Hi,
I am seeking some advice for a short stay in Shanghai..is it possible to do suzhou and hangzhou in the same day if we have our own driver? How long is the distance from each other?

Thanks...

You cannot do Suzhou and Hangzhou in the same day. You can't even do Hangzhou alone for a daytrip. Too much travel time, as you'll be in the car all day going and back without seeing anything.

It's about 120 miles from Shanghai to Hangzhou, but with the time getting into and out of the cities and traffic, it's not worth doing day trip.

If all you have is one day, only do Suzhou.

Thanks rkkwan...that goes to show how much research I have done....will take your advice and do suzhou only..any places that are must sees? I heard there is a silk and tea factory worth seeing...
thanks...

ladyice - Here's a 2nd hand report I wrote in 2004 after my parents visited Suzhou.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34505772

I don't know about tea factory, but the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute is next to one of the gardens - Mountain Villa with Embracing Beauty. They make and sell silk embroidery there, if that's what you're looking for. Not silk garments.

Thanks for that...I will definitely use that info....I will be going between 1st and 4th March so hofefully the crowd won't be as bad...