Tongli Water Town

Tongli Water Town is located in the southern suburbs of Suzhou, about an hour's drive from Shanghai. Tongli has more than 1,000 years of history but preserved very well. Tongli Water Town has become a tourist attraction in recent years.

Tongli is rich in culture. Since ancient times there have been many poets, painters, Confucian scholars and government officials. Stroll through the alleyway of this ancient water village, people will addicted to its original, intoxicating atmosphere. In 1981, Tongli was declared as one of the thirteen national standard tourist cities in the Taihu Lake region. In addition, in 1982 was listed as a provincial-level cultural city in Jiangsu Province.

Fifteen small rivers pass through the town. Across these streams are forty-nine stone bridges of various styles. The most famous three bridges are Lasting Celebration Bridge (Changqing Bridge), Luck Bridge (Jili Bridge) and Tranquility Bridge (Taiping Bridge). These have become distinct symbols for centuries and are widely regarded by the locals as sacred buildings. At weddings and other special occasions, people like to parade these three bridges. They believe that this procession can bring peace, wealth and happiness to their lives.

Tongli Water Town is reputed as "Ancient Architecture Museum" because 40% of the town buildings have hundreds of years of history, mainly built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The most famous is the gateway to brick carvings, Chongwen Hall, Jiayin Hall wood carvings. Tuisi Gardens is a good example. The garden was built by a scholar/official from 1885 to 1887. Garden filled with pavilions, halls, rockeries, ponds and other various elements, each of which constitutes a harmonious whole.

Tongli Water Town, a small but elegant ancient village. Together with Nanxun, Yongzhi, Xitang, Zhouzhuang and Wuzhen, it is one of the six famous towns in southern China.

This is an exhibition of old China. Visitors usually need a day or two to visit its gondola, beautiful water, the Three Bridges Area, Tuisi Garden and elegant layout and have a relax in this town. Traders and locals still live and work here. Compared with other well-known water towns, commercialization of this place is not serious and the streets are not crowded.