3. Jiangnan Water Town-Tongluo Ancient Town

Two days and three towns tour - Tongluo Ancient Town

Starting from Zhenze, there are two ancient towns to choose from, Shengze Ancient Town and Tongluo Ancient Town. The distance to Zhenze Ancient Town is almost the same. A friend searched on the Internet and said that the scenery between Shengze and Zhenze is similar, so it is better to go to Tongluo Ancient Town.

It is very convenient to go to Tongluo. The No. 781 bus goes directly there. Of course, if you want to walk less, you can also take another bus. We don’t think it is troublesome to transfer to the bus, so we will take it slowly. Let's move over.

Tongluo was originally called Tongluo Town, but was later changed to Yan Tomb. This was because a general named Fang under Zhang Shicheng, who was defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang, fled here to make a living by making wine and live in seclusion. Later, when digging the earth to seal the altar, the tomb of Yan Ji, a Ci Fu family in the Western Han Dynasty, was discovered. To commemorate Yan Ji, a Ci Fu family, the Tongluo was changed to Yan's Tomb. It was not until the 1950s that it was changed back to Tongluo.

Perhaps because of the inheritance of the wine-making skills of Zhang Shicheng’s general surnamed Fang, Tongluo is also known as the “hometown of wine-making”. It is the famous wine capital of Tongluo, and the wine brewed is famous for its mellow aroma. The reason why we chose Tongluo between Shengze and Tongluo is also related to the famous wine making of Tongluo introduced on the Internet. Of course, we will definitely visit Shengze Ancient Town in the future.

There is a wine shop introduced on the Internet called Wu Gong Hotel, just next to Fengqiao. When we found this hotel, it had been renamed Tianchi Liquor. It is said that the wine here is all made from the original without any additives or blending. I asked the shop owner if the wine has a shelf life. The boss said that it does, and you can still drink it after it has expired. It will also become mellower as it ages. When the boss found out that we were from Shanghai, he said that you have a group of old customers in Shanghai who spend one to two thousand yuan every time they come here. We were moved by what the boss said. Even though I don’t know how to drink, I still had the urge to buy such a good wine, so we wanted to buy a bottle each. Because we came by bus and subway, we were worried about being stopped by the subway, so we hesitated. Undecided, we asked the boss if it could be delivered by express delivery. The boss said that people of our age don't know how to do express delivery. In the end, we didn't buy it, which was really a pity.

Next to the hotel is a barrel shop that makes and repairs wooden barrels. This handicraft has long since disappeared. It is also very surprising to see it now. The owner of the hoop bucket shop is an old man in his seventies. He is chatting with several residents. The old man seems to be still strong. An elder sister next to him said: "Brother, if people come to see your barrel shop, just pretend to take some photos for them." The old man was indifferent. The elder sister tried to persuade him several times, but the old man was still unmoved. , it seems that Xu is tired of being staged for photos.

Fengqiao is the center of the entire Tongluo. Fengqiao is a covered bridge that spans the north-south city river. The entire bridge body has upright corridors and pavilions, and its cornices are upturned. It is very beautiful. There are river corridors on both sides of the Maple Bridge. I was taking pictures on the Maple Bridge. I heard a friend’s voice calling me from the river corridor. I went over. My friend said, look at this pipe. It’s very unique. I saw an old man and took it. He was holding a long pipe, which was very beautiful, both practical and handicraft. It was more than half a meter long, and he was smoking. Later, when I chatted with my brother, I learned that he was from Guizhou. He and his son bought a house here and settled here. He said that the pipe was made by himself, and it was made of bamboo roots. If you wanted to buy one, he had dozens of them at home. He suggested that we go to his house to choose. After thinking about it, I decided not to do it. Although I like this pipe very much, there are still a lot of problems at home. I bought a lot of handicrafts before, but I didn't have time to take care of them. I was afraid that this pipe would eat dust again after I bought it.

? Tongluo Ancient Town is unusually quiet and very beautiful. It is a unique kind of beauty. The entire ancient town presents a gray-black tone, with all Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings, blue bricks and black tiles, and tall buildings. gray wall. My friend and I were the only ones in the entire ancient town, and many stores were guarded by iron generals. Maybe there were too few tourists, and the shopkeepers were too lazy to open their doors for business.

Of course, Tongluo Ancient Town still has many ancient houses and ruins of famous families, such as the Ling family’s brick-carved gatehouse, which is now being restored to its original state, and the long-lost Tongluo Post Office site, the Christian Post Office Church ruins, etc. If you have enough time, you can also discover many interesting stories about Tongluo.

In two days, I hurriedly visited three ancient towns in Suzhou, and each ancient town gave me a different feeling. The dilapidation of Luxu Ancient Town showed the simple and innocent ancient villages, Zhenze The beauty of the ancient town is supported by the beautiful scenery behind it, and the gray-black tone of Tongluo Ancient Town shows that Tongluo has made extraordinary efforts in protecting ancient buildings. If you tour the ancient towns casually, you will feel that the styles of the ancient towns in Jiangnan Water Town are all the same, but if you experience each ancient town carefully, you will feel that each ancient town has its own style and characteristics. When visiting an ancient town, you need to understand the local history, culture, customs, and communicate more with the locals. You can discover more stories about the ancient town. You can also carefully study the characteristics of the ancient town's architecture, and you can also discover the unique local features. Special delicacies, so that you will not have the same feeling as all the ancient towns in Jiangnan water towns.