 |
|
Route Five
Shanghai - Hangzhou - Suzhou - Nanjing - Shanghai
This trip covers a very small area of the country but it includes some
quintessential China. You'll see lot's of temples, typical Chinese landscapes
and historic gardens.
It includes a boat trip on the Grand Canal, which nowadays doesn't mean imperial
luxury, but lots of real, down-to-earth life in China. There are also special
tourist boats, but I consider that cheating...
The trip can be done in about 21 days, by train and boat, with no advance
bookings. If you have more time, there are some other places like Wuxi on the
Grand Canal and the Lake Taihu area to explore and you can easily spend some more
time in Suzhou and Hangzhou.
Here's a rough itinerary:
|
Shanghai
|
3 days
|
|
|
4 hour trainride
|
|
Hangzhou
|
3 days
|
|
|
14 hour boat trip on the Grand Canal
(during the day or overnight)
|
|
Suzhou
|
5 days
|
|
|
4 hour trainride
|
|
Nanjing
|
3 days
|
|
|
4 hour trainride
|
|
Shanghai
|
3 days
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
