Lili Ancient Town

📍Detailed Address: No. 30, Hujing Street, Wujiang District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province 🚉Transportation: Take the Wujiang Lili Special Line bus to the Lili Tourist Distribution Center Station 🕙Opening Hours: The ancient town is open all day, and the attractions within the town are open from 9:00 to 16:30 🎫Ticket Information: The ancient town is free, and a joint ticket for the attractions within the town is 60💰, including Duanben Garden, Exhibition Center, Dongshengtang, Tinware Museum, and Zhougongfu Temple 🌈Introduction to the Ancient Town: Lili Ancient Town is located in the southeast of Wujiang City, Jiangsu Province, 40 kilometers away from Suzhou City. It was once known as Lihua Village at the end of the Tang Dynasty, became a large market in the Song Dynasty, and was a major town in the Ming Dynasty. The total area of the town is 59.34 square kilometers, with 19 administrative villages and 3 communities, and a population of 36,600. Lili Town was founded in the third year of the Kaiping period of the Later Liang Dynasty. Over the centuries, it has produced many talents and is a typical ancient town of Jiangnan culture, referred to by Mr. Fei Xiaotong as the 'Pearl of the Water Town.' Lili is a well-preserved ancient town that still retains the charm of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The town's closely packed courtyards are mostly two-story wooden structures from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Shops line the streets, and alleys connect them. The numerous and uniquely structured alleys are a distinctive feature of the ancient town. There are 99 alleys in the town, including the cross-building alley under the Zoumatang building, the closely connected Biyuanyang alley, the straight-through ventilation alley, and the maze-like mother and child alley. The numerous ancient bridges and beautiful riverbanks are another feature of the ancient town. On the 1.5-kilometer-long river, there are 26 various ancient stone bridges. Some are built with granite, some with bluestone slabs; some lie flat like a long flute, while others are arch-shaped like a rainbow. The riverbanks are built with Kuaiji stones, which remain neat and solid after hundreds of years. The stone railings along the banks are intricately carved. They can be used for mooring boats and are also exquisite works of art. Lili is associated with the name of Liu Yazi, a great poet, outstanding democratic fighter, and famous patriot. The provincial-level cultural relic protection unit, the national 'Liu Yazi Memorial Hall,' is located in the center of the town. This typical Qing Dynasty building has six sections from front to back. A large Chinese painting titled 'Qingfeng Liangjie' hangs in the front hall. The upright and selfless image of Mr. Liu Yazi, who was concerned about the country and the people, is vividly depicted. In the second hall, there is a marble statue of Mr. Liu Yazi, with the inscription 'Mr. Liu Yazi' written by the revolutionary elder Deng Yingchao. The main hall has white walls and black tiles, spacious and bright. It displays more than 800 items, including Mr. Liu Yazi's poems, letters, manuscripts, and materials related to the Nanshe society he founded, as well as a couplet given by Zhou Enlai to Mr. Liu Yazi: 'Iron shoulders bear morality, sharp hands write articles.' The right side of the hall is Mr. Liu Yazi's 'Sword Grinding Study,' which preserves some of the items he used during his lifetime, flower and bird paintings by Ms. He Xiangning, and woodcut prints given by Mr. Liao Zhongkai.