On our fifth day, we headed for a small town (this time actually small – something like 40k people). We read about Tongli as one of the “water-towns” near Suzhou (small towns built on the network of small canals). We were originally advised to go to the better known Zhouzhuang, but eventually decided to go to Tongli which sounded more authentic and was closer to Suzhou. (Zhouzhuang is busier since it is closer to Shanghai.) Tongli was in fact a charming little town, restored to just about the right level: not too dirty, but still showing age, which made it look more authentic. In addition to all the canals, Tongli had many beautiful gardens, all accessible with the same US$10 ticket.