Shanghai · Suzhou · Hangzhou · Huangshan. Four cities, four trains, and never a wasted day in an airport.
China's high-speed rail network is the best in the world, and this trip uses it the way the Chinese do — short hops of 25 minutes to an hour and a half, city centre to city centre, no airport queues, no baggage carousels.
The route links the country's most liveable cities with its most celebrated mountain: Shanghai's skyline, Suzhou's classical gardens, Hangzhou's tea hills and lake, and Huangshan, where the peaks rise out of a sea of cloud.
The Bund at dusk, Pudong's observation decks, Yu Garden and the Old Town, and a Huangpu River night cruise. Day two is Xintiandi, the French Concession's plane-tree streets, and a rooftop dinner.
Twenty-five minutes by train. The Humble Administrator's Garden and the Master of the Nets, then a boat through the canals and a visit to a silk workshop. Suzhou is small, beautiful and walkable — you'll wonder why it isn't on every itinerary.
An hour by rail. West Lake by boat, Lingyin Temple, and a morning in the Longjing tea terraces with a picker. Stay in a lakeside hotel and take the evening slowly.
The last train ride, then up into the Yellow Mountains. Overnight on the summit — the only way to be on the ridge for sunrise, when the peaks come out of the cloud in layers. Day nine descends by cable car and returns to Shanghai for your flight home.
Best time to travel: March–May and September–November. Huangshan's cloud seas are most likely in spring and late autumn.
Every included item is itemized in your itinerary before you pay anything. No hidden fees on arrival.
From $599 per person
From $629 per person
From $499 per person
The future on the Huangpu
Tea hills and a storybook lake
A sea of clouds at dawn
Emperors, hutongs and the Great Wall
Where China began
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