Tong Li (Little Venice) - Suzhou

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Forbidden City - Former "white house" to the Emporers of China
Great Wall of China - Badaling Section
Great Wall of China - Mutianyu Section
Beijing Hutong - 700 year old neighborhood with rickshaws and labyrinth streets
Ming Tombs - 400 year old excavation of the final Ming Emperor
Sacred Way, Sacred Path - Ming Tomb garden of stately and animal statues
Summer Palace - Former garden of the Emperors on a lake
Temple of Heaven - former Chinese Emperor worship area
Tiananmen Square - memorials, governement buildings, Mao's tomb
Beijing Lacquer and Woodcarving Factory
Suzhou City Traffic
Suzhou City Traffic
Suzhou - Fisherman's Garden, Master of the Nets Garden
Suzhou Humble Garden
Suzhou silk factory
Suzhou, Tong Li - Little Venice water city
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MickTravels to China - Beijing, Suzhou
Tong Li is one of several towns on the outskirts of Suzhou known as Little Venice. There are roads, but the main arteries through the town are the canals. The pictures from this water city turned out much better than the town itself. I found it to be actually quite dingy, and would recommend that you try a different water city, Little Venice on your trip.

TongLi is a 40 minute drive from Suzhou. It is known as Little Venice because of its extensive canal system. You can take boat rides if you want.

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These look like cormorants to me. These were only the 3rd type of bird I saw in the whole Suzhou area. The other 2 were sparrows and egrets.

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A narrow walkway in the old, old town of TongLi.

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You can get a boat ride if you like.\n\nTongLi is a very popular tourist destination. I didn't care for it too much because everything was in such disrepair, much like a lot of the dwellings in China. The water was filthy and garbage-laden, and there were all sorts of junk shops along the walkways where you could buy stuff. It appears there is no word for "repainting" in Chinese, or perhaps there is just no interest or money.

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Disembarking from the boat ride.

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This area of the canals had 3 bridges - one for Luck, Success, and Love. You can only see one here. It is customary to take newborn babies or newlyweds across the 3 bridges.

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A boat floats under a bridge in TongLi

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This site would give my grandmother a heart attack. These guys dropped their cellphone in the drink, and they are looking for it. Gross.

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The "prettiest" area of TongLi is completely covered with shade trees. This is the end of tourist season, so there aren't really any boats in the water. A few weeks ago it would have been water gridlock.

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