Your guide will meet you at your Shanghai hotel at 8:30 AM. Following a quick orientation, you’ll board a comfortable private vehicle for the 1.5 – 2 hours transfer to Zhouzhuang.

Sit back, relax, and take in the changing scenery as you journey from the bustling metropolis to the serene water town.

Let’s start today’s tour with the Zhouzhuang Museum, the best place to get a first impression of the city. When it was built in 1912, the building that now houses the museum was the private residence of a rich man whose family name was Zhu.

The decoration and furniture in the museum reflect Zhu’s ideology and background. He abandoned his residence during the war, but fortunately, it was not destroyed. Now, in addition to the interior decoration and furniture, some precious photos, paintings, and old agricultural tools are also part of the museum’s collection.

The Mi Pavilion was the favorite place for local poets and writers to share their views on literature and life. You may want to compose a poem when you see the postcard-worthy view of the water town from the pavilion.

You can soak up the atmosphere of Zhouzhuang during the 1920s by walking past the tea houses, craft shops, iron shops, traditional Chinese medicine stores, and weavers’ houses on Zhenfeng Street.

After a short walk on Zhenfeng Street, you may feel a bit hungry. Your tour guide will help you find a local restaurant where you can try out the most authentic local food.

The Shide and Yongan Twin Bridges are connected by a short stone path, so local people call them the Twin Bridges. They look like two ancient keys, and local people believe they are the keys to success and pray for success as they pass by.

Then visit The Twin Houses, which belonged to Zhang and Shen, two rich merchants whose luxurious lives in the past are now reflected in the decorations and antiques in their two houses.

Shen Wansan (1330-1376 AD) was the richest merchant in China during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). It is said his fortune at the time would have been equivalent to 2,000 billion US dollars nowadays.

The statues and paintings in Shen’s Former Residence tell you the story of his personal life and business. He donated enormous sums of money to the government to build the Great Wall, which has become the most renowned tourist attraction in China today.

You will take a boat along the canal via which Shen Wansan entered and left Zhouzhuang, as far as the exit of the Zhouzhuang Water Town area.

After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Shanghai.