Skyscrapers & Mountaintops

Land in Shanghai on 6/27/2024

When you land in Shanghai, after you’ve made your way through Customs & Immigration and retrieved your bags, our local Heritage Tour guides will be ready and waiting for you in the terminal!

Depending on travel group size, your party may be picked up with several other parties, but once all have arrived safely, we will hop on our private vehicle to make our way to the hotel.

Tonight, celebrate your arrival in China and start getting to know your guide and fellow travelers! Try not to celebrate too late though…jetlag can be mean.

Hotel: Shanghai Hotel

Meals not included today

     

Meals included: breakfast, lunch

After checking out of Shanghai, we will be driving 1.5 hours to Suzhou, a city of romance and singular beauty. Historically synonymous with high culture and elegance, some have called Suzhou the “Venice of the East”. Amongst its many accolades, Suzhou, like Shanghai and Hangzhou, is also one of China’s wealthiest cities. We’ll be focusing more on its artistic and natural beauties, but be sure to take in the breathtaking metropolitan cityscapes along the way as well!

Suzhou Museum

A casual stroll through Suzhou Museum is not only a chance to understand the collective history of the area, but also (perhaps more emphatically) an important photo opportunity. The architecture of the museum is a striking blend of traditional and modern Chinese design, inspired by Suzhou landscapes, dreamt up and presented by none other than I. M. Pei, the famed architect who brought us the Louvre Pyramid and the National Gallery of Art!

Qi Li Shan Tang Ancient Street

After lunch, we’ll make our way to Qi Li Shan Tang street, said to be the first ancient street of China, dating back to the Tang dynasty. The canal and street are filled with restaurants, cafes, and shops, all housed in ancient Suzhou architecture. If you make your way towards the north end of the canal, you’ll get a lovely peek into how people traditionally live along Suzhou’s famed canals.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Zhuozheng Garden

We bragged about Yu Garden, but Zhuozheng Garden is in a class of its own. It is one the Four Famous Gardens of Suzhou, proudly known as the largest and most accurate representation of classical Suzhou garden landscapes.

After lunch together, we’ll make our way to the beautiful, ancient water town of Wuzhen (~1.5 hr drive).

Wuzhen

Built more than 1,300 years ago, the picturesque waterways and stone buildings of Wuzhen feel frozen in time and are renowned for their poetic and artistic history. Like all of our stops along this journey, you’re definitely going to want your camera ready for this.

We’ll be staying in Wuzhen tonight, so take your time to explore this beautiful town!

Meals included: breakfast, lunch

From Wuzhen, we’ll drive to Hangzhou in the morning (~1.5 hrs).

Hangzhou is one of China’s most popular getaways thanks to its picturesque West Lake vistas. More than that, Hangzhou’s place in world history is set in stone – or shall we say embroidered in silk? Hangzhou was the easternmost source point on the southern Silk Route, which operated from the 2nd Century BCE through the 15th Century CE (you could say the Silk Road continues to operate to this day, through modern trade routes). We would also be remiss to forget Hangzhou’s immense commercial power. Home to tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, Hangzhou remains one of the world’s top centers for trade.

*Bonus: If you’re lucky enough to catch them blooming, Hangzhou will likely be one of the best smelling cities you’ll ever visit, with its famous sweet osmanthus trees in bloom in the early summer and early fall. There are always many osmanthus-flavored treats throughout the city so be sure to ask your tour guide to point them out!

West Lake

   

The very definition of classical beauty in China, West Lake is utterly mesmerising. Despite the crowds, it’s hard not to breath a sigh of delight at the idyll of leisurely charm that is West Lake. With its pagoda-topped hills, languorous boats, and lotus-lined waters, it’s easy to understand why so many flock to the park no matter the season.

In an effort to escape the crowded walkways, we’ll get to enjoy the beautiful visuals of West Lake by boat before checking into our hotel for the night!

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Meals included: breakfast, lunch

Bullet Train to Huangshan City 

We’re nearly there! We’re taking a bullet train to Huangshan City (~1.5 hrs)!

Hongcun Village

Before we reach Huangshan City, we’ll first stop by Hangcun Village, one of the most representative Hui-style residential villages in the province! Hui-style villages are known as “Chinese paintings” as they are what most villages in Chinese brush paintings are modeled after, with their black roofs and idyllic landscapes. We’ll spend some time taking in the dream-like views before reaching our hotel for the evening. 

A low-key day of travel. We’ll check into our hotel in Huangshan City and get some good rest before our mountain climb!

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)

The heart of this tour, we’ve finally reached Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)! This utterly mystical mountain has been one of the most famous mountains in China since the ancient times. Strange pines, painterly rock formations, seas of clouds, and steaming hot springs are together known as the “Four Wonders” of Huangshan. If we’re lucky, we’ll experience all four!

Huangshan is massive and will take multiple days to really appreciate. This is day 1 of 2!

Thankfully, we’ll be staying overnight on Huangshan! You know what that means? We’ll get to catch both sunset AND sunrise! Set your alarms – you won’t want to miss them.

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 2 of Huangshan

Day 2 of 2 at Huangshan! There is so much to see and explore on this beautiful mountain. We’ll tour its most famous vistas, but you’ll have time to climb and adventure at your own pace. 

Take advantage of this incredible day! There are few who get the opportunity to take in all of Yellow Mountain’s beauty. We still dream of the first time we ever navigated its strange cliffs.

*Take it easy and wear quality hiking boots. Although there are stairs carved into the cliffs for easier access, the stone ground can be slippery in well-traveled areas. 

Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Final Full Day in China

Coming down from our breathtaking mountain escape, we’re exchanging land for water today.

The Xin’an River cruise is a peaceful float through the stony landscape to give us the best view of the green Huangshan Mountain Range, dotted with Hui-style villages on both sides of the river.

Nothing like a river cruise to make you reconsider becoming a painter or poet. Bring a pen and paper. Maybe even a brush!

We’re checking into Huangshan City for our last night together. 

Meals included: breakfast, lunch

Departure Day

Time to go

An early morning for us. We will take our final bullet train from Huangshan City, Anhui back to Shanghai. (3-hour ride east back through some of our favorite landscapes)

*Important Note*
Our trip fee covers departing from Anhui to Shanghai. However, if your party needs to fly to a different departure city (Guangzhou or Beijing, for instance), or you are headed to another province for an Orphanage City Tour, we will make appropriate arrangements for you and the ticket fee difference will be conveyed upon booking.