We are glad
our first trip to China was to a small town of 15 million people and not to a
big bustling city. Our flight from
Singapore landed in Beijing on time.
At immigration the long queues moved
fast. We were out in ten minutes, a
record of sorts, and a good beginning to our China trip.
Tianjin –
the name itself has a dulcet tone to it – is to the Northeast of China. It is mainly a port city and must have gained
notoriety because of the blasts that occurred in a chemical storage
facility. Thankfully, things are getting
back to normal but the loss of life and property will continue to haunt minds.
The two and
a half hour drive from Beijing to Tianjin was absolutely relaxing. There is so much greenery on both sides of
the express highway and on the median.
Small villages appear all of a sudden with farms showcasing their
crops. The roads are comparable to those
in any other developed country. The only
indication of being in China are the signboards. Tianjin’s suburbs extend far
and beyond. It is a cute town in spite
of the hundreds of apartments, each designed differently from the other. There is variety in the style and
architecture, but the greenery and the environmental concern has not been
sacrificed at the altar of modernity. On
the other hand it is a very welcome co-existence.
Arjun’s
house is in a gated community. Almost
all the houses are similar in style and structure (Italian) with perhaps minor
variations. The stone and wood façade
and the quaint wooden benches and handrails add to the uniqueness. A few rows of the look-alike houses are
occupied by the expats and the rest by the more affluent Chinese. It is a walker’s paradise because of the tiled
paths that go all along the front of the houses. Meera and her friends converted it into a
cyclist’s paradise.
There is
abundant and amazing lung space in Tianjin, as in all China, I’m sure. Parks
and gardens with their roses and chrysanthemums greet and cheer you along. Lakes and tall trees ( I have never seen such
a profusion of ‘weeping willows’ anywhere else. They brought smiles to our eyes) and manicured
flower beds make your day every day.
The
‘Water Park’, which is a short distance from Arjun’s house, has amazing rock
sculptures. It is the largest park in Tianjin with three lakes and nine small
islands. Surrounding the water ways are
pathways, pagodas and gardens which showcase both Chinese and European
architectural styles. The water lily
pond is a popular attraction. One can
see (as in every other park) senior citizens having an enjoyable time with or
without their grand kids. They are
either playing Mahjong, or indulging in Tai Chi ( which had its origins in self-
defence but was later recognised as a
stress buster)or performing the slow and graceful fitness dance exercises like
line dancing or entertaining themselves and others with their orchestral skills
or just sitting on benches, looking at the lakes and drinking in the breeze. No
dearth of options there! It is an amazing experience to see the goldie oldies
enjoying life. We were there on a muggy
day but there were many joyous things to negate that. Of course the heat made some men pull up
their shirts all the way to the shoulders – they feel that heat will escape
from the stomach.
The TV
tower, 400m high, is close to the water park and reminds one of the CN tower of Canada. There is a revolving restaurant
which completes a circle every 50 minutes.
The interesting thing is that the lake on which the TV tower stands
freezes in winter and doubles as a skating rink.
The China House merits more than a glance. It is said that Porcelain collector Zhang Lianzhi, also owner and designer, turned a French style old building into a showcase of porcelain with more than 700 million pieces. The museum is a most intriguing piece of architecture in Tianjin municipality. In addition to the awesome porcelain sculptures, snake-like facade, benches, and walls, it has antique furniture on its five floors, cordoned off for security.
The People’s Park has a small waterbody with
self- pedalling boats for kids – it was fun watching kids manoeuvring their
boats and colliding with other boats.
There is also a big lake where you can hire your own boat and pedal it
around. Binita and Kuppu pedalled, Meera steered the wheel obeying Kuppu’s instructions
and I took over from them now and then.
The arches under which you could guide your boat and the scenery around
were a delight. In the park you could see couples dancing in one area, others
playing games in one corner, small groups playing diverse musical instruments
in harmony or just sitting around enjoying themselves. The pavilions reverberated with songs and one
could see people grooving to their tunes.
I think one can grow old healthily and happily in Tianjin.
The park
that fascinated us most was the Central park.
The garden with its beckoning benches and lovely bushes is surrounded by
a street which becomes a matrimonial hub every Saturday. A large number of parents come with relevant
details about their marriageable sons/daughters which they place on benches in
front of them or give to agents who do the same. It is amazing to see sheets of papers on
umbrellas, rocks, benches – interested parents peer here, there, everywhere
wondering if something will ‘click’ and if a match can be made. Hundreds walk on the street with purposeful
steps while so many more sit with ‘detailed’ biodatas of their wards. People who have migrated from villages also
go through this important ritual. For us it was a matchless experience.
The
concession areas in Tianjin are a riveting part of its history. After the Peking Convention of 1860, it is
said extra territoriality was granted to France and England who established
their own concession areas for trade with China but with their own country’s
import laws. This concession was later
extended to Germany, Italy, Hungary, etc.
So the majority of the river-front area of downtown Tianjin was subject
to foreign control (of a different kind) and the natural construction of
schools, hospitals and barracks took place.
These areas were occupied by merchants and diplomatic populations of
Tianjin until the end of WW II.
Concession areas still stand firm today, offering insight into Tianjin’s
recent past.
The Wu Da
Dao (dao is a street and the name means 5 avenues) represents the former
European Concession areas – 5 roads shape the area which contains a vast array
of Euro-architecture villas and gardens.
This area is protected by the local authorities. Any redevelopment can be taken up only under
strict regulation. The villas are numbered with a categorisation number and
marked as Important, Very Important, Most Important, and so on. It is a great place to walk and admire the
stately villas while getting a whiff of the old world charm.
Wu Da Dao is also
home to the Minyuan Plaza, originally Minyuan Stadium and built by Eric Liddel
– famous Scottish athlete and son of Tianjin (he was born and raised there)
whose story of running in the 1924 Paris Olympics was immortalized in the movie
“Chariots of Fire”. Modeled on the Stamford Bridge football stadium in London –
Eric Liddell’s favorite stadium and home to Chelsea FC – it was once the home
stadium to Tianjin’s own football team. Now, it is a walking plaza with grassy
field, a replica running track along its perimeter and surrounded by boutique
stores and restaurants.
Horse
drawn carriages are ready and available outside the plaza to take you along the
Wu Da Dao (the horses have receptacles to collect their droppings – the diapers
of the horses, according to Meera). The
neat roads and foot paths are a sight for sore eyes. We enjoyed the ride and were our own guide.
The Italian
Style Town is another must see. Once the
Italian Concession Area, The Marco Polo statue and Dante square with Dante’s
statue take us into a bygone era. The Italian food we had here was truly
Italian. Most restaurants in China do not serve ‘cold’ water or ‘cold’ juices
(room temp. is a ‘given’) because they feel it is not good for health. You have
to ask for it. Just as when chop sticks were
kept on our plates in restaurants, we asked for forks – ignorant folks, you
see!
We took an
open top bus here which took us around Tianjin.
The designer bridges, the gardens, the old style buildings alongside
modern apartments, the lakes , the sights kept us absorbed and clicking. The
Ferris wheel over the Yongle Bridge boasts a 110 m highest point. It is supposed
to be the only F.W built on a bridge. It
is called the Tianjin Eye – reminiscent of the London Eye.
There are
many malls milling with shoppers and foodies. Some malls are extravagant, and
some normal. One of them has a skating
rink too. The different levels and the variety of brands available are mind
boggling.
The antique
street comes alive on Thursdays with a display of innumerable hues of beads and
gems. It is an awesome experience seeing
an entire covered quadrangle, with rows of vendors displaying their wares under
one roof, selling every quality of beads, pearls, jades, corals. The blues and greens and oranges are
bedazzling. Even if you don’t empty your
pockets, moving from one pile to another can fill your heart with a sense
of wonder. Haggling is normal here., But you can be sure you won’t be
short-changed. Honesty is something you
confront everywhere and an offshoot of it is the feeling of safety you
experience.
One doesn’t
have to go to Beijing to experience a slice of history – The Great Wall Of
China. Tianjin has a good piece of that
magnificence, located a good 2 hour drive North of the city. We are glad we saw the impressive wonder here
and didn’t decide to go to Beijing and be overwhelmed by the crowds. Binita and
Meera stayed back as they had already been up there earlier. What a sight the wall was from a distance,
straightening and winding on the precipitous mountain ranges.
Most people go up to the beginning of the
climb in a vehicle as we did. Then on,
the huffing and puffing started. Arjun was the only one breathing
normally. Climbing steps (Kuppu counted
250 steps each way) walking the ramps gingerly, we saw people taking water
breaks or just resting their feet or looking at others sweating it out. The Wall and the watch- towers have stood the
test of time, with regular maintenance.
The stress and strain we underwent was all worth it when we reached the
Wall. Frankly we felt we had made a conquest.And the competition we had had! A
toddler wearing sunglasses was running merrily and a pet dog also seemed to
have enjoyed the awesome climb. At the top, on cloud nine, It was time for photos and marvelling at the
wall and beyond.
Hungry after
the ordeal we ate at this place which the owner lady said was purely vegetarian
but which we found also served every kind of meat with gusto. Say veg food in China and you will have at least one
dish of brinjal. There was this couple
at the adjoining table who’d been eyeing us for some time and who finally
gathered courage and having said something incomprehensible stood behind us for
a photo. Our feeling of elation was
short lived (fortunately, the picture had been clicked) because as soon as
white foreigners came, all attention shifted to them. Earlier also we thought a
couple wanted us to take their photo but
turned out they wanted a ‘selfie’ with
us. (No white in sight this time!) Selfie sticks are very popular with photo
shooters.
The Drum Tower, which
forms the center of many old Chinese cities and houses signal drums that were
used for communication in the ancient days, is also part of old Tianjin and
well preserved. Long streets with shops set to old architectural styles extend
on all four sides of the tower. Tianjin
also has an Ancient Culture Street, which also preserves/recreates the city’s ancient
architecture, and is typically more crowded with shoppers than the drum tower
area. Walking along the street gave us a chance to practice our bargaining
skills across language barriers, and we were able to come away with only
slightly overpriced knickknacks.
The traffic
in Tianjin is quite disciplined on the broad roads except for the fact that scooterists
and cyclists enjoy an unwritten concession. They happily ignore the red light and the road users don’t
see red either. No petrol guzzling
two-wheelers are allowed on city streets - only bicycles or electric two wheelers.
There are other measures implemented to combat the scourge of pollution- like prohibiting cars with license plates ending
with specific numbers on each day of the work week (e.g. cars with license
plates ending with 1 and 6 are prohibited on Mondays; those ending with 2 and 7
on Tuesdays etc.) On high pollution
days, or if the government wants to clean up the air before important public
events, cars with license plates ending on even and odd numbers alternate every
day of the week. Public transport is very good with a large fleet of buses and
a well-connected metro rail system.
Go to China
and not see Tiananmen Square? We went to
Beijing by the superfast train and reached our destination in half an hour,
travelling on an average speed of 300 kmph (as was indicated in the digital
display in the compartment). The broad
roads and greenery of Tianjin are replicated here. T. Square was milling with people the day we
went. Unbelievable crowds made their way
to where they wanted with their hats and umbrellas protecting them from the unrelenting
heat. Long lines moved to get a glimpse
of Mao’s mausoleum.
The Forbidden
City (Palace of the Emperors) is a study in vastness. It was a test of our
energy stamina and patience. Moving from outer court yard to the inner to the innermost, jostling with crowds,
climbing umpteen steps to admire the rooms and contents-this was an unforgettable
experience. Huge sculptures of lions
seemed to be guarding the palace at vantage points. Such sculptures are also
seen outside government buildings and important structures .Vast granite
monolith carvings were impressive.
Everywhere in the palace the emperor had special path/steps for himself
while the nobles and ministers took side steps – no side stepping was allowed
of course. The grandeur of the Emperor’s
palace, the large court yards, the innumerable offices, the blues, greens,
yellows and the reds painted on the ceilings and doors were mind boggling. One has to see it to be enchanted.
The Temple
of Heaven is a 3 tiered dome where Emperors used to worship twice a year for a good harvest and for the wellbeing of the
people. Only men were allowed here. Now it is non-functional as a place of
worship but functional in a different
way. The long passages that lead to the
dome become veritable card-playing areas.
When we were there, about 10 to 12 groups of senior citizens were
playing cards. Chinese chess is also
popular with the people who haunt these places to while away their time. 
The Summer
Palace or Imperial Gardens are a visual delight – canals and lakes are a hub of
human activity, boating is popular.
Decorated Dragon Boats ferry tourists across the lake. A boat made of marble used by the emperor and
the empress during their summer sojourn to the garden sits in the lake in all
its alabaster grandeur. People are seen
picnicking or lazing under the centuries -old trees without strewing any
garbage around. We are told that this palace was one of the two that was
completely destroyed during skirmishes with British and French forces stationed
in China but was restored to its original grandeur while the other was left in
its ruined state to remind the people of the havoc caused by the occupying
armies.
I think we came away with a very positive view
of China. The respect shown to nature,
the joi de vivre seen in senior citizens,
the desire to keep the historic past intact but also to move towards modernity,
the reverence for history and traditions (which is why old structures are
preserved/renovated), the work ethic, the enjoyment of life and the beauty of
the city - it was all so refreshing.
Yes. Learn to speak Chinese, and use
chopsticks and you will have a whale of time anywhere in China.
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