[2024 Suzhou Stay] Travel Guide for Floral Lux Hotel · Taimuting Hotel (Tongli) (Updated Oct)
Tongli Humanities Theme Garden Hotel: A Haven for the Scholarly and Natural Aesthetics
Tongli is an ancient water town with a rich cultural and historical heritage, having been home to famous garden designers, calligraphers, painters, and poets. Tai Mutian is such a hotel, embodying a strong cultural theme in its new Chinese-style garden design.
The courtyard of Tai Mutian showcases the elegant and exquisite beauty of Suzhou gardens. Osmanthus and bamboo reflect greenery, while begonia and magnolia bloom side by side, conveying traditional cultural blessings for prosperity. The interplay of spring water and flora creates a delightful atmosphere, embodying the garden's philosophy of 'small within the large, tranquility within the bustling, and a world of its own.'
The main areas consist of the lobby and the boat hall. Here, numerous gatherings of guqin (Chinese zither), calligraphy, and storytelling have taken place, leaving behind many wonderful echoes from masters of various guqin schools. This venue has also hosted several Tianyuan Go tournaments, with top players leaving behind their legendary dreams. Guqin, chess, calligraphy, and painting represent the essence of traditional cultural arts.
The carefully selected furniture in the hotel retains the simple aesthetics of the Song and Ming dynasties. In the practice of tea, incense, and flower arrangements, the furniture serves its purpose while also reflecting the modernity of new Chinese-style living aesthetics. The iris and orchid, favorites among Chinese literati for desk decoration, embody the scholarly spirit and natural charm.
The garden is planted with white magnolias, crabapples, osmanthus, and feather maples. In spring, the magnolia and crabapple flowers bloom in succession, creating a breathtaking sight, while the feather maple leaves emerge in a vibrant green. In autumn, the osmanthus flowers bloom, filling the garden with fragrance, and the feather maples turn from red to yellow, creating a stunning visual. The north garden features a small pond with a water lily that blooms beautifully in summer, and several koi fish swim freely, along with released loaches and eels occasionally visible.
The boat-shaped tea area houses a Thangka painting of the Water Moon Guanyin. Guests can sit at a table set with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, light a stick of agarwood incense beneath the Thangka, and copy the 'Heart Sutra.'
The guest rooms are equipped with contemporary smart technology systems, each offering a quality experience of Zen delight. Different paintings on the walls showcase a collection of various artistic crafts, including lacquer paintings, kesi (silk tapestry), porcelain paintings, and Thangkas. There are contemporary designs as well as tributes to traditional classics.
The hotel itself includes a café, offering homemade pastries, cakes, coffee, beverages, Western-style light meals, and various snacks. Nearby, in the Sanqiao area, is the Xishan Chinese Health Pavilion, part of the same group, offering a variety of teas, Chinese pastries, vegetarian noodles, vegetarian hot pot, and special dishes that require a day's advance reservation.
Just outside the hotel is the ancient town's Ming and Qing commercial street. A 500-meter walk across a small bridge leads to the local commercial center (with a farmers' market, supermarket, retail, dining, etc.), and a 600-meter walk to the right after crossing the bridge brings you to
Evening activities at the Muban Shang Light Music Bar Street are very pleasant, with music and drinks to enjoy at night. The specialty snack shop Linjiapuzi is recommended, offering local treats like Sock Bottom Crisp, Tuisi Cake, and Gorgon Fruit Cake, which are both delicious and affordable.
The Ming and Qing alleyways have recently introduced a new food street, with a variety of dishes from different regions, ensuring there's always something delicious waiting for you.
Homestay Name: Huazhu She·Tai Mutian Humanities Hotel
Floral Hotel
The epitome of Suzhou gardens, once you live here, you don't want to leave, with the fragrance of tea permeating the art of the garden
In the deep winter of the south, before the snow
Live in an elegant Jiangnan cultural residence
The moment I stepped in, I exclaimed softly
"It's like living inside a Suzhou garden scenic area."
If you stay, you are likely to meet the graceful hostess
She wraps her head with a colorful scarf and wears a wide robe
Skillfully making tea, reading, burning incense
Engaging in lively conversations with the guests who come to stay
The tea room is filled with the gentle scent of incense, and the hot coals in the stove are scorching
When gently stirred with silver-white tongs
The heat surges, warming both body and mind
The guesthouse has 7 rooms, all with bright floor-to-ceiling windows
Seemingly blending classic and modern living needs into one-
From naming, soft decoration to spatial layout
Both inside and out are imbued with the ingenious thoughts of the designer
A view with every step, a shadow with every light
After a long sleep, waking up from a dream
Press the button by the bed, and the automatic curtains slowly open
What comes into view is like a painting of 'Winter in Jiangnan' with its withered hues
The magnolia planted in the courtyard
At the end of January, is already budding
I like this kind of peaceful and comfortable vacation atmosphere
In a room full of energy like Tongli in Suzhou
Shedding the anxiety and harshness accumulated in the city of Shanghai
Picking up a gentle and slow heart
As you can see, vacationing in such a residence
We can quickly recover ourselves, regain freedom
Piecing together the scattered parts into a complete self
Settling down, feeling, longing, and filled with freedom
DiscoveringDelights
A must-play guide for a 2-day and 1-night trip to Suzhou in spring, please keep it well
A city of Gusu, half a poem of Jiangnan🌷
Take advantage of the good season in Jiangnan and take a trip to Suzhou.
Listen to the soft Wu dialect, see the ancient gardens, and fulfill a dream in Jiangnan💛
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🌟Itinerary
DAY 1: Lion Grove Garden→Suzhou Museum→Humble Administrator's Garden→Pingjiang Road→Shuangta Market
DAY 2: Tiger Hill→Lingering Garden→Xiyuan Temple→Shantang Street
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🌟Attractions Guide
📍Lion Grove Garden
The largest existing ancient rockery group in China, the rockery maze is a place of childlike fun, the flower windows🎋 and bamboo forests are very ancient, ✨making one admire the garden art of the ancients.
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📍Suzhou Museum
Mr. I. M. Pei's most beloved little daughter💕, a perfect fusion of geometric line elements and the essence of Suzhou architecture.
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📍Humble Administrator's Garden
The foremost among the four famous gardens of Jiangnan, 🌟revered as the 'Mother of Chinese Gardens', with its mountain islands, 🎋bamboo groves, pine mounds, and winding waterways offering endless interest.
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📍Pingjiang Road
'A Pingjiang Road, half a history of Gusu.'✨ Following the urban pattern since the Tang and Song dynasties, it can be regarded as a miniature of the ancient city, a tune of Pingtan, a scene of Jiangnan.
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📍Shuangta Market
A very popular cultural and creative market in Suzhou, a new gathering place for foodies🌱, full of the atmosphere of human life.
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📍Tiger Hill
'Not reaching Tiger Hill, in vain to Gusu,'✨ because Tiger Hill encapsulates the history of Gusu, with anecdotes everywhere.
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📍Lingering Garden
In March and April, the crabapples💐 and camellias of the Lingering Garden take turns to appear, making one indulge in the beauty of 'red plump and green slim'.
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📍Xiyuan Temple
Praying to Buddha, eating vegetarian noodles, counting Arhats, petting cats😻, feeding pigeons... The Xiyuan Temple with its yellow walls and black tiles has a unique sense of story.
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📍Shantang Street
Shantang Street at night is most charming, with pink walls, black tiles, and red lanterns🏮, the sound of oars in the years, making one feel as if in a painting.
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🌟Homestay Recommendations
Huazhu She·Tongli Mingyuan Homestay
Huazhu She·Suzhou Moke Garden Garden Culture Hotel
Huazhu She·Tongli Taimu Ting Cultural Garden Hotel
Huazhu She·Suzhou Wushan Residence Garden Homestay
ARIA MORALES
Experience the elegant lifestyle of leisurely strolls and the refined arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting in Tongli
Experience the elegant lifestyle of leisurely strolls and the refined arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting in Tongli.
Homestay recommendation:
Hua Zhu She·Tongli Tai Mu Ting Cultural Garden Hotel
Facilities:
The rooms are equipped with smart systems, which are very distinctive. They are decorated with paintings of different materials, including lacquer paintings, kesi (cut silk), porcelain plate paintings, and thangkas, offering a glimpse into diverse crafts, making for a rare experience.
There are tea rooms with different designs where you can enjoy tea for free. The courtyard landscape is very pleasant, perfect for leisurely strolls and tea-fueled conversations, creating a poetic atmosphere.
Reasons for recommendation:
The hotel has a strong cultural ambiance and design, embodying Chinese aesthetics and the beauty of Suzhou-style gardens to the fullest. Listening to the gatherings of guqin (Chinese zither), calligraphy, and storytelling, one can find great joy in the details, tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle, and a unique universe of its own, vaguely suggesting the essence of a forest retreat within the city.
The service is also excellent, with staff willing to help with luggage. The hygiene is impeccable, and the breakfast is rich and tasty, complete with fresh seasonal fruits.
Detailed address:
No. 138, Xintian Street, Tongli Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou, Jiangsu