Lana
Tour of Tianjin
This month I’m going to introduce some famous places in Tianjin as well as some of my favourite places.
Tianjin Normal University
Our university! The university has many Chinese and international students. It’s almost like a compact city and everything students need is conveniently nearby. The university has two massive canteens which is where we eat the majority of the time. Although they mainly sell Chinese food there are a select few stations that sell more Western Style food. The university even has a KFC, Pizza Hut and a Starbucks!
My favourite area on campus is a large pond which has many animals such as ducks, goats and… peacocks?? It is very beautiful when the trees are in bloom.
Tianjin Cultural Street & the Haihe River
Tianjin Cultural Street (天津古文化街) has many shops and food stalls to enjoy. Here you are able to try authentic Tianjin cuisine like Tianjin steamed buns (狗不理包子). It’s beside the Haihe river which is very beautiful especially during the evening when the city lights up.
During the winter the river freezes over and you can walk on top of the frozen ice, when the river is not frozen you can take a river cruise. The river is a very lively area with many locals enjoying singing. This is one of my favourite areas as nearby there are many lovely restaurants. We chose to have Easter dinner here together. The Tianjin Eye is also on the river, which allows for a birds eye view of the city.
European Influence
A lot of Tianjin’s architecture has European influence. One area of the city is called ‘The Italian Style Street’. There are many shops and restaurants, mainly Italian restaurants. Another area I feel you can see the European influence is Wudadao. Wudadao is always very busy, especially during warmer weather. The surrounding area has many cafes and shops. The architecture is very pretty and during the night it all lights up.
Shopping Malls
The shopping malls in China are on a completely different level than in Scotland. They have more floors and so much more to do.The malls are some of my favourite areas to hang out with friends. They have many shops, both Chinese and Western, many restaurants and most malls even have cinemas and karaoke too. The cinemas show English movies, so we go here a lot.
Tianjin Water Park
Tianjin Water Park (天津水上公园) is one of my favourite areas as I think the scenery is very nice. Despite the name, it’s not actually a water park, but instead a park with a large lake. It’s full of families and friends and walking around is very relaxing. The park does have a mini theme park, but there are no water slides.
I think Tianjin has many beautiful areas, and I hope to see more in the future.