Name: Tongli Jingyi Hall Houses Inn
Address: No.5 Fuguan Road, Suzhou, Suzhou, Suzhou, 215217, China
Rating: 8

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Sunan Shuofang International Airport

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport

Shanghai Botanical Garden

Jing An Temple

Tongli Jingyi Hall Houses Inn

Suzhou

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wired-internet-access

smoking

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duplex

safe

mini-bar

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pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Looked around the whole town for Zheng fu cao tang (as this was the only places mentioned on English internet), could not find it. In retrospect, it was a blessing. 

For, Tong li has a number of small guesthouses and hotels sprinkled in the most uncanny corners. For 10 yuan a local tout led me and my Chinese friends to a small pensoners house converted into a guesthouse. (Moral of the story - sometimes a local tout / town bum can be more helpful than people on the net)

Going by the name of "Jing yi tang pension", it is an old Chinese house with rooms converted into a guesthouse (cost 100 yuan for a simpler room, to 180 yuan for a room with a traditional 4-poster Chinese bed.. too kitschy for me).

You will need the Chinese address shown here in the photos if you expect to find it - though it is excellently located near "Three-bridges". 

Pros - 

1) Excellent location - 2 steps out and I was just next to the famous "3-bridges" and a canal, houses, local restaurants... Excellent for my morning walk

2) Rooms full of local flavour, gives you a chance to live in a Chinese house rather than a hotel. Most other residents were holidaying quiet Chinese people

3) Rooms have good aircon, TV and a comfortable bed, washroom is clean, though not spic-and-span

4) The backyard (see photo) is filled with wild greenery - lovely.

5) you get to live IN Tongli! Great for those early morning and late evening walks before the hoardes of tourists descend.A  ticket is needed to see any of the 8 gardens etc and is well worth it. Anyway, places even 2 minutes walk out of the tourist circuit are real quiet. Incidentally, most tourists are Chinese, very few Westerners. 

But all cannot be hunky dory, can it? So here is the low down...

1) No internet 

2) The owner does not speak English (However he was very helpful as soon as someone translated my need - bus timings - to him)

3) No soap, etc, a very small towel (come prepared - bring your own!)

4) The hotwater has a tendency to go off and on - I would not stay here in winter!

Final Opinion - 

I do not regret my decision to stay here - for a budget concious traveller who will spend most of the day outside the room, it is an excellent choice and value for money (100-150 RMB per night). Plus great atmosphere.

However, if I come here next time, I will probably spend a bit more and stay at the more plush places (try www.tongli.net for other places). Come early (around 2-4 pm) Look around - Hotels have photos of rooms outside, and a big Chinese banner. Note : There is a 80 RMB ticket to enter Tongli between 7-30 am to 5-30 pm. This ticket includes your entrance to all the notable gardens so you might as well take it.

Tongli Jingyi Hall Houses Inn

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