Tracy is a phenomenal guide! Friendly, professional, and speaks great English. She navigated us through the Humble Administrator's Garden and Hanshan Temple with ease and provided great historical context. The lunch she arranged was delicious, and the afternoon in Tongli Water Town was the perfect finish. A must-do tour!
It was a complete, comfortable, and interesting trip with our wonderful guide Judy. They picked us up from the Suzhou train station and went to our first stop, the Tong Li old town where we cruise down the river. We traveled in a luxurious van and Judy was quite knowledgeable about Chinese history.
Lulu was an exceptional tour guide and showed us places and experiences we would never have done without a local tour guide. She also helped us negotiate and bargain with the vendors at every spot. When we come back to Suzhou we’ll definitely want to book with her again!
Tongli is a typical ancient water town that has retained its atmosphere, and Suzhou is worth a visit with its rich history. My guide, Judy, was very kind and attentive. She took me to an excellent restaurant in Tongli called "Nanyuan Tea House." After 15 days of touring China having good food, this restaurant was perhaps the best I've eaten at.
Highly recommended flexible tour for our family of 5 with 3 teenagers.
Pre trip communication excellent and we were picked up at our hotel at 0930. Lulu the guide was wonderful and spoke to us in both English and mandarin, giving us historical and cultural context throughout the day. We started with a drive to Tongli water town when it was still quiet, had a boat ride along the canal, explored Tuisi garden and bought snacks as well as having the opportunity to buy freshly picked strawberries on the way back to the city.
We all enjoyed learning about the silk making process, a sumptuous lunch with local delicacies was very well ordered, and subsequently walking along Pingjiang Road and the Lion garden was beautiful and educational. We came away with meaningful souvenirs and lots of memories, and were very grateful for the warm and thorough way in which lulu helped us all day.
Enjoyable and comfortable Tongli Waters private tour
Great communication from Alana in organising the pick up and throughout the tour. Very accommodating with the change that we requested during the tour. Mr Shen was a good and courteous driver and was very punctual. No waiting time for us. Car was clean, very comfortable and in good condition.
Amazing tour of Zhouzhuang and Tongli Water Towns!
We were picked up in the most comfortable mini van I've ever been in, with reclining seats and massaging/heating functionality. Our driver did not speak English but we were told this in advance and communicated with her through WeChat which was easy. We were dropped off at the entry to Zhouzhuang first and made our way to the ticket office where we bought an entry ticket and short boat ride, the staff were super helpful and drew us a route to follow on the map. The town was our favourite out of the two, much smaller than Tongli and felt more authentic to us as there was not a lot of stuff to do other than walk around and get a feel for how the town operates with the locals. Definitely do the boat ride at Zhouzhuang, when we got to Tongli there wasn't an option to do it there, but the Tongli entrance ticket did include entry to gardens, several halls, and other temples. This town was massive and took us hours to explore, my advice would be to just walk straight over the bridge when you are dropped off as we went left and even though it was still pretty, the main attractions were in the centre of town. We also were able to a mini opera on the stage and had an amazing homemade lunch at one of the restaurants. We messaged our driver when we were ready to be picked up and she came straight away and then dropped us back at the hotel. A great option if you just want to explore in your own time without a guide. Definitely recommend these two towns, they were both different and we loved them both!
We booked a private tour and Lulu was our guide along with a driver. Lulu was knowledgeable and made it enjoyable for us to have background of the places we visited. Highly recommend Lulu to anyone who is looking to book this tour.
Everything was great. Driver come 15 min before the time and was waiting. The car was great. Charles helped us everywhere we need, despite of the fact that this is transfer only.
Lulu is a very friendly and caring guide who took care of all our needs. She made sure we were well taken care of and had time to soak in the atmosphere. She ensured we were pleased with the experience and also took care of our needs. Highly recommended guide for anyone who wants to tour Suzhou
My daughter and I had a wonderful time with Lulu. I appreciate that the driver and her were punctual and professional. She made me very excited about knowing more because she is filled with enthusiasm herself . She is genuinely interested to share knowledge of her culture and heritage. Her command of the English language is excellent .We were able to communicate very well.
The tour was well organized and exceeded our expectations. Roy was our tour guide, he speaks perfect English and offered us very valuable information about the places we visited.
Tongli Water Town
5.0
(178)
Suzhou
Know before you go
Ways to explore
How to get there
When to visit
Tongli Water Town is accessible from Shanghai and Suzhou.
Wear comfortable shoes suitable for walking over uneven surfaces.
Day trips from Suzhou typically last 7 to 8 hours, depending on the activities included.
Most day trips include hotel pickup and drop-off, as well as a local lunch.