4-Day Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanxun Water Town Culture Tour

Your private guide will be ready to meet and greet you at airport arrivals. A comfortable private car (non-smoking) with an experienced driver will transfer you directly to the downtown area.

Start your journey with the iconic Bund. Follow your local guide into historical buildings, touch the old items, and find some clues to Shanghai's colonial past and development history.

You will have a chance to try shengjian (pan-fried buns) in an unassuming Michelin-starred restaurant, which the tourist crowds never find.

Get a unique "ticket" from your guide, board a public ferry with the locals, and cross the Huangpu River to the Pudong area — the financial engine of Shanghai.

Take the fastest elevator in the world up Shanghai Tower. There you will be able to stand at the top of Shanghai.

In the morning, visit Yu Garden, which was built in the 16th century. It is like a peaceful oasis, hidden in the bustling metropolis. When walking in the garden, you will learn the meanings of its design and decoration.

Then, follow Shanghai's timeline to the 19th century for the former French Concession. A good proportion of Shanghai's colonial architecture has been carefully preserved there, and buildings even sport heritage plaques giving details of their history.

After lunch, take the bullet train to Hangzhou. Your Hangzhou local guide will meet you at Hangzhou East Train Station.

When you step off the train in Hangzhou, you will enter a smart city — AI-controlled traffic system, world-leading payment methods, new-era retail stores… Follow your guide to explore a new type of supermarket and find out how it can deliver goods into customers' hands in 30 minutes.

Stroll along the beautiful shores of West Lake, then take to the water in a traditional rowing boat, listening to fascinating stories behind the lake’s iconic sights.

Continue into the refined world of Song-era China, from a thousand-year-old temple to the lush Longjing tea gardens. Wander through tranquil landscapes before slowing down with a tea master to whisk Song-style tea and craft fragrant incense seals—two elegant traditions once cherished by Chinese scholars.

Later, step into a century-old traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy, where you’ll discover an array of medicinal herbs and watch TCM pharmacists prepare prescriptions. End with a cup of soothing herbal tea.

After breakfast at your hotel, prepare to interact with Chinese culture and have a relaxing boat ride in Nanxun Water Town!

Nanxun Water Town is the most original and unique of such towns. It is full of life and culture, and less commercial than other water towns.

Take a rowing boat to visit the former residence of Zhang Shiming, a super-rich man of the late Qing Dynasty (1644–1912).

There will be a wedding performance on the water, showing you how a traditional wedding is conducted in the water town. If you like, you can take part and play the bride/groom!

After the dreamy experiences in Nanxun Water Town, we'll drive you to the airport (or a train station) and wave goodbye.