Charlie (far right) explains Ancient Culture Street's mural to Ned, John, Jenny and George.
Today we were treated to two completely different sides of Tianjin. In the morning, our (new) bus driver took us to the Ancient Culture Street, a precinct that aims to preserve and promote traditional Chinese culture. Beautiful temples, sculptures and murals compete for your attention with all the market stalls and craft shops. We lost a few along the way to the temptations of the jewellery stores. They soon returned, though, when they heard that we were headed for the famous Snack Food Market. Dozens of stalls like the one below enticed us to sample both savoury and sweet snacks. We had to run the gauntlet of the public toilets first, a true eye-watering, sick-making experience!
Andy and other assorted nuts.The afternoon presented us with a complete surprise. Tianjin was an important port town in the 19th century, and as a result there had been a thriving European community there. The Italian precinct is a beautiful part of Tianjin, with its outstanding Italianate architecture (including a gorgeous cathedral that is presently buried underneath hoardings, either condemned or awaiting reconstruction).
The Italian precinct contains a fine array of European-style restaurants: not only Italian, but also French and German. While most of our group piled into a lovely Italian-style restaurant, Lloyd and I discovered a place that served German-style food with some eastern European flourishes. The beer was great and the goulash and borscht weren't bad either!
Our biggest surprise was stepping into brilliant sushine after lunch, and witnessing half a dozen weddings taking place out in the open. Not to mention the Chinese school group on excursion, who insisted on having their photos taken with us. We felt like rock stars.
Statue of Dr Sun Yat-Sen, Tianjin, Ancient Cultural Precinct.
We continued our exploration of Tianjin on foot for the rest of the afternoon. Very impressed with this 'small' Chinese city. On the way home we stumbled across a large crowd in a park. We strained to see what all the fuss was about, and soon the crowd revealed a man with half a dozen trained monkeys. Whatever our thoughts about the ethics of such performances, these tiny monkeys had the crowd - and particularly the children - in stitches. Especially when they appeared to disobey their trainer's commands and instead ran behind the trainer and kicked his backside.
Our final duty today was to attend the welcome dinner that Phillipa had organised for the group. Chinese banquets are a communal experience, and this experience was enhanced by the good company and a healthy supply of beer and wine.
Our final duty today was to attend the welcome dinner that Phillipa had organised for the group. Chinese banquets are a communal experience, and this experience was enhanced by the good company and a healthy supply of beer and wine.
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