A traditional wooden boat beneath leafy trees on a canal in Tongli water town.

Jiangnan Heritage in Eight Days

Imperial Nanjing, Suzhou gardens and Yangzhou canal life: eight travel days, including international travel, with six days in China and five hotel nights.

Customize This Journey

Duration: 8 days
Intensity: Moderate
Location: Nanjing, Suzhou, Yangzhou
Best suited to: First-time visitors, Culture-curious travelers, Private groups
Private journey: Private journey

Highlights

Follow Nanjing’s history from Ming Xiaoling and the city wall to the Porcelain Tower heritage site and contemporary art.
See the region from the water on the Yangtze, the Qinhuai River and Suzhou’s canals.
Spend a night in Tongli and discover the intimate design of the Retreat and Reflection Garden.
Pair Suzhou Museum with the Humble Administrator’s Garden and the waterside lanes of Pingjiang.
Explore Yangzhou’s lakeside gardens, canal stories and living craft traditions.

Journey outline

1
International travel
Begin your journey to Nanjing
Depart for Nanjing on your confirmed international flight. This first day is reserved for outward travel, ahead of six days exploring Jiangnan in China.
- Take your international flight to Nanjing according to the agreed flight schedule.
In flight, according to your confirmed schedule
2
Nanjing arrival
Ming tombs, old city lanes and a river after dark
Meet your guide at Nanjing airport and enter the wooded landscape of Ming Xiaoling. A hotel rest breaks up the day before Zhonghua Gate, Laomendong and an evening on the Qinhuai River.
- Arrive at Nanjing Lukou International Airport and meet your local guide and driver.
- Walk the ceremonial approach to Ming Xiaoling, with its stone guardians and imperial history.
- Pause for a regional lunch and time to rest at the hotel.
- Explore Zhonghua Gate and the lanes of Laomendong before dinner.
- Visit the Confucius Temple district and take an evening Qinhuai River cruise.
Nanjing
3
Nanjing
The Yangtze, Buddhist heritage and an artist’s city
A sightseeing cruise opens up the scale of the Yangtze and Nanjing’s riverfront. Back on land, the Porcelain Tower heritage site and Deji Art Museum offer contrasting ways to encounter the city’s past and its cultural life today.
- Take a Yangtze sightseeing cruise for views of the river, bridges and city waterfront.
- Visit the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing heritage park, also known as the Grand Bao’en Temple site.
- Explore Deji Art Museum, with the visit shaped around the exhibitions available on your dates.
- Enjoy regional meals and return to your Nanjing hotel.
Nanjing
4
Nanjing · Tongli
From Niushou Mountain to a water-town evening
Visit Niushou Mountain’s Buddhist cultural complex, where contemporary architecture meets a landscape of wooded slopes. After lunch, travel to Tongli for a waterside dinner and a planned evening visit to the Retreat and Reflection Garden.
- Explore the Niushou Mountain Cultural Tourism Zone and its Buddhist architecture.
- Pause for a vegetarian-style lunch before the road journey to Tongli.
- Settle into the water town and enjoy a local dinner.
- Visit the Retreat and Reflection Garden, or Tuisi Garden, in the evening when its night-opening programme is available.
Tongli, Suzhou
5
Suzhou
Garden rooms, museum architecture and canal life
Discover Suzhou through its art, gardens and waterways. The day links Suzhou Museum with the Humble Administrator’s Garden, then leaves time for Pingjiang’s canal-side lanes and an evening boat ride.
- Visit Suzhou Museum’s main site; the West Campus is the planned alternative if a main-site reservation cannot be secured.
- Explore the Humble Administrator’s Garden, where pools, pavilions and planted views unfold along the paths.
- Walk through the Pingjiang Historic District and pause beside its narrow canals.
- Enjoy Suzhou-style cooking and take a canal cruise before returning to the hotel.
Suzhou
6
Suzhou · Yangzhou
Lakeside gardens and stories along the Grand Canal
Travel to Yangzhou, a city shaped by canal trade, garden culture and Huaiyang cooking. Slender West Lake and Geyuan Garden introduce its landscape traditions before Dongguan Street and a planned canal performance cruise after dark.
- Transfer from Suzhou to Yangzhou and stop for a Huaiyang-style lunch.
- Follow the lakeside paths, bridges and garden views at Slender West Lake.
- Visit Geyuan Garden, known for bamboo and rockeries that evoke the four seasons.
- Explore Dongguan Street and enjoy a regional dinner.
- Join the Grand Canal performance cruise, subject to its operating programme on your travel dates.
Yangzhou
7
Yangzhou · Nanjing airport
Canal wetlands and the work of local hands
Spend the final day in China at Sanwan’s canal-side wetlands and Yangzhou’s Heritage Treasures Museum. An arranged music or craft activity brings the region’s living traditions into focus before the transfer to Nanjing airport.
- Walk in the Sanwan Canal Scenic Area, where waterways and wetlands form a quieter urban landscape.
- Enjoy a final Huaiyang-style lunch in Yangzhou.
- Visit the Heritage Treasures Museum and join an arranged guqin music or pith-flower craft activity.
- Transfer to Nanjing Lukou International Airport, with time for a simple meal and departure formalities according to your confirmed flight.
8
Homeward travel
Complete the journey home
The eighth day is allocated to the homeward international journey. Your flight departure and arrival dates are confirmed separately for your place of origin.
- Continue your international journey home on the confirmed flight itinerary.

Pace and transport

A full cultural route with outdoor walking, several evenings out and road transfers between cities. The published eight days include international travel: six days are spent in China, with five hotel nights. Arrival-day rest is built into the plan; the exact sequence follows flight times and venue reservations.

Private vehicle, Walking, Boat

What can change

Tailor the departure city, travel dates, room arrangements and dining preferences when requesting a quotation. Museum time, walking distances and evening activities can be adjusted to the group. An English-speaking guide is proposed, and no compulsory shopping stops are planned.

Usually included

Five hotel nights, normally in twin-share rooms, with named properties and room categories confirmed in your quotation.
Private, air-conditioned road transport for the agreed route and Nanjing airport transfers; vehicle size follows the group.
English-speaking guide services as specified in the final quotation.
First-entry admission to the agreed attractions and the cruises, performances and cultural activities listed in the confirmed itinerary.
Hotel breakfasts and regional meals according to the final meal plan.
Travel accident insurance only where specified in the final quotation, subject to the applicable policy and eligibility terms.

Usually not included

International airfares and passport or visa expenses, unless expressly included in your quotation.
Single-room supplements, personal purchases and services outside the confirmed programme.
Optional activities, additional food or drinks, and other expenses not listed as included.
Additional costs caused by changes to flights, transport disruption or other circumstances outside the agreed arrangements.

Adaptation notes

Tell us about mobility needs before booking: gardens, old streets, city walls and boats may involve steps, uneven paving or boarding gaps. Museum reservations, night garden visits, cruises, performances and craft sessions depend on availability and weather; suitable alternatives are agreed when the itinerary is confirmed. Hotel names, meal arrangements and any insurance cover are specified in the final quotation.