2 Days Private Tour to Suzhou & Zhouzhuang

This morning, your guide will be waiting for you at Suzhou Railway Station or your hotel in downtown Suzhou. Suzhou has long boasted superior classical Chinese gardens which combine buildings with natural scenery, water, and rockery perfectly. Your Suzhou 2 days tour package starts with the celebrated Humble Administrator’s Garden. Follow your guide to admire the pavilions and houses, and gain some knowledge of the culture behind them. Besides the classical architecture, the windows with diverse patterns and decorations are a spectacle not to be missed. Passing through the antique wooden doorframes of the Thirty-Six Mandarin Ducks Hall, you may feel like falling into a dream woven from fantastical light and shadow. European blue and purple stained glass is inlaid within the traditional diamond-shaped window lattices, creating a perfect blend of styles. At the Yiliang Pavilion, the “glass” of its windows is even made from natural shells polished to nearly transparent thin sheets, showcasing not only the superb craftsmanship of ancient Suzhou artisans but also the artistry of Chinese garden.

Next, we will visit the adjacent Suzhou Museum, perhaps one of the most beautiful museums you’ve ever seen. The building itself is worth stopping to appreciate, with the Suzhou-style clean white walls and grey roofs decorated with simple classic geometric shapes. The museum is designed by architect I. M. Pei (1917-2019 AD), whose signature project is the iconic glass pyramid of Paris’ Louvre. Inside the museum, you could have a look at some of Suzhou’s representative cultural relics, such as the Olive-Green Lotus-Shaped Bowl, a rare peak work of Chinese ceramic firing technique 1,100 years ago.After that, the guide will accompany you to Pingjiang Road for a 30-minute hand-rowed boat cruise along the old canals. The rowing boat is one of the symbols of Chinese southern culture. It is propelled by one single scull resembling a fish tail at the stern of the boat, which not only saves effort but also increases efficiency than using paddles. Swaying with the water while sitting in the boat and passing through stone bridges, you can admire the grey and white old houses in the shadow of verdant trees on both banks. Pingjiang Road is a bustling area full of shops and restaurants. Your guide will give you some free time to explore the streets and soak up the exotic charm. You may try some local food for lunch at your own expense, such as the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, Yangchun Noodles, and braised pork, and the guide will be glad to recommend you some restaurants.

Then, meet your guide at the designated time and enjoy a night tour to the Master of Nets Garden, another masterpiece of the Suzhou gardens. The central pond of the garden is surrounded by winding corridors and rockeries, connecting the residential area and the garden area. Every tree and bush have been carefully arranged in the garden. Following the guide’s steps, you could enjoy an immersive experience of Suzhou Pingtan (a kind of storytelling and ballad singing), Kunqu Opera, and Chinese traditional musical instrument performances. When night falls, the soft lighting casts a hazy glow over every corner of the garden, evoking a sense of romance and the long-forgotten memories of this garden in the gentle breeze. After the tour, your guide and driver will escort you back to the hotel.
► Note: The night tour to the Master of Nets Garden is from 19:30 to 21:30, which is available from April to November. If you travel in other months, we will arrange an afternoon tour instead.

After breakfast, your guide and driver will greet you at your hotel lobby, and today we are driving to Zhouzhuang Water Town, one of the largest and most famous ancient towns in Suzhou with intertwined waterways. As early as the 1980s, it has gained fame in the United States due to some realistic paintings by artist Chen Yifei (1946-2005 AD). Strolling through the town, you can see the “Twin Bridges” and the rural sceneries that he depicted. 

Let’s explore the water town from Shen’s House, which is closely related to Shen Wansan, a legendary merchant from about 600 years ago, who accumulated a huge amount of wealth by exporting Zhouzhuang’s agricultural products overseas. However, in the feudal society of that time, his family’s fortune soon attracted the emperor’s attention. Fearing he had disloyal intentions, the emperor confiscated his property and exiled his whole family, which ultimately led to Shen’s death in a strange land. Later, Shen Wansan’s descendants constructed Shen’s House. Upon seeing the extremely extravagant interior and the intricately carved wooden “Thousand-crafts Bed”, you could soon realize that the Shen Family had never given up the pursuit of wealth. Nowadays, Shen Wansan is regarded as a “god of wealth” in many places, and people usually toss a coin in front of the statue of Shen and his treasure pot to pray for fortune.

We will also visit Milou Tower, which was originally a restaurant built in the 18th century AD. However, it holds more special historical significance because of the revolutionary movements took place here in the last century. On the second floor, you could find a round hole named Moon-Peeping Hole which served as the peep hole of Milou Tower for observing the outside.

Last, let’s go to the 900-year-old Chengxu Taoist Temple. Upon entering the temple, you could first see a majestic guardian deity statue. This three-eyed god is believed to be able to discern good from evil, and above him is a plaque interestingly read “Do you recognize me?” The temple is shrouded in the mist of incense, with yellow-walled buildings surrounded by towering ancient trees.

At the end of your 2 days private Suzhou tour with Zhouzhuang Water Town, we will escort you to the railway station in Suzhou for your departure train. Hope you have spent an enjoyable time in Suzhou!

Meals: Breakfast