Ink-wash Jiangnan - Cultural Tour of Tongli Ancient Town.

In the misty rain of Jiangnan, there is an ancient town like a painting scroll - **Tongli Ancient Town**. This ancient town with a thousand-year history quietly flows with the rhythm of time. Small bridges and flowing water, pink walls and black tiles, here, the ancient bridges and mansions from the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties witness the vicissitudes of time and inherit the elegance of generations. ## 📍Detailed Address: Tongli Ancient Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province ## 🚗Transportation Guide: 1. **Self-driving**: From Suzhou city center, follow the S58 Expressway to the Tongli Ancient Town parking lot, and you can enter the town. 2. **Public transportation**: There are direct buses to Tongli from Suzhou South Bus Station and Railway Station. The tickets are cheap and the buses are frequent, making transportation convenient. ## 🌟Highlights: ### 🎉🎉Millennia-old Ancient Town Culture🎉🎉 Tongli Ancient Town has a history of over a thousand years and is famous for its water town scenery. The ancient town has a network of rivers and canals, with winding waterways and stone bridges complementing each other. Most of the existing ancient bridges in the town were built during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and each has its own unique style. Walking on the stone bridges, it feels like being in the long river of history, feeling the tranquility and weight of the ancient town. ### 🎉🎉Bridge Viewing and Scenery Appreciation🎉🎉 The ancient bridges of Tongli are a major highlight of the ancient town. There are over 40 existing ancient bridges in the town, each with its own characteristics. The most famous are: - **Taiping Bridge**: Built in the Ming Dynasty, it spans the main river channel of the ancient town and is a major traffic artery connecting various areas within the town. - **Jili Bridge**: The bridge structure is stable, and the bridge name implies auspiciousness. Standing on the bridge, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the water town on both sides. - **Changqing Bridge**: It is known for its simple bridge design and graceful arc, and is often a great spot for photographers. ### 🎉🎉Cultural Charm of Grand Mansions🎉🎉 The several grand mansions in the ancient town are worth savoring. Each tells a story of a family, taking you through time and space to experience the ancient family style and etiquette. - **Retreat and Reflection Garden**: The most representative classical garden in Tongli, built in the Qing Dynasty. Although it is not large, the design is exquisite, with pavilions, towers, and artificial mountains and ponds scattered in an orderly manner, with scenery at every step. The artistic conception of the Retreat and Reflection Garden is profound, serene and elegant, with different styles in each season. - **Jiayin Hall**: This mansion was once the residence of Liu Yong, a high-ranking official in the Qing Dynasty. The courtyard is spacious, the buildings are simple and elegant, and there are rich historical and cultural relics preserved. - **Chongben Hall**: One of the ancient houses in Tongli, with a square layout and carved beams and painted rafters. It is a representative of residential buildings in the ancient town. ## 🎟️Ticket Information: The entrance ticket to Tongli Ancient Town is about 100 yuan, including the main attractions in the ancient town (such as Retreat and Reflection Garden, Jiayin Hall, Chongben Hall, etc.). One ticket is valid for three days, allowing visitors to experience the ancient town's charm in depth. ## 👍️Must-visit Attractions: 1. **Retreat and Reflection Garden**: A Jiangnan garden listed as a World Cultural Heritage, with different scenery in each season. The landscape design in the garden is full of poetic charm. 2. **Jiayin Hall**: A historical mansion with rich cultural heritage, worth a slow visit. 3. **Pearl Tower Scenic Area**: This area tells an ancient love story. The reflection of the tower in the water is full of poetic and legendary colors. 4. **Three Bridges**: Taiping Bridge, Jili Bridge, and Changqing Bridge are collectively known as the "Three Bridges", and are the most important historical bridges in the town. Locals have an auspicious saying, "Three Bridges, Step by Step Higher", especially during festivals, when visitors often come here to pray for good fortune. ## 🎉🎉Food Recommendations🎉🎉 The food in Tongli Ancient Town is also not to be missed, with a unique Jiangnan water town flavor. - **Water town pastries**: Such as pine nut candy, osmanthus cake, and victory cake, sweet but not greasy, very suitable as souvenirs. - **Tongli oil dumplings**: Crispy outer skin, rich inner filling, fragrant aroma, a common snack found on the streets of Tongli. - **White soup trotters**: Tender meat, fragrant taste, trotters are fat but not greasy, a classic dish at banquets. - **Fengzhen big noodles**: Local specialty noodles in Tongli, with delicious soup and chewy noodles, the local seasonings are mouthwatering. ## 📌Small Tips: - **Best time to visit**: Spring and autumn are the best seasons, when the climate in Tongli is pleasant and suitable for strolling and admiring the tranquility of the ancient town. - **Night tour of Tongli**: After nightfall, the ancient town appears more dreamy under the soft lights. The reflection of the lights and the ripples on the river are like a painting in ink wash. - **A paradise for photography enthusiasts**: The bridges, mansions, and waterways of Tongli Ancient Town form a natural photography scene, especially at dawn and dusk, when the light and shadow effects of the ancient town are very charming. --- **Tongli Ancient Town**, this thousand-year-old water town, quietly flows its own story in the misty rain of Jiangnan. Walking into Tongli, you will find that it is not only a microcosm of Jiangnan water town, but also a cultural treasure left by time for modern people. Whether you are admiring the beauty of the ancient bridges, exploring the history of the mansions, or savoring the Jiangnan cuisine, you will feel the unique charm of Tongli, as if you are in a painting scroll of ink-wash Jiangnan, reluctant to leave.