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[Zhouzhuang Free Travel] How to enjoy Zhouzhuang travel in 2 days and 1 night, a comprehensive itinerary planning package!

# Zhouzhuang Town

Travellers Magicians

Jun 17, 2025

Contents

Overview of Zhouzhuang itinerary planning
Zhouzhuang Day 1
- Tinglin Garden
- Qiandeng Ancient Town
Zhouzhuang Day 2
- Jinxi Ancient Town
- Zhouzhuang
Trip Planning Assistant

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This guide carefully crafts a perfect 2-day and 1-night trip to Zhouzhuang for you. Covering local attractions, authentic cuisine and popular shopping districts, you can easily enjoy Zhouzhuang and enjoy a truly relaxing vacation. Whether it is an in-depth exploration of history and culture or a fashionable check-in in a modern city, this guide can meet your needs. Come and start your wonderful trip to Zhouzhuang!

Marvel at ancient arboreal wonders in Tinglin Garden, savor Aozhao noodles along Qiandeng’s stone-paved lanes, and embrace the water town’s leisurely pace.
Visit the tomb of Concubine Chen at Jinxi Tibetan Museum, take a boat across the Shuangqiao Bridges in Zhouzhuang, and take an in-depth tour of the ancient town’s cultural heritage and waterways.

date	journey
Day 1	Tinglin Garden->Qiandeng Ancient Town
Day 2	Jinxi Ancient Town->Zhouzhuang

Tinglin Garden is located in the northwest corner of Kunshan City. It was built in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China specifically to commemorate Mr. Gu Yanwu, a patriotic scholar of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Yufeng Mountain, also known as Ma'anshan, is located in the north of the park. On the east side of the south are exhibition halls and amusement parks, and on the west side is a lake. Tourists come here mainly to see the "Three Treasures of Kunshan": Kunshi, Qionghua and Twin Lotuses. Locals often come to the park for walks and exercise. There are many century-old trees in the park and the environment is very good.

Address: No. 1, Ma'anshan East Road, Kunshan City, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Business hours: Open from 05:00 to 19:00 tomorrow

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The weather is fine and there is no entrance fee to Tinglin Garden. Let's climb a small hill to see Kunshi, Qionghua and Twin Lotus. Although it is not the season, the garden is full of vitality in spring, and there are many scenic spots in Tinglin Garden, which makes the trip worthwhile.

Qiandeng Ancient Town is located in Kunshan, Suzhou. It is a typical Jiangnan water town with a history of more than 2,500 years. Qiandeng Ancient Town is the birthplace of Kunqu Opera and Jiangnan Sizhu Opera. It also has well-preserved stone roads and ancient houses. The Yu’s Pawn Shop is preserved in the town. Important attractions include Gu Yanwu’s former residence, Gu Yanwu’s tomb, the thousand-year-old tower - Qinfeng Tower, and Gu Jian Memorial Hall.

Address: No. 47, Hedong Street, Qiandeng Town, Kunshan City, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Opening hours: 24 hours a day, all year round

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The garden in the former residence is very beautiful. There are not many people during the May Day holiday, so you can take pictures comfortably. It is recommended to enter through the west gate. You can park on the roadside for free. The prices in the scenic area are not high. There are various snacks, the taste is OK

Jinxi Ancient Town is located on the shore of Dianshan Lake in the southern suburbs of Kunshan. It is a Jiangnan water town with a thousand-year history. The ancient town is not big. The ancient Lotus Bridge that looks like a Chinese landscape painting and the mysterious Chen Fei Water Tomb attract tourists to come and explore. Various folk museums are also worth visiting. There are also various snack shops on the old street. In addition, the town's folk museums include the Ancient Brick and Tile Museum, the Purple Clay Museum, and the Teapot Museum, which display antiques, as well as the Cultural Revolution Collection Exhibition Hall, where tourists can reminisce about history. The snacks on the old street include Jinxi’s specialties such as sock-bottom pastry, Changlong mooncakes, and crabapple cakes, as well as Jiangnan delicacies such as Euryale cake and tied meat and tied pig’s trotters.

Address: No. 18 Shaodiangang Road, Jinxi Town, Kunshan City, Suzhou

Business hours: Open from 08:00 to 17:00 tomorrow

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**Spring trip to Jinxi: lying on the water, listening to the sound of oars, and exploring the secluded and ancient rhymes** As the spring breeze blows, the ancient town of Jinxi in the southwest of Kunshan wakes up from the long scroll of ink painting. Compared to the bustling Zhouzhuang and neat Wuzhen, this place still retains the old soul of a thousand-year-old water town - thirty-six ancient bridges lie on the waves, the legend of Chen Fei of the Southern Song Dynasty sinks to the bottom of Wubao Lake, and even the cracks in the bluestone slabs are permeated with tranquility that has not been tainted by commercialism. ---### **The morning mist has just dissipated: looking for Zen by the ancient lotus pond** Before daybreak, sneak in through the side door of the "Lotus Pond Zen Temple". Outside the yellow walls of the Zen temple, a thin mist floats on the Wubao Lake. The water tomb built by Emperor Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty for his deceased concubine hangs alone in the center of the lake. Occasionally, a white egret flies by, breaking the mirror-like reflection. The ancient lotus by the pond has not yet bloomed, but a few wild cherry blossoms can be seen slanting over the eaves of the Zen temple, bathing in the morning breeze with the copper bells in the corners of the temple. The old monk who was guarding the courtyard was sweeping the yard. The rustling sound of the bamboo broom scratching against the blue bricks was more in tune with Zen than the sound of bells and chimes. ---### **Walking on the Long Bridge: Watching the Spring Water with Ten Eyes**Walk a hundred meters north from the Zen temple, and you will come across the "Ten-Eyed Long Bridge" where Jinxi's soul is. This Ming Dynasty stone bridge is like a white jade belt tied around the neck of Wubao Lake. The ten bridge arches cut the spring water into ten flowing picture screens: black-sailed boats loaded with water spinach are swaying in the water lane on the east side, fishermen setting nets to catch silverfish in the center of the west lake cause ripples, and the fifth arch in the middle just frames the gilded spire of Wenchang Pavilion - it is said that if you make a wish in this arch, you will be able to see the star of literature with his eyes lowered. Leaning against the railing, peeling a piece of freshly-cooked sock-bottom crispy cake, the aroma of pepper salt mixed with lard, watching the people living by the water on both sides put up their wooden windows and hang down bamboo baskets to exchange water chestnuts with the boat girls, then you will understand what "When you arrive in Gusu, you will see that every family lives by the river" means. ---### **Searching for wonders in the deep alleys: the ancient sounds of metal and stone**After crossing the Tianshui Bridge, turn into Shangtang Street, where the bluestone pavement has been worn away by time. Pushing open the mottled wooden door of the "Jinshi Family" museum, you will see rubbings of Tang Dynasty epitaphs scattered under the wisteria trellis in the courtyard. The owner, Lao Zhu, is holding a copper kettle to make tea and pointing to a Han Dynasty brick on the wall and talking: "Look at these two words 'Yongshou', written in Lishu script with seal script style. They must have been carved by a drunk craftsman in the Eastern Han Dynasty..." The "Yixing Zisha Museum" next door is even more interesting. Gu Jingzhou's bamboo-joint pot and the coarse pottery cricket jar from the Republic of China are displayed side by side, as if the elegant and the vulgar are shaking hands and making peace in the spring. ---### **Afternoon leisure chapter: Sleeping in the teahouse listening to the rain** When the spring thunder sounds, hide in the "Jiwu Tea House". This teahouse, which was converted from a century-old rice shop, still retains the wooden barn beams. Order a pot of Biluochun with some green dumplings, and watch the raindrops string into a bead curtain from the tiles. The shop owner, an old lady, brought me a hand-drawn map and said, "Little girl, when the rain stops, go to Puqing Bridge to see the pear blossoms. The flowers on that 200-year-old tree look like snow when they fall." I followed the route she pointed out and walked through Tianshui Lane, where I came across the "China Ancient Brick and Tile Museum." The walls of Han Dynasty tiles and Song Dynasty dripping water glowed with a faint green light in the rain. A tile with a fish-turning-dragon pattern from the Yuan Dynasty actually echoed the scales of the silver fish in Wubao Lake. ---### **Returning to the boat at dusk: the light of lanterns brews a spring night**Wait until the fishing lanterns are lit, and take the last rowboat back. The oarsman hummed the tune of "Names of Flowers in December" as the boat passed under the walls of Wenchang Pavilion from the Ming and Qing Dynasties and Nanyang Hotel from the Republic of China, and the ripples shattered the reflections of lanterns on both sides of the river. Passing by the back window of "Jiwu Teahouse", I saw an old lady pasting up newly harvested peach blossoms.

Zhouzhuang is a world-famous ancient water town in the south of the Yangtze River. The town is crisscrossed with waterways and old buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties were built along the river. The double bridges painted by painter Chen Yifei depict the gentleness of the people living by the small bridges and flowing water. The Nanhu Lake to the south of the ancient town is open and beautiful. When Zhouzhuang lights up at night, it has a different atmosphere.

Highlights

Ancient house with brick-carved gatehouse in the misty rain of Jiangnan

The buildings in Zhouzhuang are mainly Jiangnan dwellings, including nearly a hundred ancient houses, most of which are from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The ancient town is surrounded by water on all sides, which makes the ancient town formed by the river. Various waterways form a "well" shape embedded in the ancient town, making Zhouzhuang a unique pattern of streets built along the water and streets as cities. On the water lanes of Zhouzhuang, there are 14 well-preserved ancient stone bridges built in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The ancient bridges, water lanes and ancient houses are truly "homes under small bridges and flowing water".

Visit ancient dwellings and trace the footprints of celebrities

There are many ancient residential buildings here, the most famous of which are Zhang Hall, Chen Hall, and the mysterious underwater tomb of Shen Wansan, which is said to be the cenotaph of Shen Wansan. Chen Hall was built by the descendants of Shen Wansan. It is a well-preserved Qing Dynasty residence in Zhouzhuang. It has an exquisite structure. You can visit it to experience the life of a wealthy man in Jiangnan, and you can also touch the legendary "cornucopia". Zhang Ting was originally named Yishun Hall and was built in the earlier Ming Dynasty. It was passed on to a family surnamed Zhang in the Qing Dynasty and renamed Zhang Ting. It is a typical Ming Dynasty official residence.

The rowing boats in the water lanes are a beautiful water village dream.

Zhouzhuang Ancient Town is not large, with a length and width of approximately one to two kilometers, and the entire town can be explored on foot. However, rafting on the water is highly recommended. The boats in the ancient town are wooden boats covered with blue floral cloth. A boat can carry one to six people. The auntie rowing the boat often sings some Kunqu opera tunes, which is very water town-like.

"Only Zhouzhuang" Immersive Multi-dimensional Space Drama

The immersive multi-dimensional space drama "Only Zhouzhuang" aims to immerse the audience in a "journey of encounter with themselves" in the form of a dream within a dream. The play breaks the pattern of traditional drama and stage performance, explores the issues of space and time in deconstruction and reconstruction, integrates Song Dynasty aesthetics with multi-dimensional technological creativity, and leads the audience to travel through time and space beyond three-dimensional space, thereby gaining a super-sensory experience of emotion and soul.

The story tells about a young traveler named Zhou He who came to Zhouzhuang for a gathering of astronomy enthusiasts. In his dream, he witnessed the dreams and life of a man of the same name who lived in Zhouzhuang nine hundred years ago, and had conversations with many celebrities in Zhouzhuang across time and space. In 80 minutes, you will enter the dreams of contemporary Zhou He and Zhou He of the Song Dynasty, follow the four chapters of "Old Dreams, Entering Paintings, Going on Expeditions, and Finding the Way", enter the world of Song Dynasty aesthetics, enter the quaint water town of nine hundred years ago, and witness the respective pursuits of old friends of Zhouzhuang.

Old Dream: Welcome to Zhouzhuang! At an offline gathering of astronomy enthusiasts, you met a young man named Zhou He, who casually picked up a copy of "Zhouzhuang Town Chronicles" from the front desk and wanted to read it before going to bed. That night, all the guests in the hotel miraculously entered the same dream, and you entered Zhou He's dream. Outside the window, raindrops fall on the wall. Zhou He sleeps with a book in his hand. He returns to a water town nine hundred years ago and meets a man from the Song Dynasty who has the same name as himself. Come, let’s dream together. Highlights: An all-round immersive drama performance in the immersive dome light and shadow space will bring you a shocking visual experience.

Entering the Painting: There is a dream within a dream. You walk quickly with a lantern in your hand, following Zhou He’s footsteps, and enter the dream of a Song Dynasty man of the same name. The dream is full of memories, including the banquets and prosperity of Tokyo in the past, the acquaintance and separation with the court singer Tao Xi, and other people’s promises and entrustments. When Zhou He woke up from his dream, he got the answer to the question of whether to go or stay. "There are beautiful scenery outside the water town of Jiangnan, why do you stay here alone, brother Zhou?" It is because "wherever my heart is at peace is my hometown" Highlights: The official court musicians who played the twelve drums were restored on site. The court dancers of the Song Dynasty danced gracefully against the backdrop of light and shadow, showing the prosperous court scene.

Going out: The modern man Zhou He chases the light in the fragments of time and witnesses the half-life story of Song Dynasty man Zhou He who stayed in Zhouzhuang. In order to protect the water town, he sent his son Zhou Xi into the army. I looked at my sword by lamplight while drunk and dreamed of blowing the horn in the camp. Zhou Xi was a brave and skilled warrior, and he led 300 warriors from Zhouzhuang to join the anti-Jin army heading north. Highlights: Take a ride on the "warship" and immerse yourself in the fierce anti-Jin battle, and experience the war atmosphere with wind, rain, thunder, lightning, and artillery fire.

Finding the way: The ginkgo tree planted by Zhouzhuang elders to commemorate the heroes who fought against the Jin army has become a sacred tree for the people of the water town to pray for blessings. In the dream, time and space disappeared. Zhou He, a modern man, took the guiding fish lantern and waited under the ginkgo tree. Zhang Han, Zhou Digonglang, Shen Wansan... many old friends from the village came into the dream and expressed the feeling of "this is the only Zhouzhuang". At dawn, each of us woke up from our own dreams, recalling this "lucid dream" in which we met each other. I hope that all the white alienation can at least allow us to meet and embrace each other in dreams. Highlights: Hundreds of blessing lotus lanterns above and below the sacred tree illuminate the lost people, which is both real and dreamlike.

Live a slow life, enjoy leisure by strolling in the garden

Zhouzhuang is a very suitable place to relax. You can get up in the morning, enjoy the breeze by the river and have some Jiangnan-style breakfast. During the day, you can walk around the town, listen to operas and drink tea in a teahouse, or go to a cafe to read a book and drink coffee. In the evening, you can go to a bar for a drink. Many bars have resident singers or performances.

Specialty Shopping

Zhenfeng Cultural Street: Sells Jiangnan handicrafts, including homespun cloth, shoe art, walnut carvings, bamboo weaving art, etc. Most shops close at sunset.

Cardboard King Theme Creative Park: All kinds of decorations and small items in the store are made of paper, which is very unique. You will find that so many interesting things can be made with just paper.

Quanfu South Road Cultural and Creative Street: There are intangible cultural heritage shops such as Xiu Niang Silk and Zhu Bingren Copper, as well as delicious food such as Daoxiang Village, Crab Partner, Pincool Workshop, and Sencui Women's Clothing.

Zhangting Fan Shop: It has a collection of thousands of fans, including round fans, folding fans, etc. The Suzhou embroidery and ink paintings are very distinctive, and you can deeply understand the profound heritage of fan culture.

of Zhouzhuang properties

If conditions permit, it is recommended to stay in the ancient town for one night to get a deeper understanding of this place. There are many inns run by local families in the ancient town. Most of them are located along the river and have backyards. The environment is very good and quiet. You can choose according to your needs.

Zhouzhuang Food

When you come to Zhouzhuang, you can't miss the local snacks. There are many specialty snack shops near Zhenfeng Street and around Shen Ting. Zhouzhuang has a very rich variety of snacks, including Wansan Pig's Trotters, Apocai, White Silk Fish, Sanwei Yuan, etc. The Jiangnan-style Qingtuan, Socks-bottomed Pastry, Supporting Cake and other kinds of pastries can also be found here. You can look for and taste them while shopping.

Delicious Wansan Pig's Hoof: Longfeng Restaurant, Wansan Restaurant

Grandma's cuisine: Chenting Restaurant, Zhouzhuang Huajiantang Platycodon Restaurant

Sanweiyuan: Wansan Restaurant, Chenting Restaurant

Address: No. 43 Quanfu Road, Zhouzhuang Town, Kunshan City, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province

Business hours: Open from 08:00 to 20:00 tomorrow (ticket sales stop at 17:00)

evaluate:

China's No. 1 water town, overall it's pretty good! If you are worried about physical fatigue or are lazy, you can refer to my route: ancient stage - Zhang Hall - Chen Hall! Following one route, you can visit all the core attractions in a very pleasant way! You can listen to Kunqu Opera for free at the ancient stage! Shen Hall was the home of Shen Wansan, the richest man in Jiangnan during the Ming Dynasty. It has 7 courtyards! Among them, Songhe Hall is very grand and worth a visit! Zoumalou costs another 30 yuan and is also worth a visit, it is a collection of various rooms in a rich man’s home! In addition to the attractions, the snacks are quite good, such as Wansan Pig's Trotters, Grandma's Tea, Whitebait Fried Eggs, etc.! Anyway, I'll go again next time!

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