8-Day Nanjing, Wuxi, Suzhou and Shanghai Tour

Meals: No meals
Accommodation: In Nanjing 

Arrive in Nanjing, historically known as China's Southern Capital, and transfer from the airport to your hotel.

Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you at the railway station or airport, and transfer to your hotel. 
 

In the afternoon, visit Zhanyuan Garden, Nanjing's oldest surviving garden. Its history spans more than 600 years and dates to the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty.

Continue to the Confucius Temple, one of China's four largest Confucian temples and first established in 1034 to honor the philosopher and educator Confucius. Walk to the national AAAAA-rated Qinhuai River Scenery Belt, a riverside district combining gardens, temples, schools, traditional homes and local life. Its colorful evening lighting is well suited to an optional decorated-boat ride.

Then you will be escorted and dropped off at your hotel. Enjoy a leisurely and free time for the rest of the day. 

Nanjing City View

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Nanjing
 

Begin the day at Zijin Mountain (Purple Mountain), a 31-square-kilometer mountain area with more than 200 attractions, among them the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty.

Visit the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, located on the south slope of Zijin Mountain. It is the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of the great democratic revolution, all made of white granite and reinforced concrete, covered with blue glass tiles. It is known as “the first mausoleum in the history of modern Chinese architecture”.
 

Then move to Meiling Palace. Its official name is “the official residence of the chairman of the national government”, and it has the reputation of “the first villa in the Far East”.

Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum

Walk along the sacred Road to Xiaoling Mausoleum of Ming Dynasty, which is located near the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. As an honorable UNESCO World Heritage Site, Xiao Ling magnificent value of architecture and royal mausoleum culture.
 

Visit Linggu Temple, founded in 514 as Kaishan Temple and later renamed Linggu Zen Temple by Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang, who called it the First Zen Forest under Heaven. It was one of the Ming Dynasty's three major Buddhist temples. The Xuanzang Memorial Hall preserves a parietal-bone relic of the monk in a small golden pagoda, displayed only during special exhibitions. Climb Linggu Tower for views across the surrounding area.

Qinhuai River

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Nanjing
 

After breakfast, travel to Niushoushan Forest Park and take a sightseeing bus to Usnisa Palace. This modern nine-storey structure houses what the site describes as the world's only parietal relic of Buddha. Continue to Foding Temple and Foding Pagoda, then walk through the park.

In the afternoon, take an educational visit to Nanjing Museum, one of the three major museums in China and the earliest museum established in China, consisting of a history hall, art hall, a special exhibition hall, a digital museum, a Republic of China museum and an intangible cultural heritage museum. Then have a leisure walk at the Gate of China and visit the Ancient City Wall, which is the world's longest, largest, and best-preserved ancient castle wall. 

Niushou Mountain

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Suzhou
 

After breakfast and check-out, take a high-speed train to Wuxi, a central city in the Yangtze River Delta. Visit the Lingshan Giant Buddha on the northern shore of Taihu Lake, a Buddhist landmark named for Small Lingshan by the Tang monk Xuanzang and set between three hills and the water.

Continue to Turtle Head Isle Park, a peninsula on the northern shore of Taihu Lake. Take a relaxed boat trip across one of China's five largest freshwater lakes.

Then drive to Suzhou for overnight.

Lingshan Giant Buddha & Turtle Head Isle Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Suzhou
 

Visit Lingering Garden, one of China's four renowned gardens, followed by Tiger Hill, a Suzhou landmark with a history exceeding 2,500 years. Continue to Panmen Gate, the country's only surviving combined water-and-land city gate.

Explore Suzhou Museum, including the newer building designed by architect I. M. Pei. Then walk along The Pingjiang Road, an 800-year-old canal street of stone bridges, white-walled houses, black-tiled roofs and everyday neighborhood life.

Panmen Gate

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Shanghai
 

Travel to Tongli Water Town and take a local boat along its waterways for a view of the quiet streets and traditional water-town life of southern China.

Then continue to drive to Shanghai(about 1.5 hours driving), the magical metropolis of China.

Tongli Water Town

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: In Shanghai
 

Start at People's Square and explore ancient Chinese art in the Shanghai Museum. Next, walk along Wukang Road, a 1.17 km street where European-style houses record different periods of the city's development.

Take the elevator to the observation deck of the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) for broad city views. Continue to The Bund , where 52 revival-style waterfront buildings face the Huangpu River and the modern skyline across the water.

Enjoy a leisurely shopping time on your own in Nanjing Road, which enjoys the reputation as China No.1 commercial center. It was the earliest commercial street in Shanghai since the city opened to the outside world.

Shanghai City View and the Bund

Meals: Breakfast
 

Enjoy free time until your airport transfer for the homeward flight.

Service Ends