A DAY IN THE LIFE OF TONGLI, CHINESE RIVER TOWN, 22 May 2014

The main gateway leading into old Tongli.

The ancient river town of Tongli is one of China's best marketed tourist attractions. Established centuries ago along the Grand Canal system of China, it maintains an antiquated air and lifestyle despite the hordes of tourists which descend on it. Situated fairly close to the city of Suzhou, it makes a splendid day trip just to see what China was like a hundred years ago.

Getting there was probably the most "difficult" part. One could part with a fair bit of money hiring a taxi to and from Suzhou, but the sensible way is by public bus from the Suzhou Southern Bus Station. Its an hour-long trip to a small terminus in a newer section of Tongli, and a short electric tram ride into the old city. Once one crosses the main bridge, its a pedestrian's paradise, and much of the fun is in wandering in its narrow streets, ambling along canals and popping into well-maintained residences and gardens. 

    

Tongli's most famous and most photographed foot bridge.

Another Chinese town that makes its claim
to be the "Venice of China".

This intersection of two canals provides
a great view of three bridges.
The birds on the boat are fishing cormorants.

View from a bridge:
one of my favourite panoramas in Tongli.

An opposing view of the same bridge, near the
entrance of Gengle Yuan (Happy Farming Garden).

Tongli is teeming with tourists,
but this is one of the quieter thoroughfares.

One of Tongli's most popular cafés.

Doorways and windows of Tongli.

Private life of China's river town Tongli.

THE ROMANCE OF PINGJIANG LU, SUZHOU

The north entrance to Pingjiang Lu
is a humble looking gateway.

Its nearing Chinese New Year, so allow me to reminisce in pictures some of the more interesting places in China I visited last year. Following the Singapore Chinese Orchestra on its China tour in May 2014 gave me ample opportunity to visit some of Suzhou's fabled sites. Having had quite enough of philosopher's, lovers' and humble administrators's gardens, I had the opportunity to visit Pingjiang Lu, not once but thrice. 

It has to be one of Suzhou's most romantic walks, and the best part of it all - its FREE! A 1.5 kilometre walk along a canal does not quite sound romantic, but one has to take it in one's stride, soak in the atmosphere and smell the flowers (not to mention the canal water). I was hooked, not so much by its recent gentrification but the slow pace of life and simplicity of it all. Old houses, stone bridges, quaint shops and cafés all add to its charm. All this culminated with a simple lunch of home-cooked food (from a nearby hole-in-the-wall kitchen) by the canal with a view of a covered bridge. 

Quite a number of river towns in China
vie for the title "Venice of the East".
Suzhou certainly has its just claims. 

Pingjiang Lu's gentrification has seen many
new shops sprout out along its narrow alley-ways.

There are other forms of transport
but walking is definitely the best.

Terracotta Elvis fronts one café

Any wonder why wedding couples
want to have their pictures taken here?

A great spot for lunch,
with added aromas for free!

Some places look as if time had stood still.

Pinjiang renjia (Denizens of Pingjiang)

Doorways of Suzhou

 

The entrance to a lovely little pavilion in the Humble Administrator's Garden called Listening to the Rain. How poetic this truly is, especially when it looks into a courtyard with the shade of banana trees (or its Chinese relative).

It looks like I've started on a theme that continues with this post. The gardens of Suzhou are truly magnificent examples of horticulture and landscape architecture, but I've decided to focus on the doors and doorways in some of the gardens instead. The sequence of gardens are according to the order in which I visited them on 12 November 2012.

One of the most popular pavilions in the Humble Administrator's Garden is the Xiang Zhou (Fragrant Isle), so-named because it looks like a boat surrounded by water on three sides. Its doorway is the lucky ocatagon (which also graces the Singapore one dollar coin), supposedly something fortituous according to the geomancers. 



They come in all shapes and sizes, a four-leaved clover-shaped doorway in the Lion Grove Garden. The Chinese characters on top roughly means "the pursuit of beauty", and I can hardly disagree on this point. 

 

A full moon-shaped doorway in the Master of the Nets Garden, overlooking its lovely little pond.

The entrance into Canglang Ting (Blue Wave Pavilion), after one crosses a stone bridge over the moat.

 

A vase-shaped doorway in Canglang Ting.

A jug-shaped window that overlooks the moat of Canglang Ting.

 

The main attraction in Shuang Ta are its twin pagodas, but the exquisite carvings over the doorway date back one-thousand years. This was my last destination before I left Suzhou, arriving just minutes before it closed. The old caretaker was kind enough to point out this truly beautiful work of art to me.

 

Panoramas of Suzhou

The most famous gardens in Suzhou is Zhuozhen Yuan (Humble Administrator's Garden), known for its vast expanse, ponds and hillocks with their pavilions.

The Chinese city Suzhou (or Soochow) is famous for its ancient gardens, lovingly crafted by men of high position in their years of wealth and retirement. Their concept of fengshui, juxtaposition of nature and construction, incorporating the sky, greenery, water and rocks within their not-so-humble abodes, have become quintessentially Chinese characteristics. Yin and yang fit perfectly in their world, and these gardens are an oasis of peace and tranquillity within the bustling Chinese city. Travelling from Shanghai (via high speed railway, it takes just 20 minutes), I spent an enjoyable eight hours in Suzhou, wandering in its fabled gardens and enjoying their beauty.     

Another view of the Humble Administrator's Garden, with the exquisite Xiang Zhou (Fragrant Isle), a boat shaped pavilion on the left.

Corridors hugging the side of lakes are a feature in the Humble Administrator's Garden.

A short distance away is the Shizhi Lin (Lion Grove Garden), famous for its labyrinthine rockery which take on fantastic and grotesque shapes.  

The most elegant and exquisite of gardens is the Wangshi Yuan (Master of the Nets  Garden), so named because its builder had dreams of becoming a fisherman in his later years. Its central lake is the most beautiful feature of this little hideaway.

The moat the runs along the north-eastern edge of Canglang Ting (Blue Wave Pavilion) is a most picturesque sight.

Canglang Ting is the oldest surviving of all Suzhou gardens. This courtyard fronts the Ming Dao Tang (Hall of Enlightenment), which takes on a special interest for yours truly as it incorporates the generational names of my family (Ming for my father's generation, and Dao for my own generation).