Tongli boasts 38 residences in Ming&Qing dynasties, 47 temples and ancestral halls and around 100 residences of local rich and powerful people as well as former residences of celebrities.
After viewing countless of pavilions and traditional Chinese classical gardens, I have to say that in Tongli, the nicest one is the Retreat and Reflection garden (Tuisi Gardens). The pavilions, rockeries, koi ponds and terraces are expertly designed.
“The garden was built in 1885 by Ren Lansheng an imperial official working in Anhui province who was impeached. The name of the garden comes from a verse by Zho Zhuan in Zhuo Qiuming’s Chronicles, “Lin Fu really is a gentleman when he forwards proposals, he shows loyalty to his country, when he retreats he reflects and mends his ways”.The garden was designed by Yuan Long a painter of the Wumen school.” – wikipedia
I also had the chance to visit two other mansions in the vicinity, one of which was the mansion of a very famous government scholar. The residences were well kept and I had fun exploring the kitchens and cooking tools of the ancient Chinese!
