Shanghai & Suzhou 5-Day Standard Muslim Tour

Key Details
• Tour Duration: 5 days
• Live Guide: English & Chinese
• Transportation: Air-conditioned car/van/coach with experienced driver
• Hotel accommodation: 4-star Shanghai Ambassador Hotel or similar

What's Included
• Hotel accommodations with daily Buffet Breakfast at hotel
• Transportation in an air-conditioned coach
• Services of an English-speaking guide
• Entrance tickets to mentioned attractions
• Halal Meals as specified in the itinerary
• Prayer at local Masjid (Mosque)
• Personal accident travel insurance
• All government taxes

What's Not Included
• Optional activity costs
• Gratuities to guide & driver (optional)
• Any other personal expenses

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Shanghai
Meals Included: No meals
Hotel: 4-star Shanghai Ambassador Hotel or similar
Activities: Pick up at Pudong or Hongqiao airport, transfer to hotel

Day 2: Shanghai, City Tour
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel, lunch at local Halal restaurant
Salat: Prayer at local Masjid (Mosque)
Hotel: 4-star Shanghai Ambassador Hotel or similar
Activities: Pick up at your hotel, Yuyuan Garden, Xiaotaoyuan Mosque, Silk Store, Oriental Pearl TV Tower (second sphere, 263 meters high), the Bund & Nanjing Road, People's Square, Shanghai Museum, transfer to hotel

Yuyuan Garden
Yuyuan is the most famous garden in Shanghai. It is located in the heart of Shanghai's Old City and it is one of the few existent old tourist places in Shanghai. The garden was constructed in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644) named Pan Yunduan. He used almost 20 years and all of his savings to construct the garden in an attempt to please his parents for them to enjoy a tranquil and happy time in their high ages. Yuyuan garden is a maze of Ming Dynasty pavilions, elaborate rockeries, arched bridges, and goldfish ponds, all encircled by an undulating dragon wall. Occupying an area of 20,000 square meters (about five acres), it nevertheless appears quite expansive, with room for 30 pavilions. There are six main scenic areas in the garden: Sansui Hall, Wanhua Chamber, Dianchun Hall, Huijing Hall, Yuhua Hall and the Inner Garden. Each area features several scenic spots within its borders. Yuyuan Garden is a nice place built in typical Chinese architecture style with lots of shops and Halal restaurants.

Xiaotaoyuan Mosque
Located at Xiaotaoyuan Street in southern Shanghai, the Xiaotaoyan Mosque, also called the Xicheng Mosque, is one of the famous mosques in Shanghai. Shanghai Xiaotaoyuan Mosque was established in 1917 and rebuilt in 1925. Shanghai Xiaotaoyuan Mosque features the Islamic architectural style. Inside the gate there is a rectangular courtyard. On the west side of the hall stands the great prayer hall of 500 square meters, which can hold 200 prayers. The prayer hall has two storeys. In its center there is a vault dome, with minaret on the top. A three-storied hall building stands on the eastern side of the courtyard, and there is a library and a reading room on the second and the third floor respectively, and a sermon room on the first floor. There are the Imams’ rooms, reception room on the southern side of the courtyard. Since Shanghai Xiaotaoyuan Mosque was founded, it has established several schools, including the Islam Normal School, the Primary School for Muslims, Mingcheng Primary School, Chongben Primary School, and Shanghai Islam Orphanage, etc. From 1920 to 1940, Shanghai Xiaotaoyuan Mosque received and served Muslims who gathered in Shanghai from Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, etc., and planned to make a pilgrimage in Mecca. Thus it has become the transfer center for Muslims who want to go to Mecca by sea. Currently, organizations such as the Management Committee of Mosques in Shanghai, Shanghai Islam Association and so on are located in Shanghai Xiaotaoyuan Mosque.

The Oriental Pearl TV Tower
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is located at the tip of Lujiazui in the Pudong district by the side of Huangpu River, opposite the Bund, makes it a distinct landmark in Shanghai. This 468 meters high (1,536 feet) tower is the world's third tallest TV and radio tower surpassed in height only by towers in Toronto and Moscow. However, even more alluring than its height is the tower's unique architectural design that makes the Oriental Pearl TV Tower one of the most attractive places anywhere. The base of the tower is supported by three seven-meter wide slanting stanchions. Surrounding the eleven steel spheres that are strung vertically through the center of the tower are three nine-meter wide columns. There are three large spheres including the top sphere, known as the space module. Then there are five smaller spheres and three decorative spheres on the tower base. The entire structure rests on rich green grassland and gives the appearance of pearls shining on a jade plate. Visitors travel up and down the tower in double-decker elevators at speed of seven meters per second. The pearl at the very top of the tower contains shops, Halal restaurants and a sightseeing floor. The view of Shanghai from this height fills you with wonder at the beauty that surrounds you. When viewed from the Bund at night, the tower's three-dimensional lighting makes it a delight of brilliant color.

The Bund
The Bund refers to Shanghai's famous waterfront stretching for 1.6km (1 mile) along the west shore of the Huangpu River. The original Bund runs from Suzhou Creek in the north to Jinling Lu in the south. On the west side of the main avenue that runs along the Bund are the colonial edifices of yore, while the eastern side is taken by the Bund Promenade, a newly widened and lengthened, raised embankment that acts as a dike against the Huangpu River. Once a muddy towpath for boats along the river, the Bund was where the foreign powers that entered Shanghai after the Opium War of 1842 erected their distinct Western-style banks and trading houses. From here, Shanghai grew into Asia's leading city in the 1920s and 1930s, a cosmopolitan and thriving commercial and financial center. Many of the awesome colonial structures you see today date from that prosperous time and have become an indelible part of Shanghai's cityscape. The colonial-era buildings that highlight the Bund include the former British Consulate, Customs House, former Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, former Shanghai Club (now the Waldorf Astoria Hotel), and the Peace Hotel.

Nanjing Road
Nanjing Road is the main shopping street of Shanghai and one of the busiest shopping streets in the world. The 3.4-mile-long Nanjing Road starts at the Bund in the east and ends in the west at the junction of Jingan Temple and Yan'an West Street. As a result of the Opium War (1839-1842), Shanghai was forced to open to the West as a port. Nanjing Road was first the British Concession, then the International Settlement. Importing large quantities of foreign goods, it became the earliest shopping street in Shanghai. Over time, Nanjing Road has been restructured, undergoing significant change. For shopping convenience, its eastern end has an all-weather pedestrian arcade. Big traditional stores no longer dominate the market since modern shopping malls, specialty stores, theatres, and international hotels have mushroomed on both sides of the street. Today over 600 businesses on Nanjing road offer countless famous brands, superior quality, and new fashions. Upscale stores include Tiffany, Mont Blanc, and Dunhill. In addition, approximately a hundred traditional stores and specialty shops still provide choice silk goods, jade, embroidery, wool, and clocks.

People's Square
People's Square is a vast public square surrounded by government buildings. Truly an urban park, it features manicured greenery and, at its heart, the architecturally impressive Shanghai Museum. Other features include a 320-square-meter water fountain, subway station and an underground shopping mall. Prior to 1949, People's Square was a part of the horseracing course of Shanghai. After gambling and horseracing were banned by the the Communist government, a part of the race course became the People's Square, which included a large avenue and spectator stands for use during parades. Other parts of the race course still remain today. The clubhouse buildings became the Shanghai Art Museum, while part of the race track became People's Park, a public park. In the 1990s, major changes were made to the square. The Shanghai Municipal Government was moved from the former HSBC Building, and the Shanghai Museum was also moved away from its previous site in a former office building. More recent additions include the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.

Shanghai Museum
Located in the center of Shanghai in People's Square, Shanghai Museum is a large museum of ancient Chinese art. Its rich and high-quality collection of 120,000 precious works of art including ancient Chinese bronze, ceramics, painting and calligraphy is specially celebrated in the world. The museum is a distinguished architectural combination of traditional culture and modern spirit, making it unique among many museums in the world. Covering a total area of 39,200 square meters, with a height of 29.5m, the round celestial dome and the square earth base which symbolize the philosophy of a spherical heaven and a square earth, form an extraordinary visual effect. The Shanghai Museum is divided into eleven galleries and three exhibition halls. The eleven Galleries cover most of the major categories of Chinese art: ancient bronze, ancient veramics, paintings, calligraphy, ancient sculpture, ancient jade, coins, Ming and Qing furniture, seals and Minority Nationalities.

Day 3: Shanghai, City Tour
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel, lunch at local Halal restaurant
Salat: Prayer at local Masjid (Mosque)
Hotel: 4-star Shanghai Ambassador Hotel or similar
Activities: Pick up at hotel, Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, Fresh Water Pearl, Xintiandi, transfer to hotel

Zhujiajiao Ancient Town
Located in the suburb of Shanghai, Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town well-known throughout China, with a history of more than 1700 years. Endowed with another elegant name Pearl Stream, Zhujiajiao is the best-preserved among the four ancient towns in Shanghai. Zhujiajiao is connected by 36 delicate bridges in different shapes and styles, from wooden to stone to marble. Fangsheng Bridge is the longest, largest and tallest stone bridge. Lang Bridge, also named Huimin Bridge, is the only wooden bridge and the most featured span in this town. The North Street is filled with representative ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Kezhi Garden features beautiful sightseeing and quiet and secluded surroundings. In the artificial hill area there is a magnificent five-story building, on the top of which stands a diametric pavilion named Moon View Pavilion. Today, old historical buildings such as rice shops, banks, spice stores and even a Qing dynasty post office can still be found. Zhujiajiao offers a nice respite from the fast pace of life in Shanghai. The unique view of old bridges across bubbling streams, small rivers shaded by willow trees and houses with courtyards attached attracts people living amidst the bustle and hustle of the modern cities to a village life full of antiquity, leisure and tranquility.

Day 4: Day Trip to Suzhou
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel, lunch at local Halal restaurant
Salat: Prayer at local Masjid (Mosque)
Hotel: 4-star Shanghai Ambassador Hotel or similar
Activities: Pick up at hotel, drive to Suzhou, Humble Administrator's Garden, Silk Factory, Grand Canal Cruise, Pamen Gate, transfer to hotel in Shanghai

Humble Administrator's Garden
Humble Administrator's Garden is a renowned Chinese garden in Suzhou. It is the largest garden in Suzhou and is considered to be the finest garden in all of southern China. Humble Administrator's Garden was first built during the Shaoxing period (1131-1162) of the Southern Song Dynasty. Rebuilt by an imperial official in 1509 during the Ming dynasty, the garden is unique for its water features, which form the main backdrop to a surrounding landscape of miniature forests and hill-like rock formations. The garden is also home to several pavilions and halls, of which the Hall of Distant Fragrance (Yuanxiang Tang) is the main structure. The building is named after the nearby lotus pool, which perfumes the air with a soft fragrance during the summer. In 1997, Humble Administrator's Garden, along with other classical gardens of Suzhou was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Silk Factory
Silk has a history of some 4,500 years in China, so they have become adept at producing many different types of silk, as well as dyeing it and weaving different patterns into the fabric. Suzhou is famous for its silk production. In the Suzhou Silk Factory you can see a display of the life-cycle of the silk worm and demonstrations of how the silk is harvested from the cocoons and eventually woven into fabric. Suzhou's silk has been an imperial tribute and gained a worldwide reputation from as early as the Tang and Song dynasties. Suzhou is the best place to learn Chinese traditional silk culture.

Grand Canal Cruise
The Grand Canal is one of the greatest projects constructed in ancient China. With a total length of 1,795 Km (1,114 miles), the ancient Grand Canal was constructed in the Sui Dynasty (AD581-AD618) as a waterway to ship the produce of Southeast China to the capital of China located in the north. The part of Grand Canal in Suzhou is 96km in length crossing the city center of Suzhou. This cruise tirp on the city moat which is part of the Grand Canal will allow us to see how residents once lived and traveled. Houses and shops back up to the canals and business is carried out directly with those on the canals. Over 20 historical attractions of Suzhou are united by the grand canal. Tranquil, peaceful and historical, this grand canal cruise is just like a time machine to bring you back to the old era. In 2014, the Grand Canal was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Panmen Gate
Suzhou was once surrounded by a moat, and its first city walls and tower were erected to defend this water passage. The Panmen Gate is the original entrance to the city and is said to boast a history spanning 2,400 years. It was the only gate in those ancient times to be equipped with both a water entrance and a higher land entrance. The present gate structure was rebuilt in 1986, but the original structure could be traced back to the Yuan dynasty during the peak of the Mongol empire. The Panmen Gate is part of a larger scenic area that houses two other main attractions. Wumen Bridge was the highest bridge in Suzhou in those early days, and was the central passageway leading to the land entrance. Ruiguang Pagoda was the ancient city’s first such structure, and its present form has been reconstructed from bricks supported by wooden platforms.

Day 5: Departure from Shanghai
Meals Included: Breakfast at hotel
Activities: Transfer to Shanghai Pudong or Hongqiao airport.