Family Fun in Shanghai: Skylines & Water Town

After breakfast, your private guide and the driver will wait for you at your hotel lobby. This morning, kick off your exploration at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. Adjacent to People's Square, this museum presents the development of Shanghai from a 19th-century small fishing village to a global metropolis nowadays. There are many meticulously crafted city models, vividly showcasing the layout of different districts. Also, children can see Shanghai’s tomorrow in digital ways, and feed their curiosity with a tablet, by which they can interact with the city models in VR, such as switching the views between day and night, turning the original wood-colored model into a colorful one, and some even have firework shows on the screen.
► Visit Shanghai Museum instead when the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall closes on Wednesday.Next, head to the 400-year-old Yu Garden, a classic garden hidden in the bustling old town. Marvel at mysterious rock formations, looming over the exquisite pavilions with upturned eaves, cross the nine-turn bridge over the koi carp-filled ponds, go under the decorated archways, and appreciate the imposing white walls topped with flying black dragons. Then, browse the lively Yuyuan Bazaar outside the garden, where rows of traditional buildings and throngs of tourists abound. Gastronomy is the name of the game here, and authentic local snacks worth to try include crab shell pastries, red-bean sticky rice cake, soup dumplings, and scallion oil noodles. 

Afterward, meander along the city’s most iconic pedestrian street, Nanjing Road, witnessing the city’s prosperous businesses and hitting the world’s largest Huawei flagship store to experience the leading Chinese technology. You can play with the latest flagship phones and try AI-driven smart home ecosystems. Then, we’ll make our way to the opposite bank of the Huangpu River, by riding a train across the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel in just 5 minutes, definitely an unmissable experience appeal to your kids. The tunnel utilizes lasers and dynamic LED landscapes to create themed scenes, creating a magical "time tunnel," which simulates the fantastical visual effects of traveling through the deep sea, the universe, and the earth's strata.

It’s time to enjoy the Shanghai panorama that unfurls from atop the Shanghai Tower, the world’s third-tallest building. We’ll ascend the 118th-floor observation deck at 546 meters (1,791 ft.) high for the breathtaking 360° unobstructed city views. What’s more, we’ve included a special visit for you to see the engineering marvel, the 1000-ton eddy current pendulum tuned mass damper called Shanghai Eye, located on the 126th-floor. It can effectively reduce the 632-meter-high (2,073-foot) building's upper-level swinging against wind gusts. An artistic light and shadow show can also be expected while visiting.After that, let’s descend and appreciate the 19th-century colonial architecture along the 1.5-km-long (0.9-mi) Bund and learn about the background stories behind those impressive buildings. At dusk, your guide will escort you and your family to board a 1-hour Huangpu River night cruise, where you can enjoy a hearty buffet dinner while soaking up the gorgeous night views: the Oriental Pearl Tower's lights flickering like a heartbeat in the distance, the warm yellow lights of the Bund’s colonial buildings on the north bank, the flowing light curtain wall of the BFC on the south bank, and the blue light strip of the Shanghai World Financial Center directly ahead – all shatter into millions of floating stars on the river. Finish the cruise, and the guide will escort you back to your hotel. If you wish, you can linger over the Bund night views on your own and return by taxi.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, dinner
Accommodation: Hengshan Moller Villa Hotel (4 stars)

After breakfast, your guide and the driver will pick you up at your hotel, and you’ll hop in the car for a 2-hour ride to a typical water town in southern China. This day is devoted to exploring the No. 1 water town in China - Zhouzhuang. Strolling through Zhouzhuang is like stepping into a traditional Chinese ink painting: this 900-year-old ancient town, crisscrossed by a grid of waterways, holds fourteen stone bridges that connect its soul. In the morning mist, rowing boats glide across the jade-green waters, the sound of washing clothes echoes on the cobblestone streets, and the aroma of braised pig’s trotters wafts from riverside eateries. Follow your guide to enjoy the poetic beauty of the old town, a place of peace and tranquility, amid the sounds of flowing water and oars.Your guide will also accompany you to some unmissable highlights, such as the Shen’s Residence, home to the country’s richest man, Shen Wansan, in the 14th-century Ming Dynasty. He was exiled to the border area, and his wealth just vanished overnight because he had angered the emperor, as he had personally suggested to reward the army. Then, explore Zhang’s Residence, the oldest mansion in the town, where boats can navigate through the house, with the backyard a private pier. The iconic Twin Bridges, with one stone arch bridge and the other stone beam bridge, are linked together. They were once depicted in the oil painting ‘Memory of Hometown’, which was later selected as the United Nations first-day cover, becoming world-famous. Continue to the Milou Tower, aka Mystery Tower, which once served as a cultural hub for poets and revolutionaries in the 1920s. It is now a tea house serving types of tea drinks. Also, we’ll stop by the 900-year-old yellow-walled Chengxu Taoist Temple. Upon entering, you’ll be drawn to a statue of a god, with his eyes open wide in anger, while the plaque hanging above his head reads "Do you recognize me?", as if posing an interesting challenge to every visitor. If interested, you and your family can hop on the traditional rowboats draped in blue floral fabric at your own expense, which can accommodate at most 6 people per boat, costing CNY 220 (USD 32) per boat, lasting about 20 minutes. Finish the visit, your guide and the driver will escort you back to your Shanghai hotel. 

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Hengshan Moller Villa Hotel (4 stars)

This morning, your guide will accompany you to explore some cutting-edge technologies of China. The first stop is the Xintiandi neighborhood, which was renovated from the old stone-gate (Shikumen) architecture. It preserves the old Shanghai alleyway style while transforming into a high-end commercial space, including vibrant dining, shopping, and cultural scenes. Appreciate the age-old stone-gate houses, boasting granite-slab door frames, fitted with black lacquered wood doors. Then, your guide will lead you to a DJI flagship store, where you can watch or participate in drone flight demonstrations in a dedicated area of nearly 20 square meters by the window. Your children can also test-fly some kid-friendly drones like the DJI Neo under the guidance of the staff.

After that, conclude your 4 days Shanghai family tour at the Unitree Robotics Flagship Store. Here you’ll experience a "mechanical handshake" with humanoid robots, and children use the controller to make the robot dogs perform a series of actions such as standing, backflipping, and making a heart shape with their hands, easy to handle even for first-time users. If lucky, you may also witness humanoid robots performing martial arts and boxing skillfully! 

Finish the visit, and your guide will escort you to Shanghai airport or train station according to your schedule. Wish you a nice journey!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast► Extension Inspirations:
1. If you have enough time, consider adding 1-2 extra days in Shanghai to schedule a visit to Disneyland, take a local food cooking class, or watch the thrilling acrobatics show “ERA Intersection of Time”. If you want to explore more about Chinese high-techs, we can also tailor your experience to include a driverless-car ride or a drone-delivered coffee.
2. High-speed trains connect Shanghai to Suzhou or Hangzhou in just 30-50 minutes, making them ideal to combine in one trip. Beijing is also accessible within 2.5 hours by air or 5 hours by train. Feel free to contact your travel consultant to customize an itinerary!