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The Town of Tongli Part 1

Tongli located outside Suzhou in Jiangsu Province is one of my favorite destinations in China. I loved this village so much! It is so beautiful. It is one of Suzhou's famous Water Towns. There are as many canals in Tongli as their are streets, and the dozens of ancient stone bridges that cross them are each unique and beautiful.


We took a bus from the city of Suzhou, which took less than an hour. The bus parked in a huge parking lot for busses, and everybody was let out. We then had to go on foot to Tongli, which took about 40 minutes. We hiked through the countryside through alleyways and over canals to get to the town. The way to the town was really beautiful, and so we got more and more excited as we walked along.


We crossed a final bridge, to get to the entrance to the town. The entrance looks quite unassuming. It is just a small gateway which leads to a narrow stone paved street. Out side the entrance is a huge bridge which was being re roofed when we arrived. The bridge crosses the river which borders the town of Tongli. Before entering the town, we stopped at a small restaurant to the right of the entrance and had lunch. We were starved, and had some local noodles, which were delicious and filling. After lunch, we decided to enter Tongli.

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Photos

Row of Alcohol Pots
I have a love of China's local alcohol pots. Although created as disposable containers, I find them to be quite beautiful in their simplicity.

Three Wheeled Truck
This truck only has one front wheel. I thought it was really bizarre, and wonder how many of these things tip over.

Canal
This is the first of Suzhou's water town's canals that I saw.

Stone Bridge
Visitors to Tongli need to cross this stone bridge to get into the town.

Canal and Water Taxi
The small boat is a water taxi. It is the most convenient way to get around Tongli.

Beautiful Little Girl
This adorable little girl kept throwing the little blue stuffed animal into the air for our entertainment. She would laugh histerically when it hit the ground.

Entrance to Tongli
The gateway on the right of the picture is the entrance to Tongli. On the left is a huge stone bridge used to cross the River bordering one side of Tongli.

Large Ancient Stone Bridge
This is the bridge that crosses the river bordering Tongli.

Water Taxis
These water taxis are waiting for passengers.

Entrance to Tongli
This gate is the entrance to Tongli.

Comments

[Mark]

I am planning a second trip to Suzhou this summer, because I loved the city so much. I hadn't heard of Tongli before, but it looks beautiful! I will definitely have to take a couple of days and visit. Thanks for the info!

[Guilin]

Tongli
Make sure you plan to spend the night because in the morning and afternoon it is pretty touristy, but as soon as the busses leave, the place completely changes and becomes a wonderful quaint traditional village.