Tongli is an old water town located on the eastern shore of Taihu Lake not far away from Suzhou city and has a population of 55,000. In 1981 Tongli has been officially listed as one of the thirteen tourist attractions of Taihu Lake region.

There are bridges throughout the entire area linking between different parts of the town. Forty-nine stone bridges in total in a variety of styles join the seven islands created by fifteen rivers and five lakes (Tongli, Jiuli, Yeze, Nanxin and Pangshan) upon which Tongli stands. Standing motionless for hundreds of years, the bridges bear witness to the vicissitudes of history and remain an indispensable part of the township.

Tongli has a reputation of a "museum of ancient Chinese architecture," There are many houses and temples date back to Ming and Qing Dynasties that are built along the riversides with whitewashed walls, carved wooden windows and small stairs leading down to the water.

If you are seeking peace and retreat, Tongli is a wonderful escape destination, spending as little as 80RMB can get you into this old town and experience most of the attractions including the UNESCO heritage site garden, Tuisi Yuan, the Ming-era Gengle Hall (Gengle Tang), Luoxing Zhou (Luoxing Islet) and its temples. in 1982 it was listed for protection as the standard provincial town of cultural interest in Jiangsu Province. Tongli is now a highly praised historical site and tourist destination resort, enjoys increasing popularity with travel enthusiasts. Spring and Autumn are the best season to visit Tongli, with moderate temperature and rains.

Delta Wang is a Travel Expert working for Absolute China Tours ltd, a CNTA-approved China Travel Agency. Find more travel information about Chinese cities in our China Travel Guide, please visit our China Travel http://www.absolutechinatours.com/china-travel-guide/ Information page.