Tongli
-- The Water Town
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Tongli, the best-preserved water town in Jiangsu province,
is located in east of the Grand Canal, close to Taihu
Lake and 18 km away from Suzhou. The town occupies a
total area of 62 square km with a population of 33,500.
Surrounded by water, Tongli sets among the five lakes
of Tongli, Jiuli, Yeze, Nanxing and Pangshan, and is
divided into seven islands by 15 rivers and combined
into a whole with 49 ancient bridges. Intersected by
so many rivers, nearly all the architectures in this
town were built facing water, which bestowed the town
a name "Venice in the East". Fortunately thanks
to these lakes and waterways, the little Town stayed
away from wars since it was hardly accessible in the
old times, which made the ancient buildings well preserved
up to now.
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The layout of the
town and the residences along both banks retain the traditional
style. Occupying half of the total, the Ming and  Qing
buildings including the houses, small exquisite courtyards
and gardens are the highlight of Tongli. Decorated with flying
eaves, brick carvings, elegant windows, they are mostly built
towards the water, sometimes with a small garden in their
rears. In order to be convenient for washing, small stairs
were built in front of the house leading down to the river.
In ancient times,
the charming environment of the little town attracted many
noblemen and distinguish families built their private gardens
here in succession. The building complex, featured by the
harmonious combination of residential houses and gardens,
are especially unique and rare to see in other places. The
"Retreat and Reflection Garden" built by Ren Lansheng,
a retired official of the late Qing dynasty is regarded as
the largest and most famous garden downtown. The name of the
garden given by the official followed the concept that "When
in office, one should be loyal to the emperor, when away from
office, one should meditate upon his previous faults."
As a water town,
bridges in Tongli always play an important role in people's
daily life. There are 49 bridges downtown, in which Taiping,
Jili and Changqing are well known. Exquisite and simple, Taiping
Bridge was built in 1747 during the Qing dynasty, while Changqing
was rebuilt in the Ming dynasty and Bridge Siben, built in
the Southern Song dynasty, is the oldest one in Tongli. There
is a smallest bridge named Dubu, only 5 feet in length and
3 feet in width which has attracted many visitors stop to
see it.
Tongli is also
rich in culture and education in the ancient times. The town
was once famed for its achievements in the imperial examinations
and had produced many notable scholars and officials. About
40 stone tablets carved with the deeds of the celebrities
are well preserved and a number of its streets and alleys
were named after the official titles such as Zhuangyuan Street,
Tongzhi Street, etc. Tongli was open to the public in 1986
and ten years later, it was listed as one of the first historical
and cultural towns in Jiangsu province and has become one
of the most popular tourist programs in recent years.
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