There are too many different ideas about the ancient town. My love for the ancient town originated from watching the TV series "Oranges Are Red" and I fell in love with the ancient town unknowingly. If I have the chance, I will choose an ancient town to visit. Just like walking on a bluestone path, my heart calms down and I can relieve a lot of stress. Therefore, I like ancient towns more and more, and I plan to go to Tongli Ancient Town this time.
When we came to Tongli, it was the rainy season. After the rain, the streets are exceptionally clean. The road ahead, the street next to it, the house next to it become clear. You can't see the river at all, nor the small B&Bs unique to Jiangnan. I even suspected that I was in the wrong place.
As the saying goes, where the soil and water support the people, Tongli is not only a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, but also a place with outstanding people and talented people. From the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, there were hundreds of top scholars here, and there were many scholars. From the Song Dynasty poet Ye Yin, to the Ming Dynasty artist, Ming Dynasty supervisor Chen Wangdao, to the modern famous economist Jin. All reflect their huge influence in history.
The locals pointed me in a direction and after walking for a long time, I finally saw the river and the houses by the water. Different from other ancient water towns, the river in Tongli is very wide and the houses on both sides are relatively regular. The river is full of green, giving people a refreshing feeling.
I bought my tickets online in advance and went to the tourist service center at the entrance of the scenic spot, where there is a special online ticket collection window. There were long queues at both the group and individual ticket windows. Only the online ticket window is empty, eliminating the need to queue.
Because it is an online ticket, the scenic spot also comes with a postcard and map of Tongli, as well as a teahouse voucher. Not only is it cheaper than a cash ticket, it makes a great gift. What a great deal!
There are many rickshaws outside the scenic area, and you can choose to take them on the return trip. The rickshaws here are different from other attractions. They don't hawk or solicit customers. Their attitude is great. The vehicle styles and colors are the same. It feels like they should be managed by a formal company.
The tickets for Tongli Scenic Area are combined tickets, which include small tickets for Tuisi Garden, Gengley Hall and other attractions. The joint ticket supports multiple trips to and from the scenic spot within two days, but if you need to visit the scenic spot multiple times, you need to stamp it at the entrance of the scenic spot. Everyone should pay special attention to this. It is recommended that even tourists who have no intention of entering and exiting the scenic spot multiple times should stamp the seal the night before entering the scenic spot to avoid trouble when they want to enter the park in the future.
The bridge, retreat garden and Songshiwu Garden are the main attractions of Tongli Ancient Town.
Rivers crisscross here, and various bridges and houses are very old, unlike some other ancient towns that show obvious signs of reconstruction.
Because there are many rivers here, my companions and I just followed it without a plan or direction. We can go wherever we want, as long as we're in a good mood.
There were many people gathered in front of a stage. I walked over and found the names of movies and TV series engraved on the floor tiles under my feet.
The inscription on the stone pillar is "China Tongli Film and Television Photography Base". It is said that many movies and TV series were shot in Tongli. These names on the ground are all TV series filmed here. When I looked carefully, I didn’t see any of them!
Everything in the alley is very clean. Tall white walls, fresh green leaves, clean and beautiful. The staff who were dozing off were inappropriate.
I saw that the staff were all sleepy and thought I had arrived early. There was no one inside. I hurried to check the tickets and wanted to take a good photo when no one was around. But as soon as I entered, I was stunned. It was packed with people!
It was really hot leaving the garden. Not a weekend or a holiday. The garden was full this morning when it opened! The front hall is not big and there are too many people to take a close-up of the yard.
Siyuan Garden was founded in the 11th to 13th years of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1885-1887 AD). Lansheng, the director of the garden, has the same name as He Nanyun. During the Guangxu period, Ren Lansheng left his job and returned to his hometown, spending 102,000 yuan to build it
Look at this man! The private garden really feels a bit small. Perhaps the owner of the garden would not have thought that his garden, which seeks peace and comfort, would become so lively!
In Tongli, there is gray fog everywhere.
The rich customs of the ancient town make people feel calm all of a sudden. But Tongli is not only gray, but also has a touch of green on the lake and under the bridge. The sound of gurgling water and the low calls of birds hiding somewhere disturb tourists.
The second is to adopt a horizontal structure with a unique style. In the past, gardens were all vertical structures, but they were built horizontally. They were composed of four groups of buildings of different styles, from west to east, divided into halls, inner halls, atriums, and gardens; third, there were complete pavilions and pavilions, which are the characteristics of classical gardens. Essence.
There are many places in the retreat thatched cottage. Many tourists thought they saw thatched houses when they stopped at Zhengdang Station. In fact, they can go deeper around tables and chairs.
Continue, there is a hidden staircase. The stairs are narrow and steep, but once you reach the second floor, it suddenly becomes clearer.
There are many windows on the second floor, overlooking the retreat garden from different directions and angles.
This boat-shaped building is called the "Red Hall". It is a boat-shaped building, commonly known as a dry boat. In ancient Chinese water towns in the south of the Yangtze River, boats were the main means of transportation. The stone boats and land boats in the gardens are naturally symbols of the feelings for water and boats. This is a characteristic of the water town culture of the Han people in the south of the Yangtze River.
You can enter the Coliseum, where there are inscriptions, calligraphy and paintings.
The garden is small but beautiful, with lush vegetation and most of the trees are rare species. This big tree is a hackberry tree. I have always heard Pu Shu’s name, and this time I met him.
There is a small pavilion on the rockery. I thought it was just a viewing pavilion, but I didn’t expect that I couldn’t climb up. But I accidentally saw two foreigners smoking up there, and I became interested. I searched around the rockery and found no stairs. After searching twice more, I saw the hole hidden in the rockery. Looking at the picture, the hole is quite big, but it is actually a very small hole. When I went in, I was stuck for a while, and I finally squeezed in.
Although the retreat from the garden is not big, there are pavilions, terraces, buildings, pavilions, corridors, squares, bridges, pavilions, halls, rooms and pavilions. With her superb freehand landscape painting techniques and rich traditional Han ideological and cultural connotations, she demonstrates a model of Oriental civilization gardening art. In addition, it needs to be mentioned that Tongli Ancient Town, other ancient towns in Jiangnan, and other ancient towns are bundled into the World Cultural Heritage List. In 2001, this retreat garden was included in the World Cultural Heritage List together with nine Suzhou gardens, including the Humble Administrator's Garden, Willow Garden, Lion Grove, and Canglang Pavilion.
Walking on the streets of Tongli, maps are basically useless because the signs of the scenic spots are not obvious, and just the famous guild halls are confusing! Fortunately, the scenery in the scenic spot is good, and you can enjoy it by walking twice more.
I like this alley in Tongli very much. It is more appropriate to say it is a big alley. Because the alleys in Tongli are larger than those in other water towns. While it has grown in size, no detail has been missed. Antique walls, lush green plants, exquisite windows, and neat stone roads are full of water town temperament and beautiful charm.
There is no noisy commercial atmosphere in the streets in the same village, they are all quiet old shops. In Tongli, you can walk slowly, turn around slowly, and enjoy the taste of Tongli slowly.
When it comes to the taste of Tongli, delicious food is indispensable. The purple and white cake is soft and inviting. It is said that it was specially made by the people of the Southern Song Dynasty to encourage Han soldiers. There was the word "Ding Sheng" on the cake, and it was later called "Ding Sheng Cake".
The various Soviet-style pastries in the same restaurant are also delicious and should not be missed.
In the center of Tongli, there are many umbrella pavilions along the river. In the afternoon, you can sit by the green river, brew a pot of scented tea, and slowly savor the customs of Tongli, full of green.
Go for a walk in Tongli Mingtang in the afternoon to experience the home environment of celebrities and old officials in Tongli.
The second floor was the lady’s boudoir and wedding room at that time. You can feel the folklore
There is a large garden hidden behind the bedroom. There is a stage, rockery, small bridge and flowing water. This is true low-key luxury with connotation!
The Pearl Tower Scenic Area and the Jade Land are together. After looking for the Pearl Tower for a long time, I found the door and walked in. I found out that it was actually the Forbidden City, which was built at that time. After many inquiries, it became clear that "Zuo Zhuan" is a love story, and the story takes place here.
The Pearl Tower Scenic Area is located on the west side of the Retreat Garden in Tongli, an ancient town.
The atmosphere is made up of three parts: east, west, and north. There is the mansion in the east, the back garden in the west, and the ancient ancestral hall, Chen Pao Tower and ancient stage in the north.
There are only three door-to-door hairpins, which are very characteristic of local architecture.
At the end of the scenic area, there is a quiet river. The river is green, and its banks are also green.
There are forty-nine bridges connecting both sides of the Yangtze River in Tongli alone, which coincides with the number of seventy-seven. If there are occasional magpies flying over at this time, it may be waiting from the sky. Although it has not yet entered autumn, people can't help but think of Du Mu's gentleness and elegance in front of the willow branches in the moonlight.
As the sun sets in the west, the colors in Tongli become brighter and brighter as the night gets darker. Finally, follow the camera and experience the charm of Tongli night together.
As the sun sets in the west, the colors in Tongli become brighter and brighter with the night. In the early morning or evening when there are few tourists, walking on the stone road and the streets of Tongli also gives me some feelings.
Travel Guide
Package: 80 yuan/person, you can visit the Jingxiu Garden, Three Bridges, Cultural Relics Exhibition Hall, Chongben Hall, Jiayin Hall, Geng Letang, Luo Xingzhou and other scenic spots.
Accommodation: It is difficult to appreciate the essence of the water town if you just take a quick tour. Therefore, it is better to plan the itinerary as a leisurely two-day trip, and quietly enjoy the unique scenery and charm of the water town in the morning.
There are many private inns near Sanqiao, which are more rustic than Zhouzhuang. Most of the houses are beds left over from the Qing Dynasty or the 1940s. There is something romantic about lying on it and dreaming about history. The Lujia Guest House near the water is very clean. Rooms in Wangsanqiao need to be booked in advance, priced at 80-150 yuan/room. If you have higher accommodation requirements, you can also choose Tongli Sanyuan Hotel, Tongli Lake Resort or the five-star Tongli Lake Hotel.
Catering: Tongli’s ginkgo rice cake, Qingtuan cake, Minbing cake, lard rice cake, chicken rice head, big meat steamed buns, Jiuniang cake, malt cake, small smoked fish, etc. All worth a try. Some old shops offer these homemade traditional snacks at affordable prices, and you can appreciate a century-old cultural heritage. Tongli has a mild and humid natural climate, a dense network of rivers, and abundant freshwater rivers. The most famous ones are Zhuangyuan's trotters, shrimp cakes, spring rolls with three shreds, sesame oil eel paste, seabass, mandarin fish and soft-shelled turtle. Aquatic plants include water bamboo, celery, water shield, water chestnut, lotus root and arrowroot.
What to see: Tongli is surrounded by five lakes, 15 rivers crisscrossing each other, and 55 stone bridges of different styles from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, bringing together ancient towns with a history of more than a thousand years. Well-preserved gardens, temples, temples, etc. The Ming and Qing mansions accounted for more than 60% of the urban buildings.
Transportation: From Shanghai to Tongli, you can take a day trip shuttle bus from the Tourist Distribution Center. Friends who plan to take a two-day trip can only choose to take a train to Suzhou Gallery and then take a bus to Tongli. There are many public buses and the journey takes about half an hour.
: Tips
1. The streets in Tongli are very narrow. If it rains, the streets can be slippery. If you are bringing the elderly or children, be sure to take care of their safety.
2. Every Friday to Sunday night, Tongli launches Tongli Night Tour. Visitors can listen to Jiangnan's unique silk and bamboo performances by the Three Bridges.