Suzhou With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Tong Li Watertown
Previous Posts:
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 1 - Novotel Hotels
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 2 - Visiting The Museums
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 3 - Visiting Starbucks And Apple
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 4 - Touristy Places Not To Be Missed
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 5 - Traveling Tips
We have Shanghai all covered for you and today I will be sharing with you Suzhou's Tong Li Watertown. I planned a day trip to Suzhou to catch up with an old friend who has been working there for more than 2 decades. It is also an opportunity for AJ to experience High-Speed Train (the idea that Malaysia and Singapore once had, ya?). Because of the High-Speed Train, the journey from Shanghai to Suzhou is only 30mins, compared to an hour or more previously.
From Shanghai, we took an MRT train to South Railway Station 上海南站 to transfer to the High-Speed Train. You will need to exit the MRT station and purchase the High-Speed Train ticket separately. Do remember to bring your passports as you need to show them to the ticket officers. You may check the time schedule of the High-Speed Train here.
Once you have gotten the tickets, check the Train Number indicated on the tickets. This will tell you which boarding gate to head to. Shanghai Railway station is not small, so it can be quite confusing. If you are unsure, just ask anyone in uniform for direction.
Though the High-Speed Train from Shanghai to Suzhou is only half an hour, we have to take a 45-minute MRT ride from Suzhou Railway Station 苏州火车站 to Tongli Station 同里 (Line 4). So do take note of the traveling time.
Once you have reach Tongli MRT station, walk towards the bus terminal. Over there, there is a tourist coach booth set up where you could take the coach to Tongli Water Town. The coach ride is about 10 minutes and the price is inclusive of the entrance fee. Coming back is the reverse, so check with the driver the time schedule and be back to the waiting place to get a ride back to Tongli station.
There are a few water towns in Suzhou yet Tongli is considered the nearest to the city. As such, more tourists would opt to go Tongli, so, expect it to be a little touristy.
Tongli water town is nestled to the east of Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal, by Taihu Lake, and was built in the Song Dynasty. It was only opened to the public in 1986.
Everywhere in Tongli you'll see rivers, bridges, pavilions, towers, temples and gardens. It earned the name of "Oriental Venice" due to its unique water town scenery so you might want to consider taking a cruise (like the one above) in order to appreciate its antique beauty.
Some tourists might enjoy the ancient Chinese culture so much that they would stay overnight in Tongli itself. There is plenty of such homestay and inn-stay, with modern cafes around too.
If you still have time, do visit Suzhou Centre (station name: Gates of the Orient 东方之门), the mega mall cum office tower and residential units built by our very own Capitaland. It is humongous. We went there to meet my friend for dinner.
We really hope that we could have more time to explore Shanghai and Suzhou after learning much of them during our trip. I guess that could be the reason to make us revisit these places. My hunch is: there will be more changes in the coming years, making these places more sophisticated, more modern, more high-tech and more advanced. Till then.
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 1 - Novotel Hotels
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 2 - Visiting The Museums
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 3 - Visiting Starbucks And Apple
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 4 - Touristy Places Not To Be Missed
Shanghai With My Tween (Teenage Boy) - Part 5 - Traveling Tips
We have Shanghai all covered for you and today I will be sharing with you Suzhou's Tong Li Watertown. I planned a day trip to Suzhou to catch up with an old friend who has been working there for more than 2 decades. It is also an opportunity for AJ to experience High-Speed Train (the idea that Malaysia and Singapore once had, ya?). Because of the High-Speed Train, the journey from Shanghai to Suzhou is only 30mins, compared to an hour or more previously.
From Shanghai, we took an MRT train to South Railway Station 上海南站 to transfer to the High-Speed Train. You will need to exit the MRT station and purchase the High-Speed Train ticket separately. Do remember to bring your passports as you need to show them to the ticket officers. You may check the time schedule of the High-Speed Train here.
Once you have gotten the tickets, check the Train Number indicated on the tickets. This will tell you which boarding gate to head to. Shanghai Railway station is not small, so it can be quite confusing. If you are unsure, just ask anyone in uniform for direction.
Though the High-Speed Train from Shanghai to Suzhou is only half an hour, we have to take a 45-minute MRT ride from Suzhou Railway Station 苏州火车站 to Tongli Station 同里 (Line 4). So do take note of the traveling time.
Once you have reach Tongli MRT station, walk towards the bus terminal. Over there, there is a tourist coach booth set up where you could take the coach to Tongli Water Town. The coach ride is about 10 minutes and the price is inclusive of the entrance fee. Coming back is the reverse, so check with the driver the time schedule and be back to the waiting place to get a ride back to Tongli station.
There are a few water towns in Suzhou yet Tongli is considered the nearest to the city. As such, more tourists would opt to go Tongli, so, expect it to be a little touristy.
Tongli water town is nestled to the east of Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal, by Taihu Lake, and was built in the Song Dynasty. It was only opened to the public in 1986.
Everywhere in Tongli you'll see rivers, bridges, pavilions, towers, temples and gardens. It earned the name of "Oriental Venice" due to its unique water town scenery so you might want to consider taking a cruise (like the one above) in order to appreciate its antique beauty.
The streets of Tongli have an antique flavor. They are generally stone-paved and lined with stores on both sides, including specialty stores, handicraft stores, and snack stores.
Some tourists might enjoy the ancient Chinese culture so much that they would stay overnight in Tongli itself. There is plenty of such homestay and inn-stay, with modern cafes around too.
If you still have time, do visit Suzhou Centre (station name: Gates of the Orient 东方之门), the mega mall cum office tower and residential units built by our very own Capitaland. It is humongous. We went there to meet my friend for dinner.
We really hope that we could have more time to explore Shanghai and Suzhou after learning much of them during our trip. I guess that could be the reason to make us revisit these places. My hunch is: there will be more changes in the coming years, making these places more sophisticated, more modern, more high-tech and more advanced. Till then.
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