Overview
A relaxed private day trip from Shanghai to the gentle riverside city of Taizhou. Explore historic gardens, ancient temples, and a 300-year-old old street famous for traditional morning-tea cuisine.
Itinerary
Shanghai: Taizhou Old Town, Temples & Gardens Private Trip
Savor authentic small-city China on this private, no-rush day trip from Shanghai to Taizhou, a tranquil riverside town whose name means peace and good fortune.
After a comfortable pickup from your Shanghai hotel in a private vehicle, you travel with your English-speaking guide to the elegant Mei Garden, a Ming-and-Qing-style garden built to honor the legendary Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang, whose family roots are in Taizhou. With its grey bricks, sweeping eaves, and quiet courtyards, it feels as though an opera might begin at any moment.
You then stroll Taizhou Old Street, a 300-year-old corridor of Ming and Qing architecture lined with temples, academies, and traditional shops. This is the heart of Taizhou's famous morning-tea culture, and your guide helps you sample local specialties such as dried-tofu strips, fish-broth noodles, crab-roe buns, and steamed dumplings at your own pace, the perfect relaxed local lunch, which is included.
In the afternoon your private car continues to the serene Nanshan Temple, a hidden gem whose main hall is a provincial heritage treasure with magnificent ancient timber construction. You also visit the Wanghai Tower, known as the First Tower of the Jianghuai region, standing proudly by the Fengcheng River, and Qiao Garden, praised as the First Garden of the Huai region, a nationally protected cultural site and 4A scenic area filled with Ming-era pavilions, ancient trees, and lake rocks.
Throughout the day your private guide and driver handle every detail, so you can simply relax and enjoy genuine history, gardens, and food at a comfortable, unhurried pace before returning to your Shanghai hotel in the evening.
A relaxed private day trip from Shanghai to the gentle riverside city of Taizhou. Explore historic gardens, ancient temples, and a 300-year-old old street famous for traditional morning-tea cuisine.
What's Included
✓ Included
✕ Not included
Cancellation Policy
Free cancellation is available on most tours up to 24 hours before the start time. The exact cancellation terms for this tour are shown during booking.
Traveler Reviews
Looking back, this was less about eating a huge meal than paying attention to several small ones. That rhythm worked for 12 hours.
The unglamorous part: the useful part in Shanghai was having someone explain how to order the same dishes later. I left with names in my phone, not just photos. My only advice is not to shorten the time at Taizhou Old Town, Temples & Gardens.
Before you go, come hungry in Shanghai and say clearly what you cannot eat. There was enough variety that skipping one item did not make the experience feel smaller. For 12 hours around Shanghai, the pace felt about right.
We booked because arranging Shanghai ourselves looked fiddly. We came away remembering the conversations as much as the places. With 12 hours to work with, the balance felt sensible.