Shanghai- Zhouzhuang Watertown
 One-Day Bus Tour

We will make the short drive to Zhouzhuang. It is thought by many to be the best waterside town in China. This ancient town has a history of more than 900 years old with many houses built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. With lakes on four sides, the beauty of Zhouzhuang is specially to be found along the waterside lanes and around a number of the stone bridges. A different vista at every turn can be found here. (1 hr of driving)

 You will have time to explore for yourself Zhouzhuang. Besides taking in the beautiful scenery of canals, there is much to see. You can see the Zhenfeng Bridge, which sits on the west mouth of the Zhongshi River, and connects the Zhenfeng Lane and Xiwan Street. It was built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and is well preserved today, Another highlight is the Fu’an Bridge, which is located at the east end of Zhongshi Street, crossing the Nanbeishi River and leading to Nanbeishi Street. The bridge was built in 1355, and later rebuilt by Shen Wansi, younger brother of Shen Wansan. There are towers on all four corners. (3 hrs)

We’ll meet up as a group to further do some sightseeing in Zhouzhuang. We’ll see Shen’s House, located to the southeast of Fu'an Bridge, on Nanshi Street. Shen Benren built it in 1742 during the Qing Dynasty. He was a descendant of Shen Wanshen: a wealthy man in southern China in the late Yuan (1206-1368) to early Ming Dynasties. The compound has seven courtyards, five archways and more than 100 rooms of different sizes. Covering an area of 2000 square meters, it was built along both sides of a 100-m-long axis. (30 min)

Then we will go to Zheng’s House, which is located to the south of the Twin Bridge on Beishi Street. It was built between 1436 and 1449 by the offspring of Xu Kui, the brother of Zhongshan King Xu Da. After it was sold to the Zhang family in the early Qing Dynasty, it became known as either Yuyan (Jade Swallow) Hall or Zhang's House. Covering more than 1800 square meters, the house has 6 courtyards and more than 70 rooms. The main courtyard has buildings facing east and west, with long and short windows. (30 min)

Next we’ll visit the Twin Bridges. Located to the northeast of the town are the twin Shide and Yong'an Bridges. They were built between 1573 and 1619. The area is crisscrossed by the Yinzi and Nanbei rivers. To serve these rivers, one bridge is built in a north-south direction and the other in an east-west direction. Each bridge has one square and one round opening that look like ancient keys, hence they are also known as the Key Bridges. (15 min)