Tongli 同里

About Tongli

Its bridges and waterside streets preserve the close relationship between domestic buildings and the water network.

The Retreat and Reflection Garden provides a focused classical-garden visit within the town. Taiping, Jili and Changqing bridges form another named group, associated with local wishes for health and happiness. Plan the garden and the canal streets as complementary parts of the visit, allowing for separate access arrangements at individual historic buildings.

Tongli, in Suzhou's Wujiang district, is an ancient Jiangnan town with a history of more than a thousand years. On 8 October 2003 China's Ministry of Construction and State Administration of Cultural Heritage named ten Chinese Historic and Cultural Towns (中国历史文化名镇), and Tongli was one of them.

The Retreat and Reflection Garden (退思园) was designed by the artist Yuanlong for Ren Lansheng and built between 1885 and 1887; in 2001 it was recognised, together with other classical Suzhou gardens, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Luoxing Zhou is an island in the lake holding Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian sites, where people go during the Spring Festival to ring a bell in prayer. The town has 55 bridges in total, and Jiayin Hall, the former home of Liu Yazi, is noted for its collection of gauze caps.

What to look for

• Canal-side buildings and bridges preserve the town’s water-based layout.
• The Retreat and Reflection Garden adds a compact late-Qing garden composition.
• Taiping, Jili and Changqing bridges form a named local bridge group.

The surrounding area

A provincial city base for classical gardens, canals and soup-noodle breakfasts; do not confuse its old city with the distant North railway station.

Location & getting there

Getting to Tongli

Approach Tongli’s historic town in Wujiang. Tongli metro station is a regional rail approach, with the final connection to the old-town entrance to be checked separately.