Kota Air Tongli

Introducing Tongli Water Town
Tongli Water Town has been given the nickname “Venesia dari Timur”. Tongli is half an hour away from Suzhou city. Tongli is a town with a profound cultural background and achievement. From ancient times, it has been teeming with poets, pelukis, Confucian scholars and government officials. The town is also famous for its bridges and well preserved ancient architecture including private gardens, temples and houses. The place retains many of the features of an ancient Wu region town. True to its reputation, Tongli is a really wonderful travel destination where you can spend a marvelous holiday or experience traditional Chinese culture.

Tongli Water Town Fast Facts
• Nama Cina: Tongli Guzhen 同里古镇
• Waktu Terbaik untuk Mengunjungi: April hingga Oktober
• Jam Kunjungan yang Disarankan: Sekitar 3 ke 5 jam
• Hal yang Bisa Dilakukan: Fotografi, Arsitektur, Alam, Kapal Pesiar
• Jam Buka: Kota: Sepanjang hari; Scenic sites inside: 07:30 ke 17:30;
Night tour for Retreat & Reflection Garden: 18:30-21:00 on weekends in summertime
• Biaya Masuk: ¥100 including 10 scenic sites; ¥50 for Retreat & Reflection Garden
• Alamat: Tongli Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou, Provinsi Jiangsu

What to expect at Tongli Water Town

Being an ancient township, Tong Li berbatasan dengan Danau Tongli di sebelah timur, Danau Nanxin di selatan, berbatasan dengan Danau Pangshan di sebelah barat, Danau Jiuli di utara dan Sungai Wusong Jiang di barat laut. Bagian kota dibagi oleh aliran sungai menjadi 7 pulau-pulau kecil yang bersilangan dengan area perairan sekitarnya, membentuk kabupaten air khas di selatan.

Dengan jaringan danau dan saluran air, Kota Air Tongli tidak pernah mengalami perang karena sulit diakses pada zaman dahulu. Oleh karena itu lebih banyak bangunan kuno yang terpelihara, di antaranya kita masih dapat menikmati tempat-tempat indah berikut: Menatap Bulan di Aliran Timur, Pasar Berkabut Selatan saat Fajar, Menyeberangi Malam di Feris Barat, Pemandangan Musim Semi di Bukit Utara, Seruling Nelayan di Desa Air dan Bambu Berkabut di Bukit Chan. Rumah-rumah tradisional tersusun rapat di sisi tepi halus yang ditimbun oleh Batu Jinshan, dan gang-gang berliku serta jalan yang dipaving dengan batu kerikil masih mempertahankan tampilan kuno. Ada 24 jembatan di persimpangan jalur air. Jembatan Siben yang dibangun pada masa Dinasti Song Selatan sederhana dan kuno. Jembatan Fu’guan yang dibangun pada masa Dinasti Yuan megah.

Kota Air Tongli kaya akan budaya. Dalam perjalanan panjang sejarahnya, Kota Air Tongli pernah terkenal karena prestasinya dalam ujian kekaisaran dan telah menghasilkan ahli Konfusianisme serta tokoh-tokoh terkemuka. Sekitar 40 prasasti batu dari berbagai periode terawat dengan baik dan cukup banyak jalan serta gangnya dinamai berdasarkan jabatan resmi seperti Jalan Zhuang-yuan, Jalan Tongzhi, dll.

Di kota Tongli , Bangunan Ming dan Qing menempati empat persepuluh dari total area, di antaranya terdapat rumah-rumah besar sembilan deret, halaman kecil yang indah dan taman-taman. Gerbang dengan ukiran batu bata Keluarga Zhu dan ukiran kayu Balai Chong Ben &Balai Jia Yin sangat indah. Bangunan Yan-yi di halaman Balai Geng-le dibuat begitu elegan sehingga seperti burung layang-layang mengepakkan sayapnya. Huan Xiu Ge memiliki dua lantai. Jika lantai pertama dilepas, ikan dapat terlihat berenang di kolam jernih di bawahnya, penuh dengan kehidupan.
Terletak di kota Tongli , Taman Meditasi Tenang dibangun oleh Ren Lansheng pada tahun 1886 M, tahun ke-11 masa pemerintahan Kaisar Guangxu dari dinasti Qing, setelah dia diberhentikan dari jabatannya. ‘Saat menjabat, one should be loyal to the emperor, when away from office, one should meditate upon his previous faults.”—- It was the motto of the officials in imperial times. Hence the name “the Garden of Quiet Meditation”.

The garden covers an area of 10 mu. The western part is for dwelling, termasuk 3 rows : sedan hall, tea hall and th main hall. There is also a spacious bedroom for the womenfolk. The eastern part is composed of the exterior and interior gardens. The whole construction shows no over-elaboration and reflects the peculiar architectural form of the late Qing dynasty. The 3 sides but the north of the exterior garden are halls for meeting or entertaining guests. Outside the exterior garden are pines, bambu, winter sweet and artificial stalagmite. Inside in the courtyard is a eastward land boat, a rendezvous of the guests. The stern is combined with lattice windows and veranda. The northern side of the courtyard is the “ Viewing Moon Loft”, from where the host together with his guests hummed verses and responded each other with poems in the quiet moonlight. In the interior garden, the pavilions, terraces, boudoirs, the winding causeways and corridors and the rockeries all surround the pond or lie close to the water, giving an illusion of floating on the water.

Although small in size, the Garden of Quiet Meditation embraces all the rockeries, kolam, bangunan, vines, pepohonan, flowers and plants that exist in the classical gardens south of the Yantze River. Selain itu, one can enjoy the scenes of the four seasons and those of guqin, chess, calligraphy and drawing. The whole garden, with the moderate and exquisite layout, amiable scenery, exhibits rich artistic flavors.

How to get to Tongli Water Town

Dari Suzhou
• Take a Suzhou-Tongli direct bus from Suzhou North Bus Station or the north square of Suzhou Railway Station.

Dari Shanghai
• Take a tourist bus from the General Station of the Shanghai Tour Bus Center or Hongkou Branch to the town.

Dari Hangzhou
• Take a direct bus from Hangzhou North Bus Station to Tongli.

Additional travel advice on Tongli Water Town
• The entrance ticket is valid for two days. Visitor who wants to spend two days in the town should apply the extension at the ticket office before checking in.
• Harap berhati-hati saat naik perahu wisata.