One Day Suzhou Sightseeing and Culture Tour

AM: At 09:00 our guide and driver will greet you in your hotel lobby by holding the board with your name. After hotel pickup we will drive to visit Suzhou Museum to learn about the past of the local area and appreciate some precious and delicate cultural relics. And some part of the museum was the former residence of Li Xiucheng, a chieftain of Taiping (a peasant armed force) in late Qing Dynasty. Afterward we will take a walk in the Shantang Street. It was the first business street in Suzhou. And  in some people’s mind, Shantang Street is the city’s card when talking about tourism. Then we will drive to visit Lingering Garden. It was originally built in the Ming Dynasty as a private garden by Xu Taishi, a retired officer from the central government. The garden consists of four parts: east part for architecture complex, middle part for garden, west part for artificial mountains, and north part for rurality.

Noon: Lunch at local restaurant.

PM: After visiting the garden you will take a boat and cruise along the Grand Canal to Tiger Hill. Though the hill is not large in scale and has an altitude of only 30+ meters, it is the highlight cultural and natural scenery in Suzhou.

Before dinner you will pay a visit to the Embroidery Institute to learn about the well known local art-form: Su Embroidery. You will meet lots of surprisingly exquisite embroidery artworks.

Evening: After dinner you will appreciate one more well known local art form: Qunqu Opera. It is one of the best known traditional operas in China and was selected as a oral and intangible heritage.

After the opera ends. You will be escorted back to hotel at around 20:30.