Shanghai Weekend Tour to Yangzhou, No Shopping

This morning, please get to the Shanghai Railway Station to take a train from Shanghai to Yangzhou. Train tickets will be booked for you in advance and you only need to show your passport when boarding. Your private English-speaking guide will meet you at the railway station. Head to Slender West Lake with an air-conditioned non-smoking vehicle.

To most travelers around the world, Slender West Lake is a must while visiting Yangzhou. The whole scenic area is a large lakeside garden.

Shaped by canals, the lake is long and narrow like a slender girl, hence the name. You can roam along the lake to enjoy the peaceful lake view as well as lush plants and brightly-colored blossoms. It is particularly beautiful in early spring when peach blossoms are in full bloom. It is also a good idea to sit inside the pavilions while admiring ancient calligraphy works. At the center of the lake rests Yangzhou's most famous landmark, the Wuting Bridge.

Continue our visit to Yangzhou China Grand Canal Museum. The Grand Canal of China is the oldest, longest and largest man-made canal in the world. Displaying the history, culture and ecology environment of the Grand Canal, the Museum has attracted more and more visitors. It is known as the "encyclopedia" of China's Grand Canal. Have a lunch break at Dongguan Street, a quaint pedestrian street brimmed with time-honored brands of snacks, art studios to explore for jewelry and Xie Fuchun cosmetics (for your information, Xie Fuchun is the oldest local cosmetics brand dating back over 190 years ago!) and so on. The street has been preserved as the most representative ancient street in Yangzhou, charming for its historical charm and cultural heritage. You can stroll around by yourself.

► Food Recommendations:
Dongguan Street offering an assortment of street food and local dishes is a destination for food explorers. There are many snacks worth a taste, and we strongly suggest you include Jianhu Lotus Starch Balls into your list. This delicacy represents the snacks of Jianhu town and boasts over 200 years of history. Unlike the traditional version Glutinous Rice Balls, Lotus Starch Balls are ingeniously made with lotus root starch wrapping a delightful mixture, of sugar and lard combined with ground walnuts, peanuts and more. It can be enjoyed as seasonal snacks or as exquisite dishes for banquets. They are characterized by a smooth, elastic outer layer with a deep coffee color, and a bite into it will reveal the sweet and refreshing inside. The entire flavor is enhanced by the soup, which would leave a rich osmanthus fragrance in your mouth.

Our last stop today will be Ge Garden. This garden is shaded under lush bamboo woods. The bamboo leave there looks like a Chinese character ‘个’ which reads as 'Ge', so hence the name. Compared with other gardens, the essence of Ge Garden relies on the four grotesque rockeries representing the scenery of the four seasons together with the surrounding plants and water. The Garden was a private house of a wealthy salt merchant in the Qing Dynasty. Being well preserved, the Garden is tranquil and peaceful and it shows you the atmosphere of hundreds of years ago.

At the end of this Yangzhou day tour from Shanghai, your guide and driver will escort you to the railway station for a train back to Shanghai. Wish you a pleasant trip.