1 Day Suzhou Garden and Water Town Tour

At 8:30am, your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel in Suzhou and visit Humble Administration Garden and Panmen Gate in the morning.Humble Administrator's Garden was built in Ming Dynasty (early 16th century), dating back more than 500 years of history, is the representative works of classical gardens south of the Yangtze River. You will see hill house, Wave Corridor, kinds of bridges and pavilions in the garden. The best time to visit is in the Spring and Summer, when the garden becomes the site of several floral exhibitions. The Humble Administrator's Garden holds a grand “Azalea Festival” every spring, There are hundreds of rare azaleas on display during these period (From mid-March to early May every year), is full of the joy of spring, colorful and enchanting everywhere. Lotus Flower Festival from early June to mid - October, during the festival, the Humble Administrator's Garden becomes the best place for tourists to admire the lotus with the shade on the river bank and bursts of cool breezes. if you miss the Azalea or Lotus, you may have a chance to see chrysanthemum show in Autumn, from early September to mid- October.Panmen Gate:  it's the oldest city gate of Suzhou and the only existing water and land gate in China. The gate is located on the south-west corner of the Main Canal Suzhou. Originally built during the Warring States Period in the state of Wu, historians estimate it to be around 2,500 years old. You'll enjoy the enchanting view of the whole old town of Suzhou. Lunch will be at a local restaurant or by your request in Suzhou city at your own cost Afternoon: Drive to Tongli, the best-preserved water township in Suzhou, rests on the east bank of an ancient canal, on the shore of Taihu Lake. Tongli is a famous ancient site of rivers and lakes. The town, built around five lakes, is in the shape of a rough circle. Transfer back to your hotel in the late afternoon. Tongli Water Village - Tongli has a similar history and natural scenery compared with Zhouzhuang, but is much less crowded. Tongli also has its own unique features which are worth exploring and experiencing. Tongli is divided into seven islands intersected by 15 canals. Because of the landscape, almost all of the buildings in the town are along the waterfront. In front of the buildings, small stairs leading to the canals were built, which are convenient for residents to wash clothes and for traveling around the town by boat.