Where is Tongli?

Tongli Town is located in the northeast of Wujiang City, Jiangsu Province, on the shore of Taihu Lake and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It belongs to the Danghu Plain in the water network plain of Taihu Lake. The surrounding lakes are dotted with rivers, harbors and lakes as dense as cobwebs. The town is adjacent to Tongli Lake in the east, Tonglize Lake and Nanxing Lake in the south, Pangshan Lake (reclaimed) in the west, Jiuli Lake in the north, Wusong River in the northwest and Hucheng Lake in the northeast. The town is vertically and horizontally divided by the "Chuan"-shaped city river and its tributaries, forming a 15 dike. Coastal "houses are dense and streets are winding". The town has its own water network, civil river bridges abound, and the green water is always clear. "Every family is near the water, and every family has a boat." It has formed a unique landscape of "there are many small bridges in the water lane, and everyone rests on the river". The small bridges pass through the water city and the river port enters the lake field. It is a typical "small bridge and flowing water family" ancient town in Jiangnan water town.

Tongli Town has a total length of 5. 14km and an area of 9.37 hectares, with a per capita13.9m2.. The total length of stone revetment is 6.04 kilometers, and the waterfront residential area is 54,600 square meters, accounting for 36.9% of the total construction area of the residential area. The layout of a town revolves around water, which creates a street, a road, a city and a garden. Water, roads, bridges, houses and gardens are ingeniously and naturally integrated, forming the unique water town style of Tongli ancient town.

Tongli is a veritable land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River. Because there are many banks of Danghe River, there are all kinds of inexhaustible aquatic products. Fish and shrimp are abundant, such as whitebait, whitebait, mandarin fish, Monopterus albus, eel, turtle and perch, as well as herring, grass carp, bighead carp, silver carp, bream, carp and crucian carp. In addition to fish, shrimp, mussels and other aquatic products, Tongli has a complete range of aquatic plants, mainly including Zizania latifolia, celery, water shield, Euryale ferox, water chestnut, lotus root, water chestnut, taro and arrowhead. Some can be served on the table, some are seasonal supplements, and some are timely.

In the "Eight Great Scenery" of Ming Dynasty, many landscapes are also based on water, such as "Nine Miles of Blue", "Lianpu Fragrant Wind" and "Shuicun Fishing Flute". The landscape of "Luoxing listening to the rain" in the "last four scenes" is characterized by waterscape and is known as "Penglai Wonderland".

Because of the water, the habit of drinking tea in Tongli is stronger than that in other ancient towns. Before the Anti-Japanese War, there were more than 20 teahouses in Tongli, which were generally built along the river to facilitate water collection. River water can be used to make tea after alum precipitation.

Historically, the gardens in Tongli were all attached to water, and they had an indissoluble bond with water. Ye Yin, a poet in the Song Dynasty, built another business called Shuizhu Villa. There are ten scenic spots in the park, such as "Qushui Flowing", "Bamboo Geomantic Moon" and "Cliff Cold Pool", all of which are water features connected with water phase. In the Yuan Dynasty, the "Water Garden" in Tongli was occupied by Ye Zhenzong, covering several miles, beside the lake in Tongli. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a "lake forestry" in Tongli, which was Ren Xiu's garden, and was located on the side of Pangshan Lake. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a famous garden called "Tuisi Garden". Professor Chen Congzhou of Tongji University pointed out: Stone Man Retreat Garden is a must in the south of the Yangtze River, and Retreat Garden is a special case. Mountains, pavilions, pavilions, corridors, pavilions, etc. They are all near the water, and the garden is like water. Professor Chen Congzhou also spoke highly of the water in Tongli: "Tongli is famous for its water, and there is no water in Tongli."