Tea Ceremony at the Dragon Well Tea Plantation

Grown for over 1000 years in the hills above Hangzhou, Longjing tea is a favorite of former emperors and current visiting dignitaries. You’ll experience this tea from the ground up in 2 hours, wandering rows of fragrant tea trees, visiting the spring purported to supply the best water, and stopping by the home of a farmer who spends his days tending the rows. Finally, after this lesson in terroir, you’ll taste – a light sweetness with a hint of chestnuts that lingers on the tongue.

Yongfu Temple

Yongfu Temple, a stone’s throw from the Lingyin’s reclining Buddha, is one of the most exquisite examples of Zen Buddhist architecture in China. Notice the way that the building blends into its environment, the surface of the koi ponds dappled with early afternoon light. In this world where nature crosses paths with spirituality and in a temple whose name means ‘eternal bliss,’ it’s easy to imagine a life walking the path to enlightenment. Linger a little longer to enjoy the blissful lack of tourists and intoxicating scent of incense floating in the breeze.

Lingyin Temple

Lingyin Temple, or ‘Temple of the Soul’s Retreat,’ takes its name from the peaceful copses of trees that surround it and the gentle sounds of the breeze weaving through the leaves. A testament to its name, Hangzhou’s most famous Buddhist temple has been rebuilt 16 times in the millennia since first being constructed in 326 AD, and is now one of China’s most frequented pilgrimages for spiritual seekers and travelers alike.

Ride Across West Lake

Relax to the sounds of rippling water on your boat ride across the West Lake. You’ll discover the landscape that inspired some of history’s most enduring minds and artistic eyes, for ‘above there is heaven, below there is Hangzhou.’ From the lake’s shores and waters, you’ll take in views of tea-covered hillsides and Hangzhou’s city center, of gently arched bridges and sloping temple gardens. Keep an eye out – you’ll pass the scene on the back of your 1RMB notes along the way.

Next Stop: Suzhou

Suzhou is an ancient city of graceful canals, old residences and rich cultural heritage. Built in 514 BCE, Suzhou’s wealth, founded on trade, benefited sophisticated merchants and educated literati who supported the arts and commissioned private gardens that are preserved today. A visit to Suzhou provides a look into one of China’s most historical old cities. Similar to the ancient hutongs (alleyways) in Beijing, Suzhou’s old courtyard homes are a world away from the skyscrapers of nearby Shanghai, and a reminder of China’s past.

Drive to Suzhou

After a two and a half hour drive through small Chinese towns and suburbs, you arrive in Suzhou. This ancient city’s canals were built through trade, its whitewashed buildings home to thriving intellectual and merchant classes. The quiet paths and serene pools of the city’s gardens date back to men of those times and stand today, alongside the city’s many canals, as a testament to the grandeur and serenity of epochs gone by.

Zhuozheng: Humble Administrator’s Garden

The largest and most classically beautiful of Suzhou’s many gardens, Zhuozheng was the passion project of one proud 16th-century Suzhou son. After resigning from a career as an imperial historian, Wang Xianchen returned to Suzhou and started construction on his private mansion, which we know today as Zhuozheng, or ‘The Humble Administrator’s Garden.’ In spite of its name, the sprawling grounds are more impressive than simple, with a collection of water features, bridges, bamboo groves, and lotus-filled ponds. With its level of renown, be prepared for its fair share of crowds.

Master of the Nets Garden

Though it barely covers half a hectare (just over 1 acre), the Master of the Nets Garden is an exquisite example of how Suzhou’s gardens work ingeniously within the space they’re given to create the illusion of size. Though, for some, this garden may be more familiar than it first appears. In fact, the Master of the Nets Garden was duplicated bloom-for-bloom at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City as a representative of what a classical Chinese garden should be.

Suzhou Museum

Though he may be most well-known for the pyramids outside the Louvre, architect I.M. Pei ended his career with the Suzhou Museum. The building is a striking, modernist rendition of the traditional courtyard home, housing artifacts from Suzhou’s Neolithic and Bronze Age inhabitants as well as cultural treasures from more recent millennia.

Suzhou Grand Canal

Watch modern and classic Suzhou slowly meld together as you cruise along Suzhou’s Grand Canal. The longest and oldest canal in the world, the full length of the Grand Canal stretches from Beijing to Hangzhou. In Suzhou, one end of the canal sees high-rises sprout out of the ground, while the other end shows time preserved in a collection of antique buildings. Like the watery arteries of Venice, there is no better way to explore the city than by boat.

Your Journey Ends

Your adventure through Hangzhou and Suzhou is complete. Continue on to the next part in your journey or transfer back to Shanghai for your flight home.