Water City of Tongli

The town of Tongli is a famous ancient site of rivers and lakes. 23 kilometres to the north is Suzhou City, and 6 kilometers west is the county town of Wujiang (Songling Town). To the north of the town is Jiuli Lake, to the east is Tongli Lake, to the south is Nanxing Lake and to the west is Pangshan Lake.

The surface of the town is in the shape of a rough circle, surrounded by the inner, middle and outer rivers. It is divided into 7 pieces of land with different sizes, with the water area occupying one-fifth of the total town area. In the town streets two rivers run parallel to each other.

The layout of the town and the residences along both banks retain the traditional style.The buildings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties account for almost 40% of all buildings in the town. Many of them are large residences, and the largest has 9 rows of houses. Famous historic sites include "two halls and three bridges".

Jiayin Hall was established in the traditional style although it was built in the 1910's. It was where a well-known scholar Liu Yazi lived in his early years. The other is Jiaben Hall, built in the Late Qing Dynasty. Both halls have 4 rows and 3 bays. On the beams are fine carvings. Over a winding river near the two halls are three ancient bridges named "Peace", "Luck" and "Glory" in an arch or flat shape.

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