Yangzhou along Slender West Lake
Winding shores, gardens and bridges shape the visit to Slender West Lake, adding a walking-focused stop to the multi-city journey.
Jiangnan Explorer: 6-Day Tour
Price on request
Overview
This 6-day, 5-night route covers Nanjing, Yangzhou, Wuxi, Wuzhen, Hangzhou, Zhouzhuang, Suzhou and Shanghai. From Nanjing, the journey combines Yangzhou morning tea and Slender West Lake, Wuxi's Nianhuawan, Wuzhen West, Hangzhou's West Lake, Zhouzhuang and Suzhou's Lingering Garden and Hanshan Temple. It suits lovers of gardens, water-town evenings and local food, with frequent city changes and both daytime and evening sightseeing.
Highlights
Wuzhen West after dusk
Visit Wuzhen's West Scenic Zone into the evening, when riverside lights and stone bridges add depth to the water-town scenery.
Suzhou through gardens and temples
The courtyards of Lingering Garden and the atmosphere of Hanshan Temple offer two complementary perspectives on Suzhou.
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1Arrive in Nanjing / Arrival transfer and free time
Make your own way to Nanjing from elsewhere in China or abroad. Arrival transfers operate from 08:00 to 23:00 from Nanjing Lukou Airport, Nanjing South Station and Nanjing Station. Transfer to the hotel and enjoy free time. Combined pickups may involve waits of up to about two hours. Outside the service hours, travel to the hotel independently or pay for a transfer.
Day 2Confucius Temple and Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum / Continue to Yangzhou or Zhenjiang
After breakfast, enjoy morning free time, then meet to visit the Confucius Temple–Qinhuai River area and Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum. Continue to Yangzhou or Zhenjiang for the night. If the mausoleum cannot be reserved, the group visits Yuhuatai or another site instead; during closures, visit only the open areas. The shuttle costs extra. Lunch and dinner are at your own expense.
Stops: Confucius Temple–Qinhuai River scenic area · Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum
Day 3Yangzhou morning tea, Slender West Lake, Nianhuawan and Wuzhen West
Start with Yangzhou-style morning tea, visit Slender West Lake and continue to Wuxi. After lunch, explore Nianhuawan with a complimentary mini-train ride, replaced by Zen-style sutra copying if unavailable. Continue to Wuzhen West for daytime and evening sightseeing, including a lantern-lit bridge walk. Stay in the Wuzhen area, or an equivalent hotel in Tongxiang if full. Lunch and dinner are included today.
Stops: Slender West Lake · Nianhuawan · Wuzhen West and lantern-lit evening walk
Day 4West Lake and Zhouzhuang by night / Continue to Suzhou
After breakfast, travel to Hangzhou and walk around West Lake, Su Causeway and Viewing Fish at Flower Harbour. West Lake cruises, Songcheng and the Romance of the Song Dynasty show are optional paid activities. Public-bus transfers during traffic restrictions cost extra. After lunch, continue to Zhouzhuang for evening sightseeing; the entry shuttle costs extra. Stay in a Hilton-branded hotel in Suzhou, or a hotel with a five-diamond rating if rooms are full or reserved for conferences. Dinner is at your own expense.
Stops: West Lake walk · Zhouzhuang
Day 5Lingering Garden and Hanshan Temple / Continue to Shanghai
After breakfast, visit Lingering Garden and Hanshan Temple in Suzhou, then drive to your Shanghai hotel. Lunch is included; dinner is at your own expense. The Suzhou Grand Canal cruise with Pingtan and refreshments, and Shanghai's Jin Mao Tower/Huangpu River cruise package, are optional paid activities.
Stops: Lingering Garden · Hanshan Temple
Day 6The Bund and Nanjing Road / Shanghai departure transfer
After breakfast, visit the Bund and enjoy free time on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, then transfer together to a Shanghai railway station or airport. Departure transfers include an early hotel service, a noon service and one at about 15:00. Guests leaving before noon transfer directly from the hotel and do not join the Nanjing Road activity.
Stops: The Bund · Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street
Included and not included
Included
- Five nights. Night 4 in Suzhou uses a Hilton-branded hotel, or one with a five-diamond rating if full or reserved for conferences. An equivalent Tongxiang hotel substitutes if Wuzhen is full.
- Meals: Day 2 breakfast; Day 3 breakfast, lunch and dinner; Days 4 and 5 breakfast and lunch; Day 6 breakfast.
- Local air-conditioned group-tour vehicle, one seat per person. Pickup/drop-off points, departure times and attraction transport follow the scope specified each day; vehicle use during free time is excluded.
- Local Chinese-speaking guide; transfers and free time do not include guide service.
- Main admission to the sights explicitly included each day. Reservation failures, closures and other conditional changes are described in the corresponding daily plan.
Not included
- Guests arrange their own flights, trains and other transport to and from the destination city.
- Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum and Zhouzhuang entry shuttles, and Hangzhou traffic-restriction transfers, are at your own expense. West Lake cruises, Suzhou Grand Canal cruises with Pingtan, the Romance of the Song Dynasty show and Shanghai tower-viewing/Huangpu River cruise packages are optional paid activities.
- Single-room supplements, meals not listed as included, and personal spending such as shopping, hotel laundry and drinks.
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