China8 days
Eastern China: Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou & Huangshan — 8 Days
Rail journey from Shanghai's Bund through classical gardens and West Lake to mountain peaks, with private guide and accommodation throughout
This eight-day itinerary moves through four cities across eastern China's most visited cultural region. You begin in Shanghai, where the Bund's colonial architecture and the Yu Garden represent the collision of foreign trade and Chinese aesthetics. A series of fast trains carry you to Suzhou, where the Humble Administrator's Garden demonstrates Ming-era landscape design and the Panmen Gate—built in 514 BC—stands as Suzhou's sole remaining city wall. Hangzhou, the next stop, centers on West Lake and the Song Dynasty buildings along Qinghefang Ancient Street. The final leg takes you to Huangshan, a mountain landscape of granite peaks, deep valleys and pine forests that has inspired Chinese painters for centuries. Throughout, a private English-speaking guide accompanies you on foot, by boat and by rail, with all entrance fees, transfers and most meals included. The itinerary assumes a measured pace: no day involves more than five to six hours of active sightseeing, and accommodation is in established mid-range hotels or a mountain lodge.
Highlights
- Guided walk through the Yu Garden in Shanghai, with its rockeries, pavilions, towers and ponds arranged in Ming style
- Boat ride on the Grand Canal and smaller waterways in Suzhou, observing how residents live along the water
- Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou—one of the largest classical gardens in China, with natural forests, rock formations, streams and Ming-style pavilions
- Panmen Gate in Suzhou, the city's only remaining city gate, built in 514 BC with both a land gate and water gate
- Hour-long boat cruise on West Lake in Hangzhou, with views of mountain peaks and the Flower Harbor goldfish pond
- Walking tour of Qinghefang Ancient Street in Hangzhou, featuring Song Dynasty architecture and preserved courtyards
- Visit to a Longjing tea plantation and farmhouse, with tea tasting and an hour's hike through bamboo forest
- Six Harmonies Pagoda (Liuhe Pagoda) near Hangzhou—a seven-story Southern Song Dynasty structure with intricate carved ceilings
- Tunxi Old Street, built in the Song Dynasty and featuring Anhui-style architecture on granite pavement
- Village Hong, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Ming and Qing architecture and ancient bridges
- Mount Huangshan hike from West Sea to East Sea, passing Lion's Peak, Peach Blossom Peak and over 70 named peaks
- Sunrise viewing from Huangshan, with descent by cable car and hiking trail
Day by day
1Arrival in ShanghaiJinjiang Classiq Hotel Nanjing Road
You arrive in Shanghai and are transferred to the Jinjiang Classiq Hotel Nanjing Road or similar. Your guide will be available for a tour orientation at the hotel. You have the option to dine at a nearby restaurant or visit the city's streets on your own for the remainder of the evening.
2Shanghai: Nanjing Road, the Bund & Yu GardenShanghai · Nanjing Road · the Bund · Yu Garden · former French Concession · Shanghai Museum
Your guide leads you from Nanjing Road to the Bund, where you learn the architectural history of buildings lining the waterfront. The area of Shanghai highlights the push-pull between old and new, local and foreign. From the Bund, you visit the Yu Garden (Yuyuan Garden), where rockeries, pavilions, towers and ponds arranged in classical Chinese style create a landscape designed to suggest natural terrain at human scale. You then walk through the former French Concession, an area of Shanghai with old French villas and Art Deco structures alongside contemporary galleries, restaurants and boutiques. This contrast between colonial-era buildings and modern commerce illustrates Shanghai's layered urban development. At midday, you eat lunch of xiaolong bao (Shanghai soup dumplings), then tour the Shanghai Museum, which holds more than 120,000 objects spanning bronze and ceramic sculpture, calligraphy and paintings across 10 exhibitions. Your day concludes with the Shanghai Acrobatic Show, a performance featuring gravity-defying acts, contortionism, juggling and unicycling.
3Suzhou: Grand Canal, Humble Administrator's Garden & Panmen GateHumble Administrator's Garden · Shanghai to Suzhou · Panmen Scenic Area · Grand Canal and smaller waterways · Suzhou to Hangzhou
A morning train carries you from Shanghai to Suzhou with your guide for a historical and environmental experience. Upon arrival, your guide takes you on a boat ride along the Grand Canal and through smaller waterways where residents have lived and worked for centuries. This passage shows how daily life in Suzhou has long centered on the water. You then visit the Humble Administrator's Garden, one of Suzhou's largest classical gardens. Here, small forests, rock formations, hills and streams are arranged alongside Ming-style temples, pavilions and bridges. Your guide leads you next to the Panmen Scenic Area to see the Panmen (Coiled Gate), built in 514 BC and the only surviving city gate in Suzhou. It combines a land gate, water gate and gate tower in a single structure considered a pioneering work in Chinese architectural history. By late afternoon, you board a one-hour train to Hangzhou.
4Hangzhou: West Lake & Qinghefang Ancient StreetWest Lake · Qinghefang Ancient Street · Flower Harbor
Your day begins with a guided walk around West Lake, where you encounter ancient buildings, stone caves and engraved tablets recognized as national treasures. You then board a small boat for an approximately one-hour cruise on the lake itself, allowing you to see mountain peaks along the shoreline from the water. The cruise ends at the Flower Harbor, where goldfish swim in a large pond and flower varieties grow in abundance. After lunch, your guide accompanies you on a walking tour of Qinghefang Ancient Street. The street's buildings were constructed in the architecture of the Song Dynasty and represent one of Hangzhou's best-preserved ancient thoroughfares. Along Qinghefang you will find shops, restaurants, ancient alleys and courtyards that demonstrate Hangzhou's historical and cultural heritage.
5Hangzhou: Longjing Tea Plantation, Bamboo Forest & Six Harmonies PagodaLongjing Tea Plantation · bamboo forest · Six Harmonies Pagoda (Liuhe Pagoda) · Hangzhou to Tunxi
You visit a local farmer's home and Longjing Tea Plantation to see how the region's famed Longjing tea is cultivated. Your guide explains the farming and harvesting process, and you taste newly picked tea to experience its high-quality taste firsthand. From the plantation, you hike upward through forested terrain for about one hour until reaching a bamboo forest. The dense groves, pavilions and garden scenery create a markedly cooler microclimate than the valley below. After this woodland rest, you visit the Six Harmonies Pagoda (Liuhe Pagoda), a seven-story wood and brick structure built during the Southern Song Dynasty. As you climb through its levels, you observe intricate carvings and paintings on each ceiling—depictions of animals, flowers, birds and other figures. From the top, you look out across the Qiantang River and the surrounding landscape. By late afternoon, you board a bullet train to Tunxi, a small town near Huangshan.
6Tunxi Old Street, Village Hong & Ascent to HuangshanTunxi Old Street · Village Hong · Huangshan
Your guide leads you on a walking tour of Tunxi Old Street, built during the Song Dynasty and once a major commodity distribution center for Anhui Province. The street's granite pavement is lined with traditional Anhui-style architecture. Your private vehicle then takes you to Village Hong, a UNESCO World Heritage Site set among streams and lakes. Here you walk over ancient bridges and observe Ming and Qing Dynasty architecture—much of it recognizable from the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, portions of which were filmed here. From Village Hong, your transport continues to Huangshan. You board a bus to a cable car station, then ascend the mountain by cable car to your lodging at the top.
7Huangshan: Sunrise & Mountain TraverseHuangshan · Lion's Peak · Peach Blossom Peak · Yungu Temple · Shanghai airport · West Sea to East Sea
You rise early to watch the sun emerge behind the peaks and above the cloud layer. After breakfast, your guide leads you on a hike along walking trails and stone steps that descend from the West Sea—where your hotel is located—toward the East Sea. The route is graded as easy and follows established paths rather than technical terrain. As you walk, you pass several of Huangshan's more than 70 named peaks, including Lion's Peak, which resembles a crouched lion, and Peach Blossom Peak, where peach blossom trees grow in abundance. Throughout the traverse, you encounter the mountain's granite formations, deep valleys and scattered pine trees. These elements have been subjects of Chinese landscape painting for centuries. You descend by cable car to Yungu Temple, then by bus to the mountain's base. By late afternoon or evening, a private transfer takes you to Shanghai airport for a late-night flight back to Shanghai. A private car meets you upon arrival and takes you to your hotel for the night.
8Shanghai DepartureShanghai · Shanghai airport
After seven adventure-packed days exploring eastern China, a private transfer takes you to Shanghai airport for your departing flight. Breakfast is provided before your departure. Please note: if you require transport to a location other than the airport, advise this at time of booking.
Where you go
- 1Shanghai
- 2the Bund
- 3Shanghai Museum
- 4Shanghai
Included
- Included:
- Hotel accommodation based on twin share
- English speaking guide service
- Private transfer in air-conditioned van
- Sightseeing tours with entrance fees
- Regular class fast train Shanghai-Suzhou-Hangzhou-Huangshan-Shanghai
- 7 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 1 dinner
Not included
- Do Not Include:
- International airfare
- China Visa