Tongli, alternately Tong-Li (; Wu: Don li, ) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Wujiang district, on the outskirts of

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

province. It is known for a system of

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s, it has been given the nickname "

Venice of the East The following is an incomplete list of places which have been nicknamed Venice of the East. List See also * Venezuela, country whose name means "Little Venice" * Venice of the North * Little Venice Little Venice is a district in West Lon ...

". The place retains many of the features of an ancient Wu region town. Tongli is half an hour away from

city and about two hours from

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

by buses. The town is also accessible by

Suzhou Metro Suzhou Rail Transit, also known as Suzhou Metro, is a rapid transit system serving the city of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province, China. Line 1 began operation on April 28, 2012. Line 2 opened on December 28, 2013. A further three lines, and an extensi ...

( Line 4).

Attractions

The Retreat & Reflection Garden

One of most notable attractions is the Retreat & Reflection Garden (). It was designed by the artist Yuanlong for Ren Lansheng and built in 1885–1887. In 2001, the Retreat & Reflection Garden was recognized with other classical Suzhou gardens as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Luoxing Zhou

It is an island on the lake. There are Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism in this place. Its scenery is very beautiful. During the Spring Festival, people will go there to strike the bell to pray.

The Pearl Tower

It is a not real tower and it is just a model made up of pearls. Also, it's the name of a famous drama. It is in this place that the moving story between Fangqin and Chen Cui’e happened. Fangqin's father was banished by the court. So he came to his aunt to ask for help, but when his aunt heard of the bad news of Fang's she despised the poor and refused to help him. But his cousin was very kind and gave the Pearl Tower secretly to Fangqin. So latterly, Fangqin became the Zhuangyuan.

Three Bridges

There are 55 bridges in the town of Tongli. The most famous are the three bridges. They are Taiping, Jili, and Changqing Bridges. They all represent blessing. When getting married, the birth of a child, celebrating birthday, people will walk across the three bridges to pray for the health and happiness.

Other information

*Jiayin Hall is also of note, and is the former home of Liu Yazi, an early 20th-century actor known for his collection of gauze caps.

References

External links

Chinese government page on "The Township of Tong Li"

Traditional folk houses in China Tourist attractions in Suzhou AAAAA-rated tourist attractions {{Suzhou-stub