Shanghai and Her Amazing Neighbors of
Tongli Watertown, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Yellow Mountain

TOUR ITINERARY Tour code: GWAC-HZ-06 Day Activities Hotel DAY 01 Arrive in Shanghai You will either fly or take the train to Shanghai, and upon arrival at either the train station or airport you will be met by your English-speaking guide. You will then be taken to your hotel, which is located in the downtown portion of the city. You will have the rest of the evening to unpack and unwind from your journey. If you need to keep in touch with those back home, you can get a rental phone from your guide. A Nokia rental package for calls to the U.S. and Canada includes 7 days rental cost for the cell phone and SIM card, 60 minutes FREE international calls to the U.S. and Canada, and delivery and collection in China. You’ll return the phone to your guide when you depart. This package is only for customers from the U.S./Canada. We provide other phone rental packages for customers from other countries. Contact us to see the details. 3 or 4 star for Standard; 5 star for deluxe DAY 02 Shanghai (B, L) Following breakfast, we’ll start our day in Shanghai with a visit to Yuyuan Garden. Yuyuan Garden is a famed classical garden, and even though it may be small, it contains numerous pavilions, halls, rockeries, ponds and cloisters, and all have unique characteristics. There are six main scenic areas in the garden: Sansui Hall, Wanhua Chamber, Dianchun Hall, Huijing Hall, Yuhua Hall and the Inner Garden. Each area features several scenic spots within its borders. Nearby Yuyuan Garden is the Yuyuan Market. Located next to the Yuyuan Garden and also known today as the City God Temple, it was built in the fifteenth century during the Ming Dynasty. The City God Temple is a Taoist temple which is composed of many halls such as the Grand Hall, Middle Hall, Bedroom Palace, Star Gods Hall and etc. The City God Temple has a great influence on the residents of Shanghai. The religious festivals of the temple are considered to be the festivals for all Shanghai people. Next it is off to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. If you’re stunned by Shanghai today, go see how it will look in 2020. The centerpiece is an enormous scale model of the city centre that takes an entire upper floor. It shows current and future development, and it’s mind-boggling. There are raised walkways for viewing the model from different angles, and the detail is fascinating, showing clearly what’s planned, and what already exists. City planning is a hot topic throughout the world, and the centre is themed around "City, Human, Environment and Development", which concern city dwellers from any country. The glimpse of present and future Shanghai can provide much food for thought, as well as enjoyment and a good overview of this often overwhelming city. We’ll then go to get a bird’s eye view of Shanghai at the Shanghai World Financial Center. Shanghai World Financial Center is the highest building in Shanghai, as it creates a new Shanghai landmark along with the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Jinmao Tower. It takes about 1 minute from first floor to 95th by the elevator with a speed of 10 meters per second. In the 100th viewing pavilion, visitors can see the peak of Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Jinmao Tower. In the 55 meters long viewing gallery, visitors can see the moving cars and passerby clearly through 3 transparent glass floors. The observation bridge atop the building will be the highest outdoor observation deck in the world. We’ll next see Shanghai’s most famed and iconic site, the Bund. The Bund is a famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. It affords marvelous views across the river of the Pudong district and its numerous towers. The most famous and attractive sight which is at the west side of the Bund are the 52 various buildings of different architectural styles including Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism and the Renaissance. For lunch we’ll have a scrumptious meal at Home’s Restaurant. Home's Restaurant is located near the Nanjing Road. It specializes in Shanghai cuisine using the best local ingredients. Smoked fish and red jujube with sticky rice are well known in Shanghai. The restaurant enjoys a great reputation with diners from many parts of China and abroad. Our final activity today will be a visit to the Shanghai Hua ling Silk City. Shanghai Hua Ling Silk City is a multi-functional shopping mall containing silk traders, restaurants and heath care. It showcases Chinese silk products of all types including silk bedding and silk clothing. It has become a popular spot for foreign tourists looking for authentic quality products. You will then be taken back to your hotel, and the rest of the day can be spent at your own leisure. You might want to take a walk down Nanjing Road, Shanghai’s main commercial street, as well as the city’s numerous bars, clubs and restaurants. 3 or 4 star for Standard; 5 star for deluxe DAY 03 Shanghai-Tongli-Suzhou (B, L) Today we’ll make the 2-hour drive to Suzhou, but on the way there we’ll stop at the water town of Tongli, which is located on the outskirts of Suzhou. Tongli is over 1000 years old and has only recently been changed into a tourist attraction. The town is characterized by stone bridges and well preserved ancient architecture including private gardens, temples and houses. 15 small river lanes crisscrossed the town, over which spans around 49 stone bridges in variety of styles. Bridges are important parts of the town. The most famous bridges among the 49 bridges in Tongli are the three bridges called Taiping (peace), Jili (luck) and Changqing (celebration) bridges, which has been important landmarks of the place and regarded as the sacred architecture by the locals. Whenever there is an important occasion, such as wedding, people would like to walk through the three bridges, which is supposed to bring peace, fortune and happiness in their lives. Buildings well preserved from the Ming and Qing Dynasties standing by the rivers fill the town. The traditional gardens are well worth seeing. The Tuisi Garden makes a good example. The garden was constructed between 1885 and 1887 by an imperial scholar. In the garden, pavilions, terraces, halls, rockeries, ponds and other elements of the garden were harmoniously integrated together. After walking along the bridges and taking a look at the historic buildings, we’ll take a cruise through Tongli’s canals, as it is the best way to experience the charms and beauty of this lush and enchanting water village. Following our time in Tongli we’ll make the last leg of our journey to Suzhou. The city is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens which have contributed to its status as a great tourist attraction. It is widely known as the “Chinese Venice”. You will be taken to your hotel, and the evening can be spent at your own leisure.   3 or 4 star for Standard; 5 star for deluxe DAY 04 Suzhou (B, L) Following breakfast in the hotel, we’ll get started on your sightseeing. Our first stop will be the he Hunble Administrator’s Garden (known in Chinese as Zhouzheng), which is probably the most beautiful and famed of Suzhou’s classical gardens. Being the most representative of Chinese classical gardens, the garden was first constructed during the Ming Dynasty. The garden focuses on a central pond with pavilions, terraces, chambers, and towers. Located nearby, the garden is divided into three parts: the eastern, middle and western parts. Don't miss the Garden Museum - actually don't miss any of this lovely place. You should wear comfortable shoes, as there's a lot of walking here. You’ll then be taken on a rickshaw tour of the Old Town of Suzhou, The historic Old Town used to be pierced by six gates (north, south, two in the east, and two in the west), and criss-crossing the city were six canals running north-south and 14 canals running east-west. Although the walls have disappeared and a fair proportion of the canals have been plugged, the Old Town largely retains its “Renaissance” character. A major highlight of the Old Town is Pingjiang Road, a lovely place located canalside that is rich in old-world flavor. Also known as the “land of silk”, Suzhou has long been famed as China leading center of silk producing and manufacturing, and even hosts a silk festival every year. We’ll head for the No.1 Silk Factory to see the technical process of how silk is made, from silk swarm rasing, cocoon sorting, cocoon boiling and cocoon reeling, rewinding and packing. The high-grade silk produced in this factory is the best raw material for the product of high-quality silk fabrics. For lunch we will eat at Pine and Crane Restaurant. Located near the Humble Administrator's Garden, this old famous restaurant serves Suzhou cuisine. The dishes are famous for the fresh ingredients and traditional cooking methods. It is very popular with the native population. 3 or 4 star for Standard; 5 star for deluxe DAY 05 Suzhou-Yellow Mountain (B, L) After an early-morning breakfast, we’ll start driving for the mountains Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), which is located in the neighboring province of Anhui. Huangshan is probably the most famous mountain area in China. The highlight of the Yellow Mountains is Mt. Huangshan. With a height of 1873 meters (6145 feet), it is the highest peak of the Mt. Huangshan Scenic Area. At present over 500 kinds of animals and 1500 kinds of plants live on the Huangshan Mountains. UNESCO listed Yellow Mountain as one of the World Natural Heritage sites in 1990. In order to get up the mountain, we’ll take the cable car, which is included in the price of your tour. While on Yellow Mountain, we will see some curious sights, such as the Strange Pines, which re seen in every corner of Yellow Mountain. You will be amazed by their vitality and strength. The seeds fall into the crevices where they take root and grow with great vigor. The uneven terrain prevents the pines from growing upright. Instead they become crooked and even downward. Another feature of Huangshan pines is that many trees grow branches on one side only. Some notable ones that we will see include the Guest-Greeting Pine (in front of the stone lion of the Jade Screen Pavilion in the Jade Screen Scenic Area), and the Guest-Goodbye Pine (to the right of the Jade Screen Pavilion). We’ll also come across the Jade Screen Scenic Area, and this scenic area has Jade Screen Pavilion as its center and the Lotus Peak and the Heavenly Capital Peak as the main body. This is the Front Mountain as people usually call it. Along the road you will find Peng Lai Three Islands, 100-step Scaling Ladder, the Thread of the Sky and the New Thread of the Sky. "Splendid is the landscape", handwritings by Chairman Mao Ze Dong, are inscribed on the Jade Screen Peak. We’ll on the peaks of Yellow Mountain, we’ll see the numerous seas and mists of clouds that hover around the mountain. At sunset, the glistening clouds assume every hue from red to purple. You cannot help marveling at this gift from the Creator! You will be struck by the beauty when all the red leaves are floating on the white clouds in autumn, when the clouds gush between the peaks like a raging river while the red leaves flutter delicately in the breeze. For the evening we will stay in a hotel that is near the Yellow Mountain scenic area. 3 or 4 star for Standard; 5 star for deluxe DAY 06 Yellow Mountain-Hangzhou (B, L) After rising to see the beautiful sunrise over Mt. Huangshan we’ll proceed to the nearby village of Xidi. Located at the foot of Mt. Huangshan, the city was built 900 years ago during the Song Dynasty. The village’s traditional architecture is well preserved, and Xidi has been proclaimed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The buildings and the street patterns reflect the socio-economic structure of an enduring period of Chinese history. Don't miss the large memorial archway that marks the village entrance. After visiting Xidi we’ll then head to the town of Hongcun. the main village where the Wang families live together. The Wang clan is a respectable family in the Central Plains of China. Because it moved to the south at the end of the Han dynasty, the descendants of the Wang clan spread to every parts of the south of the lower reaches of the Changjiang River. The ancestral home of Wang clan is Jinling. In the Southern Song Dynasty, it moved to Huizhou. They are the earliest ancestors of Hungcun. Encircled by green hills, two streams flow through the village from north and east converging at Huiyuan Bridge. The village has two main streets and about 99 lanes. All the streets and lanes are paved with cobbles or black stones. The residences, lanes and streets combine well with the hills and streams. Lying about 10 kilometers (6 miles) northeast of Yixian County, Hongcun Village enjoys the reputation of 'a village in the beautiful Chinese picture' because of its location at high altitude and being shrouded by clouds and mist. It has about 137 Ming and Qing style residences. For lunch we will eat at the Leigang Villa. Located on the top of Leigang hill, Leigang Villa restaurant serves local style Chinese food. Lunch is served in a beautiful environment with pleasant scenery, as the restaurant is surrounded by a forest of bamboo and peach trees. The restaurant also has a bird's eye view of Hongcun village. After lunch we will make the drive to Hangzhou. The capital of Zhejiang province, Hangzhou is one of the more modern and prosperous cities in China. It sits at the southern end of the Grand Canal and is one of China's seven ancient national capitals. Hangzhou's "heavenly" beauty attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists to its exquisite West Lake (Xi Hu) area each year to enjoy the placid lake, beautiful gardens, reflecting pools, lavish temples and lakeside teahouses. You will be taken to your hotel, and the rest of the night can be spent at your own leisure. 3 or 4 star for Standard; 5 star for deluxe DAY 07 Hangzhou (B, L) After breakfast we’ll get started on your touring of Hanghzou with a visit to the Ling Yin Temple. Commonly translated as "Temple of the Soul's Retreat", Ling Yin is one of the largest and wealthiest temples in China. It was originally founded in 326 AD, but has been rebuilt no less than sixteen times since then. The current buildings are modern restorations of late Qing buildings. The hillside to the south of the temple is also famous as a site of old Buddhist caves and rock carvings. Many of these date back to the time when the temple was first founded and a great many were carved during the blossoming of Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. Despite some damage inflicted by red guards during the Cultural Revolution, the temple and grounds escaped much of the wholesale destruction that other temples in China suffered because of the protection of Premier Zhou Enlai. Today the temple is thriving, though most of the thousands of visitors who come do so for sightseeing and not for religious reasons. We’ll then pay a visit to the village of Meijiawu. Meijiawu Village is located in the western part of the West Lake scenic area. It has a history of over 600 years. Situated among lush green hills, it is a rustic, natural scenic spot. You can have a tea culture experience by learning tea picking and processing. It also showcases tea products of all kinds including jasmine tea, Dragon Well tea, green tea, black tea, and wulong tea. Afterwards we’ll take a cruise on Hangzhou’s most famed attraction, West Lake. West Lake is a man-made lake and is created after the Chinese love for garden style parks for recreation. Hangzhou's West Lake Scenic Area, in the southwest of the city, covers 60 square kilometers (23 square miles), of which West Lake itself occupies 5.6 square kilometers (2.2 square miles). West Lake is a place of tranquility where urbanity becomes a silhouette on the northeast horizon and mountains near and far surround it on the other three sides. The occasional pagoda and Chinese-style arched bridge add atmosphere to the tree-lined walkways, verdant islands and hills. We’ll take our boat to Fairy Island in order to visit “Three Pools Mirroring the moon”. Three miniature stone pagodas, which act like beacons, built over 800 years ago and 2 meters in height, are the centerpieces of the scenic spot called "Three Pools Mirroring the Moon". To the west of “Three Pools Mirroring the Moon “Island stand rounded hollow stone pagodas with five round holes like windows around the top and bottom levels. On the night of the Mid-Autumn festival, when the moon shines full and bright in the sky, a candle is lit inside each of the pagodas. The light from the holes and the moon cast their reflections on the water, hence the name. For lunch we will dine at the Louwailou Restaurant. Louwailou is a famous restaurant located nearby West Lake and has a long history of more than 150 years. The restaurant specializes in Hangzhou cuisine and it is well known for West lake vinegar fish and Braised Dongpo Pork. Following our meal you will be taken back to your hotel, where the rest of the day can be spent at your own discretion. You might want to check out the city’s numerous delightful teahouses. In addition, there are numerous bars and pubs throughout Hangzhou. 3 or 4 star for Standard; 5 star for deluxe DAY 08 Hangzhou-departure (B, L) After breakfast you will be taken to the either the Hangzhou airport or train station, and you will travel on to your next destination, ending your tour.

Tour Inclusions：

1. Hotels with daily western breakfasts;
2. Meals in accordance with that listed on the itinerary.
3. professional local guide & driver;
4. Private air-conditioned car or van for transportation;
5. Admission of the first gate.
6. Two bottles of mineral water per day.

Tour  exclusions：

1. Tip of the guide
2. Personal costs