Today was our excursion to Tianjin, the fourth largest city in China. We had a blast even though it poured on us the whole time. We took the metro to the bullet train and sped over 200 miles an hour through the countryside to Tianjin. Our bullet train ride lasted a mere 30 minutes, but it was smoother than any plane or car ride we’ve ever taken. In fact, some of us had a conversation about the bullet train plan in California and how we can’t wait until it’s built because it was such a great ride.
Here is a brief description that was given to us by our tour guides:
“Tianjin is one of the four municipalities of China. Its name means ‘the place where the emperor crossed the river’. In recent years Tianjin has received more and more attention from both tourists at home and abroad due to its numerous travel resources and rich history.
It is no exaggeration to say that Tianjin bears a splendid historical background. However, it was desecrated by foreign invaders long before the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. Tianjin was shared by nine countries: Italy, Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain, Austria, Japan and Belgium. This marked an extremely hard period for Tianjin and her people because those imperialist countries left permanent marks on her body, most notable of which were thousands of villas. Today those villas provide an exotic flavor to Tianjin, enhancing the beauty of the entire city”.
Our day started out at their Italian Square. We found some of the cutest little shops that looked like Italy, or what we assume looks like Italy since none from the group has actually traveled there. The group learned that the architecture is based on late nineteenth/early twentieth century European style, mixed with contemporary Chinese style. We walked around a space that was a few square blocks filled with shops, restaurants, and yes, even a Starbucks where we experienced a Red Bean Green Tea Frappuccino. While we are greatly enjoying the local cuisine, a smattering of home comfort is nice every now and again.
We then moved onto a fabulous restaurant for lunch. We sat down and the staff immediately started bringing us dish after dish. Here is a picture of the beginning of the meal:
All students jumped right in and tried every available dish. We had great conversation about the food, and everyone picked their favorite. As the meal moved forward, we stuffed ourselves with what was provided and most were incredibly full. However, the dishes just kept coming and coming. Here is a picture of George looking a little overwhelmed with the amount of food provided:
After lunch we hopped on the tour bus where our guides took us to a market to shop. We had a fabulous time looking at all of the items for purchase. The group did a bit of shopping, but not too much since it was pouring rain.
After shopping we moved onto a downtown area which we learned was the financial district. This area was analogous to Wall Street in New York. In the middle of the financial district was a large coin that was approximately 15-20 feet in diameter. Our guides told us that there is a belief in Tianjin, that if you walk around the circle’s outer ring three times clockwise, and then jump in the middle, you will have great wealth. After some convincing, the students lined up on the outer ring and partook in the experience. Here is a pic of the students walking around the ring:
We then jumped back into the bus, fairly exhausted from our long day in Tianjin and chatted about our favorite parts of the day. One of the tour guides was kind enough to sing us a song, which of course sparked a bit of karaoke with the group. Daniel picked up the microphone and sang us a song on the bus. Here is a pic of Daniel singing to the group on the bus:
Overall we had a wonderful experience in Tianjin, even though it poured on us the whole time. Not one student complained, we simply embraced the experience in the rain and made the best of it.
Our day ended with a train ride back to Beijing where we had dinner at Burger King – another taste from home. Normally we would have all gone back to the cafeteria to have dinner, but it was far too late when we arrived so we made an executive decision to grab a bit at the train station.
We finally made it back to the dorms around 10pm, and everyone was so exhausted from the day that we all jumped into bed. It has become the norm to gather in someone’s room at the end of the day and chat for a bit before turning in. However, tonight we were simply too tired.
Tomorrow should be a much slower day since there is nothing formal planned.
Until tomorrow……..
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