Although consisting of only 1 day of our 8D7N trip to China, Tianjin is still part of our trip, hence will still be talked about. One of the 4 municipalities of China, along with Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, Tianjin has a lot of history behind it. Although not as well known in China, it’s period under foreign influence has made it a very interesting slice of China.
This post is one of 4 encompassing my full 8D7N China Trip. For the full itinerary, tips, and overview, check out the Master Post HERE.
Locations / Activities
Italian Style Town (天津意式风情区) – Italy in China?
Welcome to Italy… in China… in Tianjin.
To explain, let’s have a short history lesson, administered by a Singaporean Secondary School Geography student
Lesson in Session – Europe in China?
In 1899, the Boxer Rebellion, a violent anti-foreign, anti-Christian uprising in northern China led by a secret society, began. They believed the Qing Government was too complicit in letting foreigners into China. The Boxers attacked foreign embassies, Christian missionaries, and Chinese Christians. Empress Dowager Cixi, in one of her ever-wise actions, supported the Boxers.
This triggered the response of an international alliance of eight nations, including Germany and Italy. This eight-nation alliance invaded Northern China, captured Beijing, and defeated the Boxers and Qing troops. What a move by Cixi, eh?
See, even before the Boxer Rebellion, foreign powers had already carved up parts of China into concessions, small zones under foreign control. However, after the Rebellion failed miserably, the Boxer Protocol of 1901 was signed. This forced China to pay enormous indemnities to the Eight Nations, allow permanent foreign military presence in Beijing and, most notably, further entrench foreign concessions, like the Italian one in Tianjin.
As such, Tianjin, to this day, has a concession dedicated to Italy!
Now you know!
The Italian Style Town, comprised of a Marco Polo Square and 4 branching paths, sits near the middle of Tianjin. This, I find, is what makes Tianjin so interesting… foreign influence. You can see the obvious and drastic shift is architectural styles the moment you step into the “Town” as compared to the Hutongs and Heritage Sites in Beijing. It makes for a very interesting walk-about, as if you aren’t actually in China. Rather charming
Gelato, Butter Beer, Starbucks… almost everything you find here isn’t necessarily a common sight in the rest of China. You can even see the former military barracks still standing!
Guwenhua Street (古文化街) – Culture Street
Directly translating to “Ancient Culture Street,” you can likely accurately predict what you’ll be getting during your visit. What we did not accurately predict, however, was the rain. Apologies in advance for any dark photos or lack thereof, we had to rush back to the bus after getting our long pants soaked.
Interestingly, something I stumbled upon while conducting my research was that this street is classified as a AAAAA (5 As) scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration. This rating is reserved for only the best of the best, i.e. the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. The street itself opened on 1986 and preserves the architectural style of the Qing Dynasty, likely earning itself the quintuple A rating and the nickname “Soul of Old Tianjin”
As opposed to the Italian Style Street, rest assured, this place bleeds Chinese architecture.
Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway – 290km/h, 120km crossed.
The Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway is the fastest way to get from one city to the other. For reference, our 50-seater coach, with minimal traffic, took 2 hours to drive from Beijing to Tianjin. As opposed to that, the bullet train, at a cost of 54RMB (about 11SGD), gets us from Tianjin to Beijing in 30 minutes.
The railway was launched in August 2008 in lieu of the Beijing Olympics. Just imagine the Japanese Shinkansen but on a smaller scale. However, as opposed to the Shinkansen and in line with most of China, the security is high. Getting in to the train station feels like getting through immigration, and not even the Singapore kind! You get used to it, frankly. However, the system is still undeniably efficient. Trains leave when they say they leave and arrive when they’re slated to arrive.
Not to mention the train ride is extremely smooth. Even moving at 290km/h, as a Singaporean, I can say it does feel smoother than your average MRT ride, albeit you’re sitting down on a cushioned seat. It takes a while to speed up, but when it does, it keeps speed tremendously well. For the price of just 11SGD? One wishes they had this in Singapore… maybe then I wouldn’t have to wake up at 6am to get to school.
Food
津悦东方烤鸭店 – Lunch in the middle of a day tour
Given we only had one meal, I suppose it wouldn’t take much to mention it and talk about Tianjin cuisine while I’m at it
While dining in Tianjin, albeit for one meal, you can definitely taste the differences in food. Having stayed in Beijing for the past 3 or 4 days, we were pretty accustomed to Beijing cuisine, meaning this was a welcome peek into a different city’s food. Even thought Tianjin and Beijing are separated by just 120km, Tianjin food is notably more sweet.
Imagine my shock when I bit into that for the first time
This does align with Tianjin’s prominent snack culture. Tianjin has a lot of charm to it’s food scene and part of it is the many small snacks Tianjin has which is exclusive to the city. My hypothesis, which should not be trusted, is that this may be the influence of foreigners in the city all the way back in the day, it’s aftershocks still being felt now. It makes for a very interesting day tour!
Conclusion
Although we were merely given a day in Tianjin before moving on to other pastures, it was definitely a charming trip. Tianjin has a lot more to it than these 3 locations and the food we were served, hence I encourage you to educate yourself with the works of other bloggers like me! All I’m here to do is provide my experience and talk about my China trip which I loved oh so much
Nevertheless, Tianjin, despite it’s proximity to Beijing, provided a unique experience. It’s a municipality for a reason and most definitely deserves your visit.
With all that being said, make sure to refer to the post lined HERE to have a look at my thoughts on Gubei, Chengde, Beijing and the overlook of my full 8D7N China Trip.