town: Compared with other water towns, the most distinctive feature of Xitang is the “Rain Corridor”. In ancient times, every family would put up a ceiling over the flagstone road in front of their own houses, then the ceilings connected to form a corridor. This is the unique scenery of this water town.

You will pack your luggage and check out from hotel this morning. Your guide and driver will come to meet you at 09:00. First, take a comfortable ride to Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, which showcases the past, present and future of Shanghai, with an emphasis on the development plan for the next 20 years. Through the detailed and authoritative materials and various presentation means including pictures, models, touch screens as well as multimedia, you will have a deep and comprehensive understanding on this city and its development.

After getting out of the Exhibition Hall, we will come to the Yu Garden, a classical garden initially built by an official to satisfy his parents over 400 years ago and opened to the public in 1961. The Dragon Wall, the Nine-Turning Bridge and a pavilion in the middle of the pond make up the highlights of this garden.

►  What is interesting to see in Yu Garden?
The most valuable treasure of Yu Garden is the exquisite natural Jade Stone, one of the three well-known stones in South China, together with Duanyun Peak in Suzhou and Zhouyun Peak in Hangzhou. The stone is 3.3 meters high and has 72 holes. It is said that if you burn a joss stick at the bottom of the rock, the smoke will rise from all holes, and if you pour water from top of the rock, the water will flow out of each hole. It is very interesting and spectacular.

In the afternoon, we will continue our visit to Tianzifang Old Block. Different from the other scenic streets, like West Street in Yangshuo, Jinli Street in Chengdu and Hefang Street in Hangzhou, Tianzifang enjoys its unique feature, historic and elegant with culture atmosphere. Tianzifang is a typical residential area of Shanghai Shikumen architectural style. With nearly 100 years’ history, the area still looks like old Shanghai, where people can experience the living environment of local residents who still live here. 

Upon completion of the trip, you guide and driver will transfer you to the airport and help you board the flight back home. We can also transfer you to the port or the railway station if you need. Wish you a pleasant onward journey!