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Bridges that explain a way of life
In Tongli, the bridges are more than an architectural solution.
They are the clearest expression of how life was organised in
the traditional China of the Yangtze Delta. The “Three Bridges”,
a local symbol, represent marriage, prosperity and longevity,
and they remain part of everyday memory. The traveller cros-
ses them almost without realising it, but the history endures:
each arch, each stone, each reflection tells something of the
inhabitants who have passed through this place for centuries.
Tongli is, in essence, an urban fabric that has managed to
preserve its original structure. The neighbourhoods unfold like
small islands connected by narrow passages, while the canals
function as a network of arteries through which trade, domestic
life and communication with neighbouring cities once flowed.
The Tuisi Garden:
retreat, study and measure of time
he Tuisi Garden, built by Ren Lansheng at the end of the Qing
dynasty, is a refined example of the classical Jiangnan aesthe-
tic. Its famous Taihu stones —taken from the lake of the same
name, near Suzhou— are the soul of the ensemble: limestone
rocks eroded by centuries of water and wind, valued for their
natural cavities, irregular contours and their ability to evoke
miniature mountainsIn Chinese tradition they represent stabi-
lity and contemplation, and Ren Lansheng arranged them as
if they were a miniature landscape, a place where the gaze
could travel without leaving the enclosure.
The different canals that serve as streets of the old town
TRAVEL
A multitude of restaurants and shops fill the streets
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