Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village
5
Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village
By Miki Tours & Transfer and Tickets Service
About
Delve deeper into Chinese culture than you ever could independently on this cultural tour. First, explore Tongli Town and Jinze Ancient Town. Then, visit a traditional courtyard teahouse for an 8-course lunch (with drinks), a tea ceremony, and a dumpling-making class. You can even try your hand at Chinese calligraphy. A small group size means you receive plenty of personal attention, and Shanghai hotel pickup and drop-off add extra convenience.
from per adult
$248.00
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 3-99, max of 8 per group
Duration: 8h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Chinese, English
Highlights
- Explore two historic water towns: Tongli Town and Jinze Ancient Town
- Enjoy lunch, a tea ceremony, and a dumpling class in a courtyard teahouse
- Travel in a group limited to eight in a Wi-Fi–enabled minivan
- Relax with round-trip transportation from central Shanghai
- Tour guide
- Comfortable minivan with driver
- Home-style lunch
- Tea ceremony
- Dumpling cooking session
- Drinks: fresh juice, beer, wine, Chinese Baijiu Mao Tai, tea
- Free 4G wifi available during the tour
What's not included- Gratuities
- Personal expense
- Greet your guide and small group outside your central Shanghai hotel and travel to the ancient water town of Tongli in air-conditioned comfort. Enjoy a walking tour of this ancient town with its picturesque alleyways and scenic canals, and visit the UNESCO-listed Retreat and Reflection Garden. Your next stop is the less-visited water village of Jinze, where some buildings date back 1,000 years. Visit a courtyard teahouse for a cooking demonstration and 8-course lunch washed down with juice, wine, beer, tea, or Chinese spirits. Next, enjoy a Chinese tea ceremony and, if you’d like, try your hand at calligraphy. Learn to make dumplings with your host and eat them as a light supper before your guide drops you back at your hotel.
- Departure details
- Traveler pickup is offered.
- Your centrally located hotel in Shanghai
- Hotel pickup is offered. View the hotel list on our checkout page to see if yours is included among the pickup points.
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Infant seats available
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 38861P1- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Minimum age is 3 years
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
- A maximum of 8 people per booking
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Please wear comfortable shoes
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 8 travelers
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- Which attractions will I visit with Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village?
- During this experience, places you will visit include:Discover and book Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village on Tripadvisor
- How much is Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village?
- Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village price starts from $248.00. Discover and book Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village on Tripadvisor
- What is the Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village cancellation policy?
- Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village cancellation policy: For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience. Discover and book Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village on Tripadvisor
- Which company provides Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village?
- Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village is hosted by Miki Tours & Transfer and Tickets Service. Read reviews, discover additonal experiences or contact Miki Tours & Transfer and Tickets Service on Tripadvisor. Discover and book Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village on Tripadvisor
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 38861P1
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About the operator
Miki Tours & Transfer and Tickets Service
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China
Joined in February 2012
#2 of 86 Food & Drink in Shanghai
- j_rgenm18700We Treat our guests as our good friends.- not just empty wordsI'm writing this review even so I couldn’t enjoy the tours with Miki. We booked 2 tours in Shanghai, unfortunately I was not able to travel due to sickness. I informed Miki about the circumstances 5 days prior planed arrival. We received the full money back without any complaints. This is what I would call customer service. Whenever I have the chance to book a tour with Miki, certainly I will do. Hopefully in the near future. Thanks again, best wishes, Jürgen
- jonathancP8485GG00BEST tour you can do in ShanghaiIf you are looking for a tour to do in Shanghai you will have no regrets using Miki's Tours. We decided on the Shanghai city sightseeing and Xitang Water Town 2 day tour for 7 people and it was fabulous. From the get go Miki and her staff were very helpful and easy to communicate with. The tours were very well planned and we really enjoyed the extra touches that were added to personalize our trip. We had the privilege of having Miki as our guide and you can tell she loves her job. She was passionate while introducing us to Chinese culture and history. You can't wrong using this company.
- Excursion3619200Perfect trip for my family! Thank you.Our family had a really amazing by Miki. I have made several special requests and she made it happened for my family. Really appreciate. Miki English is good. Her tour is reliable and worth the value. We walked along the small lane of the villages, learning about it's history. We had popular local food that even locals have to queue for almost an hour for it. Without Miki, we would not have the opportunity to try it. Along the way, we had lots of fun. She sing for us while taking the boat ride. I requested to try more of their local breakfast the next day and she had to wake up early to order online and monitor the delivery for me. Miki is very very helpful and kind. I will definitely get her to be my guide in my next trip.
- Princessnilia00Food Tour and River CruiseA great way to start our 2.5days with Miki as we savoured the wonderful local street foods in comfort. The river cruise was a great way to get a quick glimpse of the major tourist points in SH without walking through the crazy crowd. This is 1 great way to “zip through” SHanghai if there isn’t much time.
- Princessnilia00Beautiful HangzhouIt was an amazing 2.5 days with Miki. She was knowledgable in the China history and really accommodating to the 2 children (7 and 9). The bullet train ride to Hang Zhou was an eye opener for the kids. Lunch was a lovely affair at a local restaurant with great food recommendations. Love her sharing of chinese poetry even though I don’t really understand them, it does add a different dimension of beauty to the pretty gardens and West Lake we visited. We really enjoyed the boat ride as Miki shared with us the tea culture. Ended the day with an awful performance at the Impressions of West Lake. Highly recommended.
- Princessnilia00Awesome Hidden Gems Tour!It was an amazing 2.5 days with Miki. She was knowledgable in the China history and really accommodating to the 2 children (7 and 9 years). She searched up an amazing very local noodle shop, xiao long bao shop, hotpot restaurant after finding out from our conversation, that the kids love them. She even brought along fish food for the kids to feed the fishies! We all loved the back alley walk especially, as it shows a different side of SH we wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. Love her sharing of chinese poetry even though I don’t really understand them, it does add a different dimension of beauty to the pretty gardens we visited. Highly recommended!
- numpy26400Transfer from Shanghai Pudong to SuzhouMiki arranged a car for me from Shanghai Pudong airport to Suzhou. Its a pretty long distance but this was much more efficient than going through the city and out the other side. Great communication, super arrangement and easy payment afterwards - highly recommended!
- marieldo00Outstanding Customer ServiceWhile we weren’t able to use Miki Tours during our short visit this time, I hope to visit Shanghai again for longer and to reach out to Miki Tours again as we were very impressed with their quick, warm, and detailed response to my inquiry over email.
- Dreamer4293200ShanghaiChoosing a tour wasn’t easy and so many were overpriced and didn’t meet my needs for a family of 6. I was blessed with Miki and I’m glad I made the decision to book with her for an all day tour of the highlights of Shanghai. She was vibrant, funny and so knowledgeable that I acquired some great facts about this beautiful city. She was super punctual and organised but so honest and professional at all times. She went the extra mile and even helped us learn about the Metro and booked taxis when we weren’t on tours for us too. She booked our Disney land tickets and organised our 2 way travel. We liked her so much we booked another tour to her hometown the Water Village and we went to a local farmer’s fruit farm where my daughter enjoyed organic dragon fruit. Miki the night tour of the water village was absolutely magical from boat ride, to dressing my daughters in traditional gowns and to your voice that serenaded us in karaoke. You are by far and exceptional guide and we are glad to have met you and couldn’t praise your service, hospitality and friendship more. So to all those who want a personalised tour look no further and book with Miki
- MichaelS7700Miki MagicWe spent two incredible days with energetic passionate fun and knowledgeable Miki who enlightened us and had every detail thoroughly included Highly recommend!!!
- lseltz9700Shanghai/Xitang Wonderful!Just returned from my second experience In Shanghai with Miki Tours. I found her on trip advisor four years ago and had such a wonderful experience that she was my go to for my second trip to Shanghai. First let me say that Miki is amazing and so much fun! She does an excellent job of coordinating airport transfers and tours and makes everything so easy for her customers. She is warm and funny and very knowledgeable. I would highly recommend her! Thank you again Miki for a wonderful time in Shanghai!💕
- HenricI_1200As complex and interesting as wine - a not to be missed fascinating insight into Chinese tea cultureBefore this class I thought Chinese tea was just green tea, not particularly good and with some vague health benefits :). After the class and Miki’s expert guidance I was truly proven wrong. Chinese tea is as diverse and interesting as wine and there is a strong social element to sharing tea between friends and in business. There is a ceremony around serving tea that one as a westerner might find maybe overly elaborate. Cups and tea are washed. Tea is poured in a specific way. You hold the cup in a special way. The tea is savored. It takes time and it is far from just brewing a pot and having it for breakfast :). The ceremony is as peaceful as it is beautiful. You feel relaxed and it is a fantastic icebreaker when meeting new people. Miki does a great job in guiding you through this and explaining the details. The environment in the tea shop is authentic, non touristy, and you really feel you are there for a class, not to be pushed into buying expensive tee. I got the possibility to test six different types of tea white tea, green tea, oolong tea, black tea, dark tea and yellow tea. You learn about the differences and how to brew them. Contrary to how I have brewed my morning cup, Chinese tea is brewed for less than a minute can brew up to 15 times if the tea is really good. So even if some teas turn out to be pretty expensive you get a lot out of very little. The two teas that I found stood out was the white tea, which is just dried non processed leaves and the black Puer treat that grows on trees and is the only tea that you can store for years. The white tea turns out to be great for the evening since it has less theine and the Puer tea helps you loose weight (so awesome:)). Miki has an in depth knowledge and you feel she is really passionate about Chinese tea and sharing her love for it. She travels the country to learn more and more about growing, processing and types even if you get the feeling she is already a master. After the class Miki can also help you with buying tea and a tea set if you are interested. There is no pressure on this. She will help you get the same deal as the locals and explain the differences between tea sets to help you out. A good one is not for free, though it is a beautiful souvenir. In the class I also learnt about, Lishang xiaozhong which we call Lapsang souchong and the history behind it. In my ignorance I have always thought this was a tea from India. A fun benefit from this tea class was that I the week after was in Xiamen where the tea culture is very strong. There I was served tea expertly by one of our customers and for the first time I understood the importance of this and really appreciated the courtesy. So probably this tea class should be mandatory if you want to make friends or do business in China :). All in all a really nice and interesting morning in Shanghai with probably the best guide there is.
- Briany8888800Definitely one of the most memorable experience in my years of travel!Miki has a personal touch and speaks excellent English. She is emphatic, caring and a very dynamic person with lots of experience in her work. She has this incredible talent of being able to anticipate your needs even before you thought of it. Bubbly and cheerful, Miki is one in a million! Thanks Miki for making my trip to Shanghai so memorable.
- ervbrs00Excellent experience with Miki ToursWe chose Miki Tours to arrange a seven day private tour of Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing & Shanghai. We were 4 people including my parents and my cousin. We flew from Jakarta, Indonesia and landed at Shanghai. She had arranged our transfer smoothly from airport to Hangzhou. During the tour, we were hosted by Miki, she has good personality, hospitality, helpful and excellent in giving the tour. She is fluent in English. She also has very good knowledge in tea. We tried different kind of tea during our tour. She hosted us until the program in every day is finished even though more hours needed. During the tour there was time that I & my cousin need to go by ourselves very very early in the morning and she sincerely helped us to arrange the car. Once we had still time after the program and she took us to the place that we could see beautiful sunset in Hangzhou. We have very good experience & beautiful memories during our tour and being hosted by Miki Tours is very good decisions.
- Prabhat N00Best of the bestWe used Miky tour company to arrange a seven day private tour of Shanghai, Beiing, guilin and Hangzhou. We were family of 4 having 2 small kids (4 and 6) and were worried regarding availability of veg food in China..I provided her my tentative plan and was pleasantly surprised to receive some good feedback regarding other options..she stayed with us even till 8-9 pm and was very flexible in timing.. Cost wise also she was extremely competitive than others. Highly recommend her to any foreigners and family with small kids..
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Quickfoot
Tokyo21 contributions
Jun 2018 • Solo
I enjoyed a private day tour to Tongli, sometimes referred to the Venice of China. This town has canals that you can explore on gondolas, and traditional homes with extravagant gardens and courtyards. My guide, Zoe, was absolutely fantastic. She was highly knowledgable about the history, architecture and traditions of Tongli. She always had an interesting story or historical reference to share, which made the tour highly engaging and enlightening. The home made lunch in Jinze was delicious and the relaxing tea ceremony was the perfect way to cap the day trip.
If you're looking to get away from the busy Shanghai city life for a day, I highly recommend this tour with Miki Tours.
If you're looking to get away from the busy Shanghai city life for a day, I highly recommend this tour with Miki Tours.
Written June 20, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cindy C
Minato, Japan3 contributions
We went on this tour with our young adult kids and some friends last November 2018. We all enjoyed this tour so much. It was very well organized, and although it was a fully packed day, we didn't feel rushed. Dumpling making and the tea ceremony were fun and quite educational, although the tea ceremony was a bit too long and some of us got hungry already. But lunch was worth the wait, as we were rewarded with a very special, delicious 8-course meal of great quality. We loved the short but peaceful boat ride in Tongli village. It was fun to stroll around the shops and food stalls there. It was also interesting to see the nightlife at Xitang Village. Miki was very informative, and took great care of us and even gifted us with 1 free liquor and white tea disk per family! 😊
Written January 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
coco1126
Houston, TX31 contributions
Mar 2018 • Family
This was the BEST tour we have had in China! Miki is an amazing guide. Our tour in the city of Shanghai, Bund and the Former French Concession were fantastic. She is so knowledgeable and we greatly appreciated all the details she shared with us! The highlight of our day was our time in Jinze with the home cooked lunch, Tea Ceremony and Dumpling Making Class. Our two daughters, ages 10 and 13. The homemade lunch was fantastic and the best Chinese meal we have had; she is very sensitive and considerate of food allergies (our youngest has a severe nut and peanut allergy). The dumpling class was so fun! For the tea ceremony, the girls enjoyed dressing up in the traditional outfits and Miki even taught them how to play the traditional Chinese musical instrument. In a word, the tour was MAGICAL!! Thank you Miki!
Written April 1, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Howard F
Centerville, UT6 contributions
Nov 2017 • Family
We just finished a tour of Shanghai with Miki followed by lunch at her water-city teahouse in Jinze. The whole day's experience was very peaceful and relaxing. Miki got us to the Yu Garden early. We had the place almost to ourselves. The garden was a relaxing oasis in a city that runs non-stop. We then journeyed by private van to her teahouse and enjoyed a delicious assortment of dishes expertly prepared and presented. There was time to discuss how each dish was made and the various ingredients. After lunch, we then prepared jiaozi and ate them. Again, the whole experience was very relaxing and non-hurried. Miki is an excellent hostess and ambassador of Chinese culture and traditions. This tour was the highlight of our stay in Shanghai and one that we will repeat again. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to tour with Miki.
Written November 24, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RickMary89
2 contributions
Nov 2018 • Family
This tour was excellent! I highly recommend Miki's tour company to anyone visiting the Shanghai area. Our guide, Mary, was outstanding! She met us at our hotel and was very insightful discussing life growing up in Shanghai on our way to Tongli. While there, she provided an intricate tour of the main gardens, open public squares, and even some of the side streets of Tongli. We had so much fun on the gondola ride down the Tongli canals and sampling some of the local snacks! After our time in Tongli, we made our way to Jinze where we had an outstanding locally prepared lunch at Miki's private teahouse. Mary then took us around Jinze to explore before making our way back to the teahouse for our relaxing tea ceremony and our dumpling making class to wrap up our amazing day! If we ever find ourselves in the Shanghai area again, we will definitely be booking another tour with Miki!
Written December 22, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village provided by Miki Tours & Transfer and Tickets Service
Product Overview: Tongli Water Town Visit and Courtyard Lifestyle Experience at Jinze Water Village
Prices From | $248 |
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Number of Reviews | 7 |
Number of Photos | 6 |
Duration | 480 minutes |