Tianjin

Day 337 (May 31, 2019) - Tianjin, China

After the crowds of Beijing, and all the hiking at the Great Wall, we were ready for a change of pace. We were headed to Tianjin, a city only about 30 minutes by bullet train from Beijing. We probably wouldn’t have come here if it wasn’t for our friend from grad school (Mark O.) now working and living in Tianjin. He has lived here for the last several years with his family, and he graciously offered to meet up with us and show us around. We only spent two days in Tianjin, but we made the most of our time.

Tianjin

With over 15 million people, Tianjin is the fourth largest city in China, though it didn’t feel that crowded. Perhaps it was the lack of tourists, but it seemed there was more room to breathe. The city is just southeast of Beijing and sits adjacent to the Yellow Sea, though the main downtown area is about 50 km from the coast. The downtown area flanks the Haihe River and has long stretches of sidewalks along the river, making for some very nice river strolling.

On the day of our arrival, Mark O. showed us around to several of his favorite places in the city. We had margaritas as the St. Regis Hotel on the riverfront. It’s actually a pretty cool looking building with interesting architecture. It’s in the shape of a square with a hollow middle. Seems like somewhat of a waste of space, but it was nice to look at. 

St. Regis Hotel

Afterwards, we had soup dumplings at a Michelin star rated restaurant that I can’t remember the name of. We had had soup dumplings in the past (including an incident in Hong Kong where improper eating caused a dumpling explosion onto my pants), but didn’t really appreciate them at the time. In fact, I think the quality of this restaurant in Tianjin didn’t actually become apparent until later in the trip when we got some subpar soup dumplings in Shanghai. Anyways, the point is, the soup dumplings at this restaurant in Tianjin were excellent.

Next, we headed to a craft beer bar, where Mark O. knew the owner and a few other patrons. We really enjoyed the beers, as it was somewhat hard to find good, flavorful beer in China (except in Beijing and Shanghai). Craft brewing seems to be an up and coming thing in China, mostly in the bigger cities. Elsewhere, the norm seems to be commercially produced, light lagers typically having a max alcohol content of about 2.5 to 3%. 

We finished off our first night at a speakeasy called GAL Whiskey & Cocktail that Mark O. had been to before. It was an interesting bar that made you feel a bit like James Bond. Upon entry, there is an outer room with a front desk staffed by an employee, but seemingly no other doors in the room. The employee then presses a button, and a panel in the back wall slides to the side, revealing the entrance to the bar. Pretty cool. Once inside, we had a few different cocktails which were quite good. Nice way to end the night (not counting binge eating some late night McDonald’s on the way home).

Entry way to GAL Whiskey & Cocktail

Inside the bar

On the second day, Mark O. had some work to do, so Mark and I took a stroll around a neighborhood called Wudadao. This neighborhood, which means “The Five Avenues,” is an upscale residential area with lots of interesting architecture. It was a quiet and quaint neighborhood that also had a few cafes and shops. It seemed the thing for tourists to do in this neighborhood was to ride around in a horse-drawn carriage. Sounds nice right? Except it’s not what you’re imagining. These horse-drawn carriages were effectively motorized trolleys with modern wheels and a single horse walking at the front. The horse was just for show and not actually there to pull the carriage. Perhaps that’s a more humane way to do carriage rides, but in China it was mostly likely just a cost/efficiency reason.

A street in Wudadao

Motorized horse carriages

Mark O. met up with us in the afternoon and took us to the Tianjin Eye, a giant Ferris wheel that overlooks the river and the skyline. We were lucky that the weather was good and the sky clear because the views were spectacular. 

Tianjin Eye

View from the Tianjin Eye

Afterwards, we walked through the city for a bit, grabbing a Hoegaarden at a beer garden, on our way to catching a sunset cruise on the river. The river cruise was probably one of the highlights of our time in Tianjin. The timing was perfect to see the city pre- and post-sunset, so you could so how the building lighting changes. It appeared all the buildings coordinated their lighting because everything seemed to match. After the cruise, we headed to an excellent Mexican restaurant for great food and beers.

Starting our river cruise

Tianjin turned out to be a far better stop than we were perhaps expecting. Part of it was (of course) because we had a personal tour guide (Mark O.), but we were actually quite impressed by the city itself, which surprised us. The city buildings were shiny and new, with excellent architecture, and the placement of the city along the river made for a very nice setting. At night, those same buildings looked spectacular with their coordinated lighting. There were many excellent bars and restaurants, including an up and coming craft beer scene. And the city was not mobbed by tourists. It felt like a very livable city, one we were glad we didn’t miss.