Suzhou and Zhouzhuang

Excellent tour. Excellent arrangements. Own private vehicle and excellent tour guide. Suzhou and its museum was wonderful and Zhouzhuang was like heaven. Excellent lunch. Highly recommended.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

The Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Day Trip from Shanghai provided an excellent opportunity to economically and efficiently explore some different parts of China. We chose this trip because we wanted to visit a silk factory, but the tour provided so much more of interest. The silk factory tour was most comprehensive. We also appreciated the fact that this trip transversed many different areas: cities, urban developments, rural countryside, canals, historic gardens and traditional houses. The guide was most informative and helpful. We were pleased with the flexibility that was available so that special interests could be accommodated. In summary, a most worth-while experience.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

guide was knowledgeable, the city of Zhouzhuang was definitely the highlight of this tour-- highly recommended- the food provided for lunch was OK but not particularly great.... it was nice to get out of the big city, though

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

Great guide. This day-trip is amazing. You see the silk factory and a nice museum and the Zhouzhuang Water village is AMAZING. This is a really great espace from busy Shanghai.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

Great escape from the hustle and bustle of Shanghai. Seeing Suzhou and Zhouzhuang is like being in a different world - completely different than China's big cities. The gardens in Suzhou are a must-see! I highly recommend this day trip to anyone wanting to catch a glimpse into the untouched China.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

Joe the guide made this tour a very pleasant day. He gave the clients a lot of information and was happy to answer questions. Friendly driver. Suzhou -enjoyed the Master of Net Garden. Highlight was the boat trip in Zhouzhuang Water Village.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

For a day-trip, this is about the correct pace. It takes over an hour to get from Shanghai to Suzhou. You get to see the lavish home of a typical Chinese merchant (from the past). The silk factory, which is privately-run, is better than state-run ones. Zhouzhuang water village is the highlight of the day. Joe, our guide for the day, is very professional and good at this job. This is worthwhile tour !

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

Worth the trip. Zhouzhuang Water Village is absolutely charming. Tour guide was excellent as well but the lunch was a really bad western buffet.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

I chose this tour because of the hotel pick-up and drop-off service. Frank the guide was very polite and responsible. I booked last minute and was late back at my hotel the night before but he made sure he reached me about the pick-up time. The tour was packed with highlights of Suzhou (small garden and silk factory) including a bonus visit to an Embroidery Center where we had an enjoyable lunch (not the buffet from older reviews). Frank also did a very thorough tour of Zhouzhuang after lunch. We visited 2 old residences and did a gondola ride. April was a great time to visit with beautiful blossoms with crowds, though not yet out of control. We did hit a bit of traffic in Shanghai but that's expected. Overall the tour was excellent and I felt safe and taken care of. Highly recommended.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

Zhouzhuang Water Village is a beautiful look into traditional China and a nice contrast from the busy and modern Shanghai. I can not recommend this day trip enough. Zhouzhuang is clearly on show for tourists, but I still found it authentic and a joy to wander through. If you do one day trip from Shanghai, make it to here. We also went to lovely traditional ancient house gardens in Suzhou which were peaceful, and our guide was great at explaining the history and way of life of centuries ago. There was also a stop at a silk factory in Suzhou which shows great behind the scenes workings of making silk. There is a chance to stock up on silk productsgifts for friends back home, but I didn't feel pressured to buy which was good. The day our tour group went there were only four of us was 40 degrees -- hot weather -- yet our guide Maggie was patient, and made sure we didn't miss anything, although we were keen to keep out of the sun. She was brilliant. Maggie was enthusiastic, friendly, and very flexible with our requests. She was great!

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

Was a great eye opener. Though Zhouzhuang Water Village was rather commercial, the entire atmosphere was great. Would love to have slightly more time to spend in Zhouzhang.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

I could have spent more time in Zhouzhuang Water Village. Maybe we saw all that there was to see but it was an interesting place for just hanging out.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

This was a very nice day. The tour was very interesting, especially the silk factory and Zhouzhuang. I had no problem with the timing of any of the stops except possibly about 15 minutes too long shopping at the silk factory outlet. Very enjoyable.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

Zhouzhuang is a 'must' but Suzhou was disappointing.Zhouzhuang is one of the most beautiful places i've been in China.Suzhou gardens were nothing special, the Yu garden in Shanghai is similar. The lunch was fabulous, and our guide and driver were really nice too.If you want to do something special outside of Shanghai choose a half-day tour to Zhouzhuang only...

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai

Great tour, the guide was very knowledgable and entertaining at the same time. Only suggestion I give is that maybe less time at Net Master Garden and more time at Zhouzhuang water village.

Doing what: Suzhou and Zhouzhuang Water Village Day Trip from Shanghai