Zhouzhuang and Tongli

Background

Both towns are in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province: Zhouzhuang belongs to Kunshan and lies about 30 kilometres southeast of downtown Suzhou, while Tongli belongs to Wujiang District on the southern outskirts of the city. Zhouzhuang's emblem is the Double Bridges: the Shide Bridge runs east–west with a round arch, and the Yong'an Bridge runs north–south with a square arch; spanning the Yinzi Creek and the Nanbeishi River, the two join to look like an old-style Chinese key. The Fu'an Bridge, built in 1355, combines a single-arch bridge with bridge towers; the Shen Residence, built in 1742, has more than 100 rooms in three sections linked by corridors; the Zhang Residence has more than 70 rooms, with the Ruojing River flowing through the house; the Milou was once a gathering place for men of letters; and the Chengxu Taoist Temple dates back to the Northern Song. Tongli is best represented by the Retreat and Reflection Garden, whose pavilions, corridors, bridges and waterside halls are built over the water. The town has 55 bridges, of which the Taiping, Jili and Changqing bridges are the most famous. With criss-crossing waterways, white walls, dark tiles and homes along the water, both towns show the classic face of a Jiangnan water town. In the Spring and Autumn period Zhouzhuang was called Zhenfengli; it took its present name after Zhou Digong donated his estate to Quanfu Temple in the first year of the Yuanyou era of the Northern Song (1086). It prospered through water transport and trade in the Ming and Qing periods, and grand houses of wealthy families survive to this day. Tongli is a water-town market settlement of the old Wu region; the Retreat and Reflection Garden was designed by the painter Yuan Long for Ren Lansheng, built in 1885–1887, and inscribed on the World Heritage List with Suzhou's other classical gardens in 2001. Both towns have been called the “Venice of the East”, and Zhouzhuang also promotes itself as “China's No. 1 Water Town”.

Local customs

• Both towns are made for a ride in a hand-rowed boat through the waterways and for watching reflections of the water lanes and houses from the bridges. In Zhouzhuang see the Double Bridges, the Shen Residence, the Zhang Residence, the Milou and the Chengxu Taoist Temple, and try Wansan pork hock and Sanwei glutinous rice balls
• in Tongli see the Retreat and Reflection Garden, Luoxing Isle and the Three Bridges, stroll along Ming-Qing Street and rest in a waterside teahouse.

Travel tips

• Both scenic areas require tickets
• ticket prices and opening hours follow the official notices. There are many stone bridge steps and they are slippery in rain, so wear non-slip walking shoes
• rowed boats, electric carts and other ways of getting around follow the official notices. The two towns can be combined in one day, but each deserves half a day of unhurried looking.
• Zhouzhuang can be reached by bus from downtown Suzhou
• Tongli is about half an hour by bus from downtown Suzhou or about two hours by long-distance bus from Shanghai, and can also be reached on Suzhou Metro Line 4
• schedules follow the official notices. You can visit all year
• spring and autumn, with pleasant weather, are best for strolling the water lanes, summers are hot and rainy, so guard against the heat, and in winter the misty water has a charm of its own.