In olden times, Jiangnan was in Lili

"Thirty miles of Wujiang, known as Pear Blossom Village. I am like an old fisherman, coming to ask for the way to Peach Blossom Spring. Flowers and grasses have their tranquility, birds and sparrows are also tame. Never a dog barks at night, no gatekeeper is set at the door. A long corridor stretches for three miles, no need for a corner hat. Every family rows a small boat, eyes unfamiliar with the sight of wheels." Over 200 years ago, the poet Yuan Mei came to the small town and composed this poem, 'A Trip to Lili'. To the left is Zhouzhuang, to the right is Tongli, and in the middle is Lili, a typical Jiangnan water town, yet without the bustle of the other two. Known as the famous Pear Blossom Village since the end of the Tang Dynasty, it carries a sense of tranquility and coolness. Lili, along with Wujiang's Tongli, Huzhou's Zhili, and Changshu's Guli, is known as the 'Four Lis of Jiangnan'. A major feature of Lili ancient town is its numerous alleys, which are said to be the most in Jiangnan. Among the 115 alleys in Lili, there are 25 bright alleys and 90 dark alleys. The alleys in Lili are very deep, with the deepest having courtyards of up to nine sections. The terrain gradually rises from the riverbank, known as 'step by step high', which is also necessary for drainage. The town's delicacies include three treasures: Wang's spicy duck feet, A Wang's sausage, and Feng's fried dough. Visiting in winter coincides with the blooming of wintersweet, and the red wall of wintersweet at Zhaoling Temple attracts many visitors. Zhaoling Temple may not be very famous, but it has a significant status: the only place for the autumn wedge ritual in Jiangnan, the only Quanzhen Daoist temple, and the only Tang dynasty royal sacrificial site. It is not only a City God Temple but also has two other names: Xiehu Daoist Temple and Zhaoling Temple. Xiehu Daoist Temple is related to the autumn festival of the ancient town, while Zhaoling Temple is associated with the ritual of praying for blessings and averting disasters by Li Shimin's fourteenth son, Li Ming, with spring and autumn wedge rituals, 'The wedge ritual spreads in spring, but our town is peculiarly in autumn'. Legend has it that in the last year of Li Ming's tenure as the governor of Suzhou, a locust plague struck the area. The locusts covered the sky and the land, and the crops were destroyed, leaving nothing to harvest. Li Ming, deeply concerned for his people, opened the government granary to provide relief to the disaster victims. However, this act, not being reported in time, was accused by someone, and according to the Tang dynasty's laws, he should be executed. Upon hearing the news, Li Ming thought: It would be too difficult for the emperor to deal with this. Not to execute would violate the law; to execute would be unbearable for the emperor, so he resolutely drowned himself. Each small bridge, each deep alley, and each segment of celebrity anecdotes... are all stories within the time of Lili, inviting exploration and warming the passage of time.