Private Zhujiajiao Ancient Town and Harmony Garden Day Tour with Gondola Ride

We met Ping last year and sort her out again this year as we really enjoy her company-she is fun relaxed n spontaneous. V informative about a wide variety of life in China. Great WeChat communication. T Zhujiajiao water village was flooded so no boat ride but Ping made up for this with other activities. We particularly enjoyed t modern/ancient architecture and calligraphy experience she took us to (unplanned). T water village was v commercial n wouldn’t recommend except t private home n garden were worth t visit there. And our lunch was deliciously local n plentiful. We went to t fabric market at t end of t day which was great experience-and to have Ping for bargaining power n quality control was fantastic. Thanks for a special day Ping! Ps. Lovely taxi service n driver. And v lucky with t weather post typhoon Lekima.

Our day with Kelly in Watertown started with the visit to Harmony Garden which is the most beautifully designed private garden I’ve ever seen. The art, architecture and garden “rooms” were really breathtaking. It is not a large garden so there was time to take it all in from various shaded sitting areas - an important aspect of the visit if you’re there in the height of summer. Then Kelly took us down little shopping streets introducing us to new foods (which we would never have tried in our own) and interesting vendors, like the one selling herbal snuff and beautiful snuff boxes. We also stopped at a foot “massage” shop where little fish nibble your feet! After our gondola ride, Kelly took us to lunch and ordered a number of tasty dishes after discussing our preferences with us. When we’d finished exploring this charming water town, Kelly suggested we go to an area near old Shanghai called M50, an art gallery district where current artists work and exhibit. She offered that after hearing of our interest in modern Chinese art. That was such an interesting visit as there are some fine, cutting edge artists working there. Looking back on our day, we were thrilled with what we had seen and experienced and were very appreciative of Kelly’s efforts to design a tour that was not run-of-the-mill. Kelly is very personable and knowledgeable, with great English who listens well and is extremely willing to adapt the tour to suit the interests of her clients. We so enjoyed her guidance that we opted to do another tour with her the next day, again that took us off the beaten track in old Shanghai.

Thank you Pingpingj (Kelly) for the most memorable part of our trip. The tour of the private house, gardens, and antiques away from all the crowds were amazing and relaxing. The boat ride was fantastic. Your knowledge of the area and the food was outstanding, and you helped us find the best quality gifts to buy at the best prices. Anything we wanted, you made it happen including arranging our trip to the airport after our tour. You were professional, organised, and we really enjoyed your company. We give you 5 stars and will be calling you again when we next return to China.