Zhujiajiao Water Town with Shanghai

Tour Overview

This full-day starts by exploring the amazing ancient Qing dynasty water town of Zhujiajiao with its historic bridges, arches viewing classic homes nestling on 1000-year-old canals from a Gondola. Here you'll also sample local delicacies. Then head back to Shanghai to enjoy three iconic sites: Tianzifang with its intricate maze of cobbled streets, bars, and shikumen architecture buildings, East Nanjing Road, a pedestrian street known as the Champ Elysees of China, and the historic Jade Buddha Temple.

What You Can Expect

As this is a private tour, you can choose your desired starting point and time. For most travelers, this will be the lobby of your downtown Shanghai hotel at 8:30 am.

Relax on the 90-minute drive to the ancient water village of Zhujiajiao as you leave the metropolis and transition from urban to rural China. With centuries of history, Zhujiajiao is famous for its scenic bridges and charismatic alleyways as well as its local snacks and rice wine: it flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasty, and many of its weathered stone buildings date back to that era.

As you walk along the narrow streets, you'll visit traditional buildings, old shops, and unique food and handicraft stalls. You'll be amazed at the ancient architecture, including the 16th-century Fangsheng Bridge with its five arches, and watery vistas. Along the way, you'll sample local delicacies such as zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), zharou (square bamboo-wrapped steamed pork), unique alcohols from the region and other snacks.

Take to the river for a hand-poled gondola ride. It's the perfect way to experience how local residents traveled for hundreds of years and get an insight into the movement of people and goods that made this little town so prosperous. You can still see Zhujiajiao's inhabitants going about their business by the water.

You'll have lunch nearby water at a classic, time-honored restaurant. Your guide will explain the details of local cuisine as you enjoy an authentic flavor while enjoying the picturesque water view. Or you may like to have the most famous-Soup Dumplings back in the city, our guide will show you how to eat it perfectly.

After lunch, you'll travel back to Shanghai to take in some amazing cultural sites.

Your first stop will be a visit to the famous Jade Buddha temple to learn about the history and tradition of Buddhism in this 100's year-old serene temple with beautiful jade Buddha's.

You'll then visit the bustling Tianzifang arts and crafts enclave of the French Concession where you'll find a winding array of to boutique shops, bars and restaurants and many classic Shikumen-style buildings from the mid-19th century.

From here you'll go to East Nanjing Road, the main shopping street of Shanghai and is one of the world's busiest shopping streets. The street is cut off from cars and buses and made for pedestrians to stroll, browse and shop. You can find hundreds of shops and brands from all over the world as well as a wide range of food and restaurants. Great for shopping or just people watching.

You'll be back at your hotel (or your chosen downtown Shanghai destination) by 5:30pm, or eight hours after you began.