Day 1 Depart from Shanghai(1.5hr), Tongli Water Town

After breakfast, your private guide and driver will pick you up from the Shanghai hotel and drive you to the first water town - Tongli Water Town.

Located about 95km from Shanghai, Tongli Ancient Town is divided into 7 small islands by 15 interlacing rivers. Local residential buildings are lining up on both banks of rivers; stone bridges are arranged to connect all pathways; people are strolling leisurely along the stone alleys; all kinds of stores are decorated in old-fashioned styles; and the local snacks are constantly tempting your taste bud. You will find the views even more endearing on boat. Besides the waterways and featured architectures, you will also find some interesting gardens. One of these quite gardens is the Tuisi Garden, the only world cultural heritage in Tongli. We highly recommend you have a stroll inside the garden, you will be amazed.




Stay overnight at a local house of Tongli Water Town.






    

Day 2 Wuzhen Water Town (1hr)

After breakfast, you will set off to Wuzhen Water Town, one of the most reputable water towns in China. The single way journey is about 1.5 hours.

Dating back to 2000 years ago, Wuzhen still preserved the original landscape and layout of original water town. The whole town is connected by bridges with buildings rising up on both sides. Many old houses are still inhabited with residents and the wooden and the stone carves on the pillars, beams, doors and windows are still clear. You will experience a typical southern Chinese town composed of bridges, waterways and exquisite architectures. With the development of modern lightning, Wuzhen looks particularly charming in the evening. There are also many other sights like the Tang Dynasty ginkgo tree, Double Bridges, Xiuzhen Temple and best of all the Xishan Old Street, one of the best-preserved architecture complexes from Ming and Qing Dynasties. Lastly, Wuzhen is also the hometown of Mao Dun, a great master of Chinese literature. You will find the place where he used to attend school.




In terms of ways to visit this elegant small water town, we highly recommend you take a small boat to experience the true local life. After the tour, you have a overnight at a local hotel of Wuzhen old town.






    

Day 3 (30min) Nanxun, (1.5hr)Back to Shanghai

After breakfast, your guide and driver will pick you up and lead you to the last destination of Nanxun Water Town.

Situated at the border of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Nanxun Old Town is a typical southern water town with many architectures in both oriental and western styles. It’s also praised as the “Town of Culture” and “Hometown of Literature” as there were many masters of literature from here, like Zhang Jingjiang, Zhang Shiming and the famous poet and essayist Xu Chi. Meanwhile, Nanxun used to be a famous silk town in Ming and Qing Dynasties, attracting a lot of wealthy people to reside in. Those rich people also built many of the buildings along the waterway, which bear the marks of the western ideology. Therefore, Nanxun Old Town is also the only small town with buildings in both western and eastern styles in China.

The whole town is not very big, a few hours will allow you to cover all places. You can also take the boat. There are nine sights, most of them used to be the private gardens or houses. We suggest you start from Small Lotus Mansion where you will see a charming garden with a beautiful lotus pool and plenty of special plants. Beside the mansion is the Jiayetang Library where there are many personally collected books. Afterwards, you will proceed to Zhang Shiming’s Residence, Former Residence of Liu Ansheng, Guanghui Palace, and Silk Hall to further admire the classic buildings and the local silk industry.

Lastly, you will head for the Baijian Tower and Zhang Jingjiang Former Residence. You will experience the local people’s life here. On the river, there are interesting shows of cormorants preying birds. The local workshops on the streets are selling local pastries. There are also many restaurants waiting for you to explore.




After the Nanxun exploration, your water town trip draws a conclusion. You will be transferred back to your Shanghai hotel.