Jiangnan In Depth — Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi & Hangzhou 9D8N
Shanghai·Zhouzhuang·Suzhou·Wuxi·Hangzhou
- Grand tour
- 9 days / 8 nights
- 5 places
- Quoted on brief
Overview
What this journey is
Nine days is what it takes to stop the Jiangnan circuit feeling like a checklist. Suzhou gets a second night instead of a passing day, and Wuxi — which the shorter routings skip entirely — gets two: the Lingshan Grand Buddha and Nianhuawan on one, then Three Kingdoms City, Water Margin City and Turtle Head Isle on the other before the drive to Hangzhou. It is the only build here that reaches the Taihu shore.
Day by day
- 1
Day 1 — Arrival in Shanghai
Your driver meets you with a name board and transfers you to your hotel. Nothing else is scheduled — the day belongs to the flight.
- 2
Day 2 — Shanghai: Pudong and the river
Oriental Pearl TV Tower with the transparent gallery on the second sphere · Shanghai History Museum at the foot of the tower · lunch at your own expense · Huangpu River cruise in daylight · the Bund · Nanjing Road pedestrian street.
- 3
Day 3 — Shanghai: the old town and the concession
Yu Garden · the old walled city around Chenghuangmiao · lunch at your own expense · Xintiandi in the former French Concession · Jade Buddha Temple.
- 4
Day 4 — Shanghai to Zhouzhuang, on to Suzhou
Zhouzhuang water town: the Twin Bridges, Shen’s House, Zhang’s House and a paper-cutting workshop · lunch at your own expense · on to Suzhou for the night.
- 5
Day 5 — Suzhou
Lingering Garden · Panmen scenic area · lunch at your own expense · Tiger Hill, the Yunyan pagoda and the Sword Pool · a second night in Suzhou.
- 6
Day 6 — Wuxi: Lingshan and Nianhuawan
The 88-metre Lingshan Grand Buddha · lunch at your own expense · Nianhuawan, the Zen town beside it.
- 7
Day 7 — Wuxi to Hangzhou
Three Kingdoms City and Water Margin City · Turtle Head Isle on Taihu · lunch at your own expense · drive on to Hangzhou for the night.
- 8
Day 8 — Hangzhou, and back to Shanghai
West Lake cruise · Lingyin Temple and Feilai Feng · a Longjing tea village · about three hours back to Shanghai.
- 9
Day 9 — Departure
Hotel pick-up at a time set by your flight, and transfer to the airport or the station.
Accommodation
We quote a hotel ladder rather than a fixed list, so the same itinerary can be sold at more than one price point.
Shanghai city hotel
Quoted to your brief
Central is worth paying for on this shelf: every day starts and ends at the hotel door.
Suzhou city hotel
Quoted to your brief
We quote a ladder rather than a fixed property, so one routing sells at more than one price point.
Wuxi or Taihu-shore hotel
Quoted to your brief
The lake-shore properties are quieter; the city ones are closer to the morning departure.
Hangzhou city or lakeside hotel
Quoted to your brief
Lakeside carries a premium — both are quoted so you can decide where the client’s money goes.
What’s included
- Private vehicle and driver for the whole programme
- Licensed English-speaking guide
- Entrance tickets to every sight named in the day plan
- Guide and driver meal allowance, plus their rooms on any night away from Shanghai
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off — no fixed meeting point to find
Not included
- Hotels — quoted against your room-type brief
- Lunches and dinners — quoted against your meal standard
- Gratuities for the guide and driver
- Travel and medical insurance
- Bottled water and anything not itemised
- International flights and associated taxes
- China visa — required for most passports
Operational notes
The things worth raising before you quote it, not after.
- Hangzhou runs vehicle restrictions: over 18 seats transfers to a shuttle bus for Lingyin and Feilai Feng, and over 33 seats does the same for West Lake at weekends and on public holidays. Brief the client before departure — it is local policy, not our routing.
- Yu Garden closes on Mondays. Tell us the arrival date and we will move the Shanghai days around it rather than dropping the garden.
- Client hotels are quoted separately, against your room-type brief.
- Nianhuawan runs an evening water show. The Wuxi night makes it reachable — say if you want it built in.
- Nights: Shanghai ×3, Suzhou ×2, Wuxi ×2, Hangzhou, then back to Shanghai.
- Rates do not apply over the China International Import Expo or Chinese New Year. Other major trade fairs are usually fine at more than a month's notice.
- Booked inside a fair week, vehicles and guides get scarce and pricing moves with the market.
- Large groups may need a luggage vehicle, which is quoted on top.
- An evening meal or an evening activity adds a guide and vehicle surcharge.
9D / 8NQuoted on brief
Request netMore journeys
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Putting this on your shelf?
Tell us your market, pax profile and target price point — we return net rates, a hotel ladder, and white-label documents.