Shanghai Layover Tour to Wuzhen, No Shopping

At around 9:00 in the morning, your private guide and driver will wait for you at your hotel in downtown Shanghai.

► Alternative Pickups: For transit travelers, we also offer convenient transfers from Shanghai airports, train stations, or cruise terminals, and customize a Shanghai layover tour for you. Additional fees apply upon request.

After a warm greeting, relax on a 2-hour private car ride to start this one day private Wuzhen tour from Shanghai. Experience the most beautiful ancient town in South China, certified by National Geographic, for a dose of laid-back vibes. The 1,300-year-old Wuzhen Water Town is typically characterized by belt-like canals crossed by rustic stone bridges, old whitewashed residences built along the water, and narrow flagstone-paved alleys. It’s also a living water town with vibrant scenes, where locals still use the old waterways to wash clothes, row boats back and forth, and gether at the canal-side teahouses. The canals divide the town into four parts, with the West Scenic Zone, aka Xizha, as the most popular section.

Upon arrival, your guide will accompany you to take in the highlights of the West Scenic Zone, where not only 70% of the architecture is from the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911 AD), but also some traditional crafts have been well-preserved.

First, explore the most culturally significant sight, the tranquil Zhaoming Academy, named after Prince Zhaoming about 1,500 years ago. See centuries-old trees and halls, where the prince once studied and collected classic books from all over the country. It also offers traditional handicrafts experiences such as movable type printing, lacquer fan making, and scripture copying. Next, let a traditional dyeing workshop draw you into an indigo-colored world, where tall poles and tiered drying racks stand densely in the brick-carved ground, hung with newly dyed fabrics, with the scent of natural dyes filling the air. Observe how dyes are produced from natural plants like bluegrass and safflower, and you can even experience it firsthand. Later, witness the silk weaving at the Yida Silk Workshop, founded in 1875, which once integrated mulberry planting, silkworm rearing, silk reeling, silk processing, and brocade making. Now, the brocade weaving tradition is well preserved. Only a few centimeters of brocade can be made each day, and there are small looms available for hands-on experience of silk reeling.If you are interested, spend some time getting stamps or sending postcards of local elements at the Old Post Office, built about 100 years ago. The post office itself, with its brick and tile structure, antique wooden counters, and historical mailboxes, exudes a timeless charm. Your guided walking tour then comes to the 51.75-meter-high (170-foot) 7-story White Lotus Tower, the highest spot in the town. Climb up to its third floor and enjoy a beautiful panoramic view and the adjacent Grand Canal, where cargo ships sail by. The Grand Canal is the oldest manmade water way in the world, connecting the south and north of China.  

► Cultural Performances:
Wuzhen Water Town offers some interesting daily folk performances like Flower Drum Opera and Pingtan ballad story-telling performance, running from 10:00 to 20:30 with an interval of 1.5 hours, and each lasts about 30 minutes. Even if you don’t understand the dialect, your guide’s insights will help you appreciate the artistry and charm of these traditional arts.

►  Modern Tech Hub:
Besides experiencing the ancient charm, you’ll surprisingly find some outstanding Internet technologies at this traditional town, as Wuzhen has been the permanent venue for the World Internet Conference since 2014! In November, global internet stars come here, and some cutting-edge technologies are unveiled. Can you imagine that watch 4K videos from a rowing boat? That’s not a dream in Wuzhen, and the fiber optic cables are even buried under the antique streets! Self-driving buses are also operated during the summit. Robot lion dances, VR experiences, AI drawing, and 3D printed ice cream, and a lot of Internet wizardry just compliment the town during the period. ► Top Food to Try: (at your own expense)
A myriad of local dishes and tasty snacks make you spoiled for choice for your lunch. The freshly-made lotus-shaped Dingsheng Steamed Rice Cake is the most famous, characterized by a soft and white outer layer made of glutinous rice and light sweet bean paste filling. At just CNY 10 (USD 1.5) for three, they are a true delight for your taste buds. Another traditional delicacy is lamb noodles, featuring tender mutton and rich-flavored soup. If the soup dish is not your thing, consider trying scallion pancake wrap, a spring roll-like snack, which wraps fried dough sticks and scallions in a paper-thin pancake, and is served with sweet wheat paste.

► Insider Tips:
1. Please wear comfortable hiking shoes, as you'll walk on the flagstone alleys a lot. 
2. Don't buy the overpriced silk sold in the scenic area, and they’re actually not worth it! 
3. The night view of Wuzhen is spectacular, and you can also experience the unique floating market in the morning. If you'd like to stay overnight in the ancient town, please contact our travel consultant. 

Completing the tour, your guide and the driver will accompany you back to your hotel in Shanghai. Have a great time!