China's Tongli Film and Television Shooting Base

China's Tongli Film and Television Shooting Base

Tongli Town boasts a naturally idyllic water town landscape and preserves a large number of well-preserved Ming and Qing dynasty buildings. For over a decade, it has not only attracted millions of domestic and international visitors but also drawn numerous film and television production crews. The film and television shooting base refers to a stone tablet near the Tuisi Garden and stone carvings laid on the ground, with inscriptions documenting the films and TV dramas shot in Tongli.

In 1983, the crew of "Father and Son Bao," directed by Xie Tieli, was the first to step into Tongli. They were introduced by the Ministry of Culture. After filming, the movie premiered in Suzhou. The quaint town, serene mansions, and long stone-paved paths left a deep impression on many audiences. Since then, Tongli Town has formed an inseparable bond with the film industry.

In 1986, China Central Television filmed "Talking About the Grand Canal" and shot an entire episode in Tongli, even utilizing boats and helicopters during production. "Talking About the Grand Canal" spread the fame of Tongli Town across the nation, prompting many film crews to visit out of admiration. The garden where Lin Daiyu buried the flowers in "Dream of the Red Chamber," the small building where Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen drank wine in "Lin Chong," the stern Gao residence in "Family, Spring, and Autumn," and Dong Xiaowan’s residence in "Dong Xiaowan" can all be found in Tongli.

In 1990, the first overseas production crew, "The Duke of Mount Deer," arrived in Suzhou. Taiwan’s Fiting Film Company discovered that Tongli was an ideal filming location and immediately decided to change their plan of building sets in Beijing. They relocated all equipment to Tongli and shot there for a full hundred days.

After "The Duke of Mount Deer," film industries from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore flocked to Tongli. Taiwan’s Yongzhen Film’s "Half a Lifetime of Love, A Lifetime of Affection" also shot in Tongli for a hundred days, using the Chongben Hall as the orphanage in the drama.

The busiest time was in 1994 when two crews simultaneously filmed within the mere 9.8-acre Tuisi Garden. "The Heavenly Pride" and "The Stage of Traditional Opera" shot on opposite sides of the garden without interfering with each other.

From 1994 to 1995, the crew of "Temptress Moon" filmed in Tongli for a full four months—the longest duration and largest scale. During the shoot, 24 news outlets from both domestic and international locations came to Tongli to cover the filming.

Tongli Town has become a “natural film studio,” where “every angle could have been a scene in a drama.”

Address: Within Tongli Ancient Town, Wujiang District, Suzhou City

Type: Film and Television Base Monument

Recommended Visit Duration: 15 minutes

Phone: 0512-63333120

Opening Hours:

Open all day

Ticket Information:

No separate ticket required. Included in the Tongli Ancient Town admission.

Tongli Town: One of the six ancient water towns in the Jiangnan region, Tongli was formerly known as "Futu." In the early Tang Dynasty, it was renamed "Tongli," and in the Song Dynasty, the name was restructured from its original characters. Established in the Song Dynasty, it has a history of over 1,000 years as of 2015 and is a classic ancient water town in China.

Tongli Town is located in Wujiang District, Suzhou City, 18 kilometers from downtown Suzhou and 80 kilometers from Shanghai. Covering an area of 33 hectares, the town is surrounded by five lakes, connected by 49 bridges, and divided into seven islands by a network of rivers. Every household in the ancient town is by the water, with boats accessible from every home. Well-preserved bridges from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties remain. In 1982... More details about Tongli Town++