Weekend at the Museum
Join us for a weekend at the wonder that is the Six Arts Museum, China’s largest folk arts museum, for a deep dive into thousands of years of Chinese culture through its impressive, beautifully displayed collection, and an exploration of its setting in a charming, quiet water town.
Founder Mitch Dudek began collecting in the countryside in 1981, and as China transformed, these objects became the last remaining repositories of now-vanished traditions and lifestyles, rescued from demolition and oblivion. Mitch’s vision is for visitors to be fully immersed in the art and atmosphere through all their senses, and that’s what we’ll do. In addition to diving into the museum, we’ll stay at their gorgeous gem of a hotel, decorated with original artifacts, and explore charming Lili, one of the last authentic water towns, the sort of place the museum artifacts came from.
TRIP DETAILS
PRICE: Early Bird: RMB 3500 members, 4200 nonmembers until May 16, thereafter RMB 4000 members, 4700 nonmembers. Pricing is based on double occupancy. Single supplement: + RMB 400
INCLUDED: Round-trip transport via private bus, accommodation at Six Arts Museum Hotel for 1 night, all meals–1 breakfast, 2 lunches, 1 dinner–tickets to Six Arts Museum, exclusive curator-led museum tour, Lili town and its historic sites, expert guiding.
Not included: Personal expenses, hotel incidentals
CANCELLATIONS & REFUNDS: Cancellations until May 16 are fully refundable; after that date, payments are non-refundable.
Please note: In the event that our minimum number of 10 guests is not reached, the trip will be cancelled and all guests will be refunded.
TO BOOK: Click here or email info@historic-shanghai.com
TRIP ITINERARY
Saturday May 31
MORNING
9am Depart Shanghai, 10.30-11am check into the Six Arts Museum Hotel
Our Hotel: Six Arts Museum Hotel
Each room at the Six Arts Hotel is a mini-museum—it’s as if you’re (luxuriously) bedding down in the museum itself! Rooms are decorated with original ancient art objects and paintings from the museum collection, and the hotel is set within landscaped gardens within the museum complex.
Building Street, Six Arts Grounds
Following arrival and check in, we’ll take a stroll around the grounds, where the latest restoration work for the museum is going on. Here, we’ll visit the newly installed ‘building street,’ lined with rescued heritage structures from all over China—including one from Shanghai!
LUNCH at Fortune Restaurant -Delicious regional specialties in a beautifully appointed space.
AFTERNOON
Six Arts Museum Private Tour
We’ll be treated to a curator-led tour of the four-storey, 40,000-object museum. Jason, the Chief Curator, will share with us not only the stories of the artifacts and how they fit into the Chinese cultural landscape, but the equally fascinating backstories of how they were acquired, challenges and triumphs over the years, and more. We’ll get a look at the museum’s latest treasure: a palace, installed on the rooftop!
EVENING
Pre-dinner drinks on the hotel terrace, followed by dinner
Dinner will include Fortune’s specialty: Peking duck, made on the premises in an authentic Peking duck oven. There’s a whole backstory to this that we’ll learn at dinner!
After dinner Canal Cruise – Lili Town
An after-dinner cruise on the canal, sailing under ancient bridges.
DAY 2
MORNING Breakfast, 8am-9.30am
LILI TOWN
After breakfast, we’ll explore Lili Town. In much of this quiet town, life goes on as it always has, but the transformation has begun, as boutiques and cafés slip in between the provision shops and canal-side houses. We’ll visit some of the town’s grand mansions, now museums, to ooh and aah at the exquisite details, visit an old pharmacy, slip down alleys, and get a look at the hybrid church: one side Chinese temple, one side Western church!
LUNCH at Fortune Restaurant
AFTERNOON – Choose Your Own Adventure!
This afternoon, it’s choose your own adventure! You can return to the museum, go back to Lili town, take afternoon tea at Six Arts, or shop for souvenirs.
5pm – RETURN TO SHANGHAI
Board bus for return to Shanghai.
Notice:
Things can change in China travel, and in the event that one or more of our planned events becomes unavailable, it will be replaced with an equivalent event or activity. Thank you for your understanding!