If you're a Chinese film buff, you may have already seen a bit of Tongli—it's a popular spot for shooting historical scenes. Some 18 km to the west of Suzhou, Tongli is one of the best preserved of Jiangsu Province's old Yangzi River Delta water towns, featuring an assortment of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) houses situated amidst a network of canals spanned by 49 classic Chinese bridges.
Charming scenes abound: willows reflect in waters plied by sampans. Whitewashed walls and black-tiled roofs with graceful upturned eaves shelter elderly couples lingering over tea. Temples and gardens emerge from the mist or glow in the sun, adorned with wood carvings of figures from classical Chinese literature and folklore. Tongli is understandably popular with tour groups, so if you'd like to take in the scenery with a minimum of fellow tourists crowding the picture, come on a weekday or in the off season.
An 80 RMB fee gets you into the old town and most of the cities attractions, including the UNESCO heritage site garden, Tuisi Yuan, the Ming-era Gengle Hall (Gengle Tang), Luoxing Zhou (Luoxing Islet) and its temples, as well as other notable attractions. Admission to the Museum of Ancient Chinese Sex Culture is an additional 20 RMB. An easy day trip from Shanghai or Suzhou, Tongli also makes for a pleasant overnight destination—the town empties of tour groups in the evening, making for peaceful strolls and pretty views of lights reflecting off the surface of the canals, and there are a number of charming guest houses offering affordable accommodations.
History
Consisting of seven islets separated by 15 canals situated near Tai Hu (Tai Lake), Tongli, established in the Song Dynasty (960 -- 1279 AD), has a history of over 1,000 years—fortunately, a relatively calm one, leaving us with excellent examples of classical Chinese architecture. Most of the historical buildings date from the late Ming and Qing dynasties. The town was opened to foreign visitors in 1986 and since then has accommodated itself well to the tourist trade.
Climate
Spring and Fall are the best times to visit Tongli, with moderate rains and temperatures making for pleasant outdoor weather. April and May see high temperatures in the mid-teens and 20s ºC (60s and 70s ºF) and moderate precipitation. September is nice and October is brilliant, with little rain and highs ranging from 15-24 ºC (70-84 ºF). Summers are hot and muggy, with August highs reaching well into the 30s ºC (90s ºF), and winters chilly and damp, with lows occasionally dipping below freezing. If you're lucky, you can catch the town after a fresh snowfall—the dark waters of the canals and branches of the willows stand out against the snow, adding charm to an already quaint and beautiful scene.
Many visitors enjoy staying with local families but there are a number of hotel and hostel accommodations available in the area as well. Lu's Hostel and Wanshun Hostel, both in the center of town, are good bets, as is Yi Ting Neighbor Inn. For straight-up hotel stays, the Shide Hotel and Tonglihu Holiday Village and the fancier Tongli Lakeview Hotel are all good options, and a number of good budget options can be found alongside the canals.
Tongli is a great place to sample local Jiangsu cuisine, especially dishes featuring fresh aquatic plants and fish. Most local food is slightly sweet, favoring brown sauces and light seasoning that allows the flavors of the ingredients to stand out. Famous regional snacks include smoked fish, dried bean curd, glutinous rice cakes and lightly fried spring rolls. There are a number of good, cheap "home-style" restaurants along the canals, and you're best off just following your nose and picking the canal-side establishment that suits your mood at the time. Order a cool drink or pot of tea, sample the local fare and relax as river traffic, locals and tourists drift by.
You can easily get by entirely on snacks if you wish. Local and visiting Chinese seek out highly regarded Tongli lotus root -- a sweet-tasting white tidbit well worth trying. Another snack to try is jiuniangbing, a kind of pancake made with distillers' grains.
Most restaurants don't have English menus, but the Xiangge Jiulou on Mingqing Jie is an exception. For more on Tongli eats, check out our growing Food & Restaurant listings below, and feel free to add your own reviews and comments.
Getting around
Once in tiny Tongli, walk or rent a bicycle to explore the charming village.
To and from Tongli
Bus
The water town of Tongli lies 105 kilometers (65 miles) from Shanghai. Several direct buses travel from Shanghai to Tongli (2 hours). Buses leave Shanghai Stadium (Shanghai Tiyuguan) (Tel: 021 6426 5555) and Hongkou Football Stadium (Hongkou Zuqiuchang) (Tel: 021 5696 3248) at 8:30 a.m. every day. Remember to book tickets in advance. Also, a 1:35 p.m. bus to Tongli departs the Long-distance Bus Station at the intersection of Zhongshan Bei Lu and Hutai Lu every day (Tel: 021 5653 8590 / 5652 4263 / 5653 8064).
Some passengers travel first to Suzhou and then transfer to Tongli, just 18 kilometers (11 miles) away. Suzhou's three bus stations all operate routes to Tongli. Buses depart Suzhou South Bus Station (Tel: 0512 6577 6577) every 20-30 minutes from 7:10 a.m. to 5:20 p.m.; every half an hour, Tongli-bound buses leave Suzhou Wuzhong Qu Bus Station (Tel: 0512 6525 1088) from 7:10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; and Suzhou North Bus Station (Tel: 0512 6577 6577) operates buses once an hour from 7:25 a.m. to 5:25 p.m.
Train
Daily trains run from the Shanghai Railway Station (Tel: 021 6317 9090/9510 5123) and Shanghai South Railway Station (Tel: 021 6451 1039) to Suzhou (1 hour). From Suzhou, passengers take a bus to Tongli (30 minutes).
The busy shopping street Mingqing Jie is full of shops selling souvenirs, trinkets, paintings, fans, silk products and local arts and crafts. Always bargain and watch out for phony silk.
Tongli is still a sleepy little town, but a number of performances and festivals now complement the town's stately Ming and Qing architecture. From Spring through Fall, you can generally find regional Suzhou-style folk music, opera and dance performances in a number of gardens, squares and teahouses. Summer weekends see Night Garden recitals of Chinese classic ballads and stories—all in the Suzhou dialect, which might limit foreign visitors' appreciation of the costumes, lamps, moonlight and melodies.
Museums & Galleries
A rather unexpected museum lies just east of Tuisi Yuan (the Garden of Retreat and Reflection)—the Museum of Ancient Chinese Sex Culture (Zhongguo Gudai Xing Wenhua Bowuguan). Previously located in Shanghai, the museum surveys some 4,000 years of sex and sexuality in the Middle Kingdom, going all the way back to a sculpture of a phallus sporting the head of a woman from around 2000 BC.
Festivals & Events
Tongli is popular with Chinese tourists for its festivals & events, and a visit during celebrations such as the Water Dragon Shooting Festival, or the Arhat Oracle Lottery, festivals in which you can "meet" an Immortal or the Buddha are great ways to experience local culture (at least as it's recreated for tourists). All festivals are timed to the Chinese lunar calendar, so you'll need to check local listings for precise dates.