Shanghai to Tongli Transportation advise

Well, if traveling by train, you still need to transfer to local bus to reach the town. Anyway, you can take a high-speed train at Shanghai Station or Hongqiao Station to Suzhou Station. Then hire a van to reach with the fare of CNY100-120. For the sake of the kids, it is best to avoid transfer, so you may also consider renting a van from Shanghai directly. To the water town, it costs CNY600-800.