There are many houses in Tongli ancient town, which are not built along the river like Zhouzhuang, but give people a sense of space. The river here is relatively open and paved with bluestone slabs.
The most famous in Tongli is "one garden, two halls and three bridges", all of which are antique shapes. The first garden is a famous garden in the south of the Yangtze River. This garden is exquisitely arranged in a small area, which makes the small garden feel ever-changing. The two halls refer to Chongben Hall and Jiayin Hall. The Third Bridge refers to Taiping Bridge, Geely Bridge and cheung tsing bridge.
The houses and gardens in Tongli are beautiful, but the bridge is my favorite in Tongli.
Surrounded by five lakes in Tongli, winding paths lead to secluded places and rivers criss-cross, leaving behind many ancient bridges built in various ages. In the ancient town, the oldest bridge is Siben Bridge. It was built more than 700 years ago in the Southern Song Dynasty. Although it has experienced wind and rain, it still stands tall and spans the beautiful river port. The name of the bridge "thinking about this" means "the country is based on the people, and the people take food as the sky".
In Tongli, the smallest bridge should be a step bridge located on the lotus pond of Huancui Mountain Villa. The total length of the bridge deck is less than five feet, but the width is only three feet. When they meet, they need to pass sideways. The single-hole arch is exquisite and unique. The bridge that best reflects the eagerness of fellow villagers is Pu 'an Bridge, also known as Xiaoxiao Bridge. It was founded in Zheng Deyuan of Ming Dynasty (1506). On the stone wall on the west side, there is a very striking couplet engraved. The first couplet is "a moonlight with a regular shadow", and the second couplet is "the song of books on both sides of the strait" The most mysterious ancient bridge is Guanfu Bridge. On the Longmen stone of this bridge, there is a lifelike stone carving of "Peach Blossom Fish in Langli".
Wujin Bridge is located in the northwest suburb of the ancient town, which is the only way from Suzhou to Tongli and an important entrance to the ancient town. That year, the people of Guzhen built the bridge overnight to welcome the Taiping Army. On the square stone in the center of the bridge deck, a picture of "quick report and good news" was specially carved, wishing the Taiping Army a victory.
The most famous ancient town is, of course, the aforementioned "Three Bridges", which is located in the center of the town, with three legs at the intersection of three small rivers. The clear water reflects the ancient bridge and the trees are swaying, which is a charming scenery. "Take the Three Bridges" is an ancient folk custom in Tongli.
Tongli attracts tourists not only with all kinds of ancient bridges with different shapes, but also with all kinds of river bridges that open the eyes of people who come to the ancient town. The so-called river bridge is called water pier in the north and river pier and bridge head in the south. Tongli is a water town with a total length of more than 5 kilometers. It is a typical water town where every family faces the water and every family has a boat.
Transportation: There are through trains in Shanghai, Suzhou and Wuxian. There are also cruise ships between Tongli and Zhouzhuang.
Accommodation: There are many small hotels in Tongli that can pass the leisure time, but if you want to choose a regular hotel, there are Tongli resorts, which are 240 yuan/day at ordinary times and 280 yuan/day at weekends. The cheaper one is Tongli Sanyuan Hotel, 140 yuan/day. The most affordable is Tongli Folk Music House, 60 yuan/Tian.