having fun and be happy: Tongli,a legend on water and Suzhou gardens

TONGLI,with a history dating back a thousand years,literaaly transport you back to the past in the Ming ,Qing and Song dynasties.

Water,Bridges and canals form the backbone of this wonderful,colourful watertown.Each bridge has a name steeped in history ,like the peace and tranquility bridge,good luck bridge and lasting celebrations bridge.The oldest bridge is the Reflecting Origin bridge built during the Song dynasty 960-1279 while the smallest bridge is called the single step bridge which is only one and half meter in length.The bridges,canals and the reflections on the water with the unique building architecture are enough to mesmerize any tourist,arts lover and history& architecture enthusiates.

Getting to the Tongli from Shanghai is easy.

One could either choose to take the long distance buses from Shanghai directly to Tongli or the trains from one of the three train stations. In this instance we had opted to take the renowned G trains ,known for its speed.

Our departure was at the Shanghai Hongqiao train station.(metro lines 2 &10)Another easy point of departure is from the Shanghai Main Railway station.(metro lines 1,3 & 4)

The fastest G train from Hongqiao takes only slightly more than 20 minutes to reach Suzhou Main railway station.Another point of entry is the Suzhou Industrial Park Railway Station.

There are many trips between these two cities daily and your point of departure will largely depends on where you are staying.

Hongqiao Railway Station,Shanghai

                                              Some restaurants at the Hongqiao Railway Station

1st class seats in G trains

Speed,efficient and comfort

SUZHOU Main Railway Station

Go up escalator to the Bus Terminal.

Signs to the destinations.Tongli can be reached either by buses or taxi.Journey time about 45 minutes.Taxi costs about 80Rmb.Buses costs 8Rmb but one can either choose to buy a ticket that includes the entrance fees(80Rmb) to Tongli town plus entrances to several sights.,not inclusive of the Sex museum.

Go down escalator to the Taxi station

Entrance to Tongli

colourful entrance to the watertown

Shops and restaurants selling local favourites

many choices here

My favourite,Dongpo rou.meaty but i like the skin most....

cormorants for fishing

Beautiful and lined by eating stalls

Picture perfect...for hire to go around the town

Gardens

SEX museum...Oooooo

Sex museum

SEX museum

SEx Museum...WOW

Dont miss the local food,cold dishes

To Suzhou,back from Tongli.Suzhou are famous for the many classical gardens.To untrained eyes these may appear just like any chinese gardens but in reality there are many elements of fengshui,and history ,culture in the gardens.
Suzhou has a lot to offer other than the gardens like the Humble Administartors garden,Lingering garden,Lion Grove Garden,Garden of master of nets.Not to be missed are the Hanshan temple,Tiger hill,Panmen scenic area,Silk museum,Shangtang old streets.