Shanghai / Suzhou Itinerary
 

Hi,
We are going to Shanghai for the first time for a long weekend - early September - will probably have 4 days on the ground, as planning to leave HKG on a Wednesday night, so will have Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sunday. We live in Hong Kong and while I want to see Shanghai a lot of the attractions and wandeirng the city seems like Hong Kong, so I prefer to go to Suzhou or Hangzhou for part of the time....Going from one big Chinese city to another isn't as exciting to me as getting out to gardens, parks, etc.

As you can fly direct cheaply from HKG to Hangzhou I think this trip we will go to Suzhou. i also want to go to one of the less crowded water towns - Tongli? Recommendations please. Also, how many nights in Suzhou, one or two? Right now I am thinking this:

Night 1 - Arrive Pudong, hotel in Pudong likely (ritz or starwood)
Day/Night 2 - Thursday - train to Suzhou, bus/taxi to Tongji, spend night in Suzhou
Day 3 - Friday - Suzhou gardens, back to Shanghai (hotel in Shanghai - Bund area)
Day 4- Saturday - Shanghai
Day 5 - Sunday - Shanghai - evening flight back to Hong Kong.

Any thoughts /advice welcomed! Is this too much time in Suzhou? Too much in Shanghai? Can I shave a night off at the beginning of the trip?

Check my notes on Shanghai, I'll top them for you. If you like gardens and parks, suggest spending Friday night in Suzhou too and train to Wuxi on Saturday, train back to Shanghai in the evening. The Shanghai Museum is not be missed,could take up to 2-3 hours, you could also do it next time with Hangzhou.

Could you tell how you fly cheaply from HKG to Hangzhou? Thanks.

Thanks for the help! Well not too "cheap"...but Hong Kong Airlines and I think China Eastern both go direct r/t Hangzhou to HKG for about $270 USD, which is not too bad. Unless it's Air Asia it's hard to find really inexpensive ($150 USD RT) tickets anywhere from HK. I'll look ino Wuxi.

In Wuxi, forget the big buddha at Lin Shan, it's more amusement park than buddhist culture. The park by Taihu (Lake Tai) is lovely and the island in the lake you can reach by a ferry is a popular site. Go early as it is a Saturday. Braised pork ribs is a Wuxi specialty.

We are going to Hangzhou next week and we will be flying to and from Macau. Air Macau is offering 30 days advance purchase return fare of only US$160 - not bad!

Why don't you just skip Shanghai altogether? Hangzhou and Suzhou only.

Thanks Hanuman for the tip - I generally check flight prices from Shenzhen as well, but never Macau.
i guess we could skip Shanghai...there are a few things that I would like to see though. I haven't mapped out Hangzhou to Suzhou so I don't know if Shanghai would be "on the way".

Also as far as weather goes, I know early September will be hot (which is ok) but not too bad, right?

We want to take a fall folliage trip this year and I'm considering Osaka, but the folliage in Hangzhou looks great as well...my only concern is the lack of good heating in southern parts of China in the winter. I really dislike the cold.

It's a quick coach trip between Hangzhou and Suzhou, bypassing Shanghai. It is closer than going from Hangzhou to Shanghai.

I think your itineray looks fine but I suggest spending about 2 to 3 days in Suzhou if you really want to fully explore the classical gardens and beautiful canals in Suzhou. Went to Suzhou last year and stayed in furnished apartments, Fraser Suites Suzhou. If you want to travel back to Shanghai, you can simply take the Shanghai-Nanjing Intercity Railway which is easily accessible from Fraser Suites Suzhou.