Tongli Town is located in Wujiang District of Suzhou which is on the shore of the Taihu Lake and east of the ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Tongli, a AAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration and one of the first batch of China's Historical and Cultural Towns, has 1 major historical and cultural relics protected at national level, 7 historical and cultural relics protected at provincial level and 14 historical and cultural relics protected at municipal level.
Tongli is 4 to 5 meters above sea level. The flat terrain offers good conditions for the deposits of lakes. Within the territory, there are nearly 300 rivers and about 20 lakes of different sizes. The main produces of Tongli are rice, Tongli green (one green plant in Tongli), seed of euryale ferox, rape seeds, Brasenia and black carps.
Tongli Ancient Town is laid out in “a network of islets that are connected by bridges”. Surrounded with five lakes, Tongli is divided by 8 canals into 8 islets. These islets are connected through 20 old bridges built in different ages, thus an islet town connected by bridges.
Tongli has been the market of rice and a place for oil mills since the 16th century. As it neighbored the old city of Suzhou, it had attracted a large number of scholars and retired officials to inhabit here, forming a traditional dwelling house style fusing the residential building style of the riches and the features of Suzhou classical gardens. Among architectures built in different ages, buildings established before the Republic of China accounted for 43.2% of them. The most notable names among them are the Retreat and Reflection Garden, Lize Girls’ School, Former Residence of Chen Qubing (1874-1933, a poet and revolutionist in the Late Qing Dynasty), Wuben Hall, Chongben hall, Jiayin hall, and Former Residence of Yang Tianji.
