Until my classmate pointed it out to me, I never realized that today was
an auspicious date- 09.09.12. It was then that I understood why there were so
many couples getting married or taking wedding photos everywhere during our
tour today.
We started our Tianjin Tour at 2.30pm. We went up a bus that took us to
our first destination, the Tianjin Haihe
(translated as Sea River) Italian Style Town.
The infrastructure there had a distinctive style of its own and had many
photogenic areas- which would explain why we saw at least 4 newly-wedded
couples taking photos (with a few other couples still waiting for their turn).
The
sign at the entrance
Couples taking
wedding photos
After spending an hour there, we returned to the bus which took us to a
place well-known for its food. I followed my classmates to a halal restaurant
where we ate roast duck popiah to our heart’s content. I’m actually quite glad
that this stall was halal as I believe it is quite hard for the Muslim students
to enjoy Chinese cuisine without worrying if it is halal or not.
The sign at the entrance of the restaurant.
The yellow sign indicates that this stall is halal-certified.
Meat, grape jam, sugar, dark gravy, vegetables and the popiah pastry
- All that we need to make our own duck popiah!
Our next stop was at the Ancient Cultural Street where we went into a
temple and looked at all the shops inside. Although there are many stalls
selling fans, brushes, semi-precious stones, etc, I believe that one of the
main attractions there are the pair of golden K’i lins (Chinese Unicorns) that
are a few metres away from the entrance. People rub the K’i lins’ front legs,
beard, nose and mouth for luck. After so many years of rubbing, I am not
surprised to see the statues’ front legs so shiny compared to the rest of their
bodies.
The K’i lins
We spent about an hour in the temple and went over to the pier just
opposite by 7.15pm. This pier overlooks Haihe
River and we were going to go on a boat cruise by 7.30pm.
The Ancient Culture Street Pier
During the cruise, we stood at the deck of the deck of the boat and could
take several photos of the impressive buildings on either side of the river. Here
are some photos I took.
After the cruise, we had the opportunity to buy a Kongming Lantern,
write a wish on it, light the candle attached at the open end of the lantern
and throw it into the air. It was fun to do that and watch my lantern join the
other lanterns in its flight across the sky.
Don writing his wish on a lantern
The stall owner helping us to light up our lanterns
Me waiting for my lantern to fill up with hot air
Letting a lantern go
Our last stop for the day was the Tianjin Eye, a huge ferris wheel that
allowed you to see the “whole of Tianjin” (as it claims). After queuing up for
about 3 minutes, 4 of my classmates and I got into a passenger car and sat
waiting for it to rise up.
A poster outside the Tianjin Eye
Tianjin Eye, photo taken during the boat cruise
Once the panoramic view could be seen, we promptly whipped out our
cameras and began snapping photos of everything. Appended below are a few
photos I took.
At last, our tour of Tianjin had come to an end and we retired to our hotel rooms, exhausted.
As I end my blog, I just want to say that
Tianjin has really beautiful scenery and a comfortable temperature range.
However, no amount of overseas scenery and comfortable temperatures can make me
forget the comforts of my home in Singapore.
Good night, dear reader. I hope good
dreams float to you as gaily as our lanterns did.
Best regards,
Marianne
Our lanterns floating away into the night
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