Two canal towns in one day — one alive with shopfronts, the other lit up after dark
Fifteen hours and two water towns, one in daylight and one after dark. It is a long day, and the evening show is what makes it worth the length.
Families with young children: the 22:30 return is real, not a rounding.
Xitang and Zhouzhuang are 40 km apart. Doing both means about two hours in each town plus the driving.
Set departure points in central Shanghai; the guide confirms the exact corner the evening before
Local time (GMT+8). Show times follow the park’s daily notice.
Central meeting point; about 90 minutes by road
The Rain Corridor — nearly a kilometre of covered walkway along the canal — plus Shipi Lane at 80 cm wide and the Blessing Bridge. About 2.5 hours
Lotus-leaf pork, braised duck and eight-treasure cake. Riverside tables cost more; the lanes are better value
About 40 minutes
Twin Bridges is the subject of Chen Yifei’s “Memory of Hometown”; Zhang Hall has boats passing through the house; Shen Hall tells the Shen Wansan story
Wansan pork knuckle is the local signature — one feeds two or three
Twin Bridges and the lanes once the lanterns are lit; the water-stage show runs about an hour and is included
About 90 minutes
Drop-off at a central, connected spot
这条路线的起点与终点都在上海。多数旅客从Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station抵达——接送集合点离出口只有一小段出租车或地铁的距离，行程结束后也来得及坐晚上的火车。如果你从别的城市过来，可以先查直达高铁，以及首班与末班的时间。
Two towns is a long day for children under six, and the return is late. A half-day single-town version suits families better.
跟團遊每人 $114，或私家團每車 $256 起（含司機與導遊）。跟團價包含司機、導遊與門票；私家團價則是整臺車的價格，不論人數多寡。
行程從 07:30 到 22:30——從接送到下車約 15 小時，含車程。若你當晚要趕火車或飛機，請把票訂在 00:00 之後。
Central Shanghai meeting points。司機與導遊會在那裡與你會合；確切地點於出發前一天確認。
Xitang admission (¥85)、Zhouzhuang admission (¥100)、“Four Seasons Zhouzhuang” show ticket。
Both meals、Sculling boats in the towns (about ¥150 per boat, shareable)。
兩天。我們不接受當天或隔天的預訂，因為車輛、導遊與門票都必須提前安排。行程前 7 天以上取消免費；之後依序為20%（6–3天）與60%（2–1天），當天則完全不退款。
A tightly packed day. We were pushed to pay extra for a boat ride on the grounds that the evening show could not be seen otherwise — then told that night the show had been cancelled for two days. If it was already cancelled, why sell the boat ticket? The guide himself was fine.
Guide Chen was warm and responsible, with detailed introductions at each stop. The day felt relaxed and enjoyable overall.
Excellent overall — guide Zhang was helpful and friendly, and there was no shopping stop all day.
