Tong li Ancient Town

With National Highway 318 and Provincial Highway 205 lies to the southwest and west of Tong li ancient town respectively, it sits besides the Taihu Lake and along the Grand Canal, 80 kilometers away from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, 18 kilometers away from Suzhou, and 6 kilometers from Wujiang. With convenient transport and advantaged geographical position, Suzhou is “an important path connecting Shanghai and Suzhou”. In such excellent place, you can appreciate the charm of the ancient town by enjoying the typical scene of “low bridge, running stream, cottage”, since Tongli scenic area consists of many lakes such as Pangshan Lake, Jiuli Lake, Tongli Lake, Nanxing Lake and Yeze Lake, which together encircle the Tong li ancient town.

Tong li ancient town, built in the Song Dynasty, has a history of more than 1000 years. The name Tong li, which is pleasant to hear and easy to remember, originated from the two Chinese Characters “Fu” and “ tu”. During the Tang Dynasty, in order to get rid of the luxurious meaning it carried, people renamed it as “Tong li”(means within copper). Again, during the Song Dynasty, the two characters “Fu” and “Tu” was split and combined into “Tong li”, which survived a long history until now.

In 1980, Tong li ancient town was designated to one of Taihu Lake National Scenic Spots, followed by its enlisting in province-level cultural relic protection units in 1982, and in province-level cultural relic protection towns in 1992, whereby its famous scenic spot the Retreat and Reflection Garden was enrolled into the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO(Unite Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization). In 2010, Tongli Ancient Town was ranked as National 5A level tourist attraction.

Address: Tong li town, Wujiang District

Tel: 0512-63311140

Admission fee for foreigners:

100 RMB for a joint ticket(you can visit Pearl Pagoda, Songshi Enlightment Garden, Exhibition Hall of Water Conservancy Project in Taihu Lake, Chongben Hall, Jiayin Hall, Gengyue Hall,and Luoxing Island for free )

40 RMB for night tour at the Retreat and Reflection Garden (included in the joint ticket; If you haven’t enter the Retreat and Reflection Garden during the daytime using the joint ticket, you can enter during the night tour; If you have, then you need to buy another ticket for night tour)

Opening hours: the ancient town will open for all day, some of the scenic spots: 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (April to October); 7:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m. (starting from November to March of the next year)

Night tour at the Retreat and Reflection Garden: 5:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. during the end of April to the end of October (the notification issued by the scenic area shall prevail)