Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Huangshan in eight days

Everything within three hours of Shanghai is the Jiangnan of Chinese painting and poetry: Suzhou’s classical gardens, West Lake at Hangzhou with its causeways and tea hills, and Huangshan, the Yellow Mountain, whose granite peaks and twisted pines set the pattern for landscape art. Hongcun, below the mountain, is a Ming village of white walls and black tiles around a crescent pond. The high-speed line now reaches Huangshan from both Shanghai and Hangzhou in under three hours.

Day by day

Laid out by the atlas's trip planner from the stops below, with the trains and flights in its tables; open it on the map to change the days, the order or the stops.

1. Day 1 · Shanghai

   • The Bund & Lujiazui Skyline

2. Day 2 · Suzhou

   • High-speed train Shanghai Hongqiao → Suzhou North, 21 min (G2, 234 a day); about ½ hour door to door, ¥40. Compare ways
   • Classical Gardens of Suzhou

3. Day 3 · Hangzhou

   • Classical Gardens of Suzhou continued
   • High-speed train Suzhou North → Hangzhou East, 1 h 11 min (G203, 49 a day); about 1½ hours door to door, ¥125. Compare ways

4. Day 4 · Hangzhou

   • West Lake

5. Day 5 · Huangshan City

   • West Lake continued
   • High-speed train Hangzhou West → Huangshan North, 1 h 13 min (G1305, 40 a day); about 1½ hours door to door, ¥103. Compare ways

6. Day 6 · Huangshan City

   • Hongcun Village

7. Day 7 · Huangshan City

   • Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)

8. Day 8 · Huangshan City

   • Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) continued

Why this order

Shanghai and Suzhou first, then Hangzhou, then the mountain, so the trip moves from city to garden to country and the two mountain days come when you have settled in; the return train from Huangshan to Shanghai is direct.

When to go

April to May and October to November. Huangshan is at its best after rain clears; summer weekends are crowded, and winter brings snow and ice to the paths.

Good to know

• Stay a night on the summit of Huangshan to see sunset and sunrise; book the mountain hotel early.
• West Lake is best early and by bicycle; the Longjing tea villages are a short ride west.
• In Suzhou the Humble Administrator’s Garden fills by mid-morning; start there, then the smaller gardens.

Before you go

• Visas and visa-free entry Can I visit China without a visa?
• Paying for things How do I pay for things in China without a Chinese bank account?
• Internet and apps Will Google and my other apps work in China?
• Trains and 12306 How do I book train tickets in China with a foreign passport?
• Book popular sights early Which sights in China need booking in advance, and how?
• When to go When is the best time to visit China?

On the map

The map opens with these 5 stops in a trip; "Plan my days" lays out the same days and lets you move stops, change the days each gets, or choose where you arrive and leave.

Other trips

• China in 10 days on a first visit: Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai and Suzhou 10 days · Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai and Suzhou
• Fujian: Xiamen, the tulou roundhouses and the Wuyi Mountains 5 days · Xiamen and Wuyishan