★ Tourist location: Tongli Ancient Town, Wujiang, Suzhou

Tongli Ancient Town, located in Wujiang District, is another famous 5A-level Jiangnan Water Town Ancient Town Scenic Area after Zhouzhuang. I went to Tongli once when Zhouzhuang was famous. At that time, Tongli had not yet been commercialized. The entire water town had an authentic style. Even during the October holiday, there were not many tourists. However, Tongli later had also been commercialized. Although the street was still the same street and the garden was still the same garden, it always felt that something was missing. Maybe Tongli gave me a really good impression, so although I was disappointed once, I couldn't help but go again. Fortunately, the disappointment with Tongli is nothing more than the increasing degree of commercialization and the increasing number of tourists.

Tongli was built since the Song Dynasty. Of course, there are no buildings in the Song Dynasty now. Most of them are gardens, temples, mansions and former residences of celebrities from the Ming and Qing dynasties. There is a lot of water in the south of the Yangtze River, and Tongli is no exception. Fifteen small rivers are in the shape of a "river", dividing the ancient town into seven small islands. Forty-nine ancient bridges are erected across the river, connecting the entire ancient town into a "small bridge and flowing water home." The ancient town of Jiangnan water town.

The archway is the main entrance of the scenic area, with relatively modern shops on both sides. At the end of the journey, you will find the entrance of the ancient town. There is a stage. It is impossible to have performances during the epidemic, but there are still many tourists resting.

On the right side is Ming and Qing Street, which is one of the main commercial streets of the ancient town. It was built in 1996 and is more than 160 meters long. The architectural style is consistent with the original ancient houses in the ancient town. The architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties relatively completely retains the characteristics of Jiangnan. There are two parallel street patterns on the upper and lower streets. There are four words at the entrance: "Legacy of the Qingming Festival", written by Fei Xiaotong. I thought that when it comes to history, we should have the Ming Dynasty in front of the Qing Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, so when I saw these four words, I still wondered for a moment. Does the Qing Dynasty refer to a certain solar term or the Ming and Qing styles?

Walking into the street, it was quite lively. After all, the base of passenger traffic is relatively large. Walking on the street, you will see rows of shops on both sides. In addition to goods from all over the world, there are also local specialties from Tongli, such as Zhuangyuan's hooves (I always feel that this is a specialty of Zhouzhuang, so it is more appropriate to call them Jiangzi's hooves), chicken head rice, etc.

The weather is too good today, so that we can't appreciate the taste of the misty rain Jiangnan. The powder walls, black tiles, deep alleys, and ancient wells seem to travel through time in the sunshine. I often see several beautiful women dressed in ancient costumes, and there must be a photographer behind me, either a professional photographer from the ancient town, or a male friend. Walking on the ancient streets of Jiangnan, I feel that these ancient costumes are the most suitable. Plain long dresses can also leave light silhouettes in alleys, and bright colors always feel that they are quite stiff and incompatible with the ancient town.

The ancient town has many ancient houses, the most famous of which is Tuisi Garden. It is said that there are also night tours. There will be a live performance of "Peony Pavilion" on weekends, which is very exciting. However, during the epidemic, this event has been cancelled, and we have no plans to stay in Tongli, so we can only choose a day tour.

Pearl Pagoda, Songshi Wu Garden, Jiayin Hall, Geng Le Hall, Wang Ao Memorial Hall, etc. are all well-known attractions in the ancient town. In addition, walk slowly along the small streets next to the river, and some tourist attractions will be found on both sides from time to time. Some of these attractions can be visited for free, and some require verification of ticket packages.

Chen Qubing's former residence is a simple Qing Dynasty residence covering an area of 1364 square meters. It was completed in 1920. The meeting place was named Haoran Hall.

Although Nanyuan Tea House is a business place, it is decorated very antique. It is also one of the top eight famous scenic spots in history, Xiaoyan, Nanshi, facing Chen Qubing's former residence across the river.

Sanxietang was originally the main hall of Shao's residence Xuegu Hall. It was built in the late Ming Dynasty and has a building area of 57.12 square meters. Shao believed that this hall was a treasure place of feng shui and wanted future generations to thank heaven, earth and ancestors, so he named it "Three Xie Tang".

The former site of Taihu Water Conservancy Tongzhi Office, commonly known as Tongzhi Yamen, was established in the eighth year of Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. It has a total of three roads and six entrances. It has a regular pattern of front rooms and back houses, with alleys and gardens arranged in the east and west. In the 13th year of Yongzheng, the site was relocated to Dongting Mountain, but it has been lost, so the old site here is even more valuable for protection.

The entrance of Taihu Water Conservancy Exhibition Hall is very inconspicuous. Although it is strange why this exhibition hall was not built on the shores of Taihu Lake, since Suzhou belongs to the Taihu Lake Basin, it is understandable to show Taihu Water Conservancy. Taihu Lake was originally named Zhenze, so I feel that if the exhibition hall was to be located in an ancient town, perhaps Zhenze would be more suitable than Tongli? Since we are here, there is naturally no reason to pass through the door but not enter. Therefore, I had no choice but to go in and have a look. In the same Taihu Basin, the lost news of Taihu Lake was not too unfamiliar, so I looked very carelessly and walked casually from the first exhibition room to the last exhibition room to take a quick look. It was over. After all, they are all graphic and graphic materials, but there is a fishing boat, a "food withdrawal room", and a piece of water conservancy equipment.

Chongben Hall is located on the north side of Changqing Bridge on Fuguan Street. It faces south and is built facing the water, facing Jiayin Hall across the river. In the first year of the Republic of China, Qian Youqin purchased part of the Gu family's West House and rebuilt it. The building is a five-way building, a lobby, main hall, front building, back building, and kitchen. Although it is not large in scale, it is very compact, so it also looks more exquisite. Now it is a display in the Jiangnan Water Town Wedding Customs Hall, and we are not interested in this display either. They originally belong to the Jiangnan Water Town, and their wedding customs and habits are generally similar. Occasionally, there are differences in details. We are not experts in marriage customs research, nor are we interested in research. However, the building itself is still something to watch. Although the carved brick gate tower is not as good as Jingsi Garden and Tuisi Garden, it is still very exquisite.

Coming out of Chongbentang is the Sanqiao Scenic Area, the most prosperous area in Tongli. The three bridges refer to Taiping Bridge, Jili Bridge and Changqing Bridge. Taiping Bridge spans Dongliu and Qizi Wei. The Jili Bridge spans the Qizi and Qicheng Wei, and is located between the Taiping Bridge and Changqing Bridge. It is an arched bridge with bridges on both north and south sides of the bridge. Changqing Bridge is commonly known as Xiejia Bridge, which spans the Dongliu Wei and Yuyu Wei Wei. It was formerly named Fujian Bridge, also known as Guangli Bridge. There is a considerable number of people on each bridge. After all, some tourists may not be interested in ancient houses, but this is a place where every tourist must check in.

Luoxingzhou is a small island in Tongli Lake, located in the east of the ancient town. Tourists who believe in Buddhism are bound to check in. It is said that the earliest building on Luoxingzhou dates from the Yuan Dynasty. The main part is the Guanyin Hall, and there is a garden to the south of the temple. Others, such as Chenghuang Hall, Wenchang Pavilion, Doumu Pavilion, dry boat, Qu Qiao, etc., combine temples and gardens. However, the current Luo Xingzhou was rebuilt in 1996, and the original Luo Xingzhou was burned by the Japanese invaders in 1938. At that time, the Japanese soldiers who were reinforcing were angry at the lush trees on Luoxing Chau and ordered them to be burned, so the trees and buildings on Xiaozhou were destroyed.

There are tea seats and food seats along the river in the ancient town. Although the weather is not cool enough, tourists still choose to sit along the river. It's okay to eat. What I prefer is to sit by the river and drink a cup of green tea, whether green tea or scented tea. What you drink is not tea, but a feeling of water town.