China Exchange 1999 - International Programs @ TCC

Tianjin is the fourth largest city in China, next to Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. It is a major port city supplying Beijing. Due to its prime coastal location it was opened to trade by British gunboats in the 1850s. Soon several European countries had "concessions" in Tianjin, areas that were occupied and ruled by people of those nations. Because of this history Tianjin is known for its abundance of Western architecture. While Tianjin is a thriving industrial city, it is not a common tourist destination. Besides its architecture, Tianjin is well know for its food. While only a couple of hours away from Beijing by train, it has a very different culinary tradition from that city. We decided to take an overnight trip to Tianjin to try some of this food and to visit the antique market, supposedly one of the best in China.

The Beijing Train Station is the largest in Asia. Like everything else in Beijing, it is under construction.

This was our first train travel in China. The train station in Beijing is the largest and one of the most modern in Asia. Communicating with the ticket person in the crowded station was a little scary, a combination of pointing to words in our guide book, speaking Chinese, and making hand signals. After communicating that I wanted two first class (called soft seat) tickets to Tianjin, the woman behind the counter raised five fingers. I began pealing off five one hundred yuan bills, about 60 dollars. The man behind me laughed and indicated that I should put my money away. The fare was actually 50 yuan or six dollars. The train system in China is inexpensive, modern, and fast. Getting to the train was a little more challenging. Second class (called hard seat) passengers get seating on a first come first served basis so when the gate opens there is a mad rush to get on the train with hundreds of people pushing and crushing toward the gate. Once aboard, the train was very comfortable - no different from trains in Europe or the U.S.

The Tianjin post office shows the western style of many of the buildings in the city.

A contrast of architectural styles that is common in Tianjin.

One of the most famous dishes in Tianjin is Baozi (pronounced bowdsa). It is a steamed bun filled with pork, spices, and gravy. The most famous baozi restaurant in Tianjin is Gou Bu Li. The name means "Dogs Won't Eat". Supposedly, it derived from the fact that the first owner of the restaurant was so ugly that dogs wouldn't come near him. After checking into our hotel, Deborah and I hit the streets in search of this spot. Tianjin feels very different from Beijing. While Beijing is a city of grand, wide boulevards laid out in a well organized grid, Tianjin's streets are narrow, teaming with life, and have no apparent plan. Our favorite part of visiting Tianjin was just walking around its streets and witnessing Chinese life. It took a couple of very pleasant hours of walking to find our destination. Gou Bu Li has been in business for over one hundred years. From all that we had read about the place we were expecting, maybe, something on a grand scale. It was actually a small, unassuming restaurant with about eight tables.

Baozi, one of the famous foods of Tianjin.

Everywhere we run into people who want to make friends. A couple of older men who seemed to be regulars at Gou Bu Li kept coming up to the table and engaging us in conversation. We couldn't understand most of what they were saying except that they would say China and America and clasp their hands together in a sign of friendship. Finally, a waitress brought over a piece of paper that asked, in English, "How old are you?" I guess they were curious about my age. When I answered the question they nodded in approval. When we left I managed to say in Chinese, "Goodbye, my friends." They were delighted. Similar interactions happen all the time when traveling in China. The Chinese are very friendly people and they seem to have a special fondness for Americans. There are fewer foreigners in Tianjin than in Beijing so people were a little more curious about us.

Gou Bu Li, the most famous baozi restaurant in Tianjin.

The toilet/dish washing facilities at Gou Bu Li, an interesting sensory experience.

We had heard and read a lot about the antique market in Tianjin. On a good Sunday it supposedly goes on for blocks. This was not a good Sunday. We woke up to a rainy day. We were advised to go early for the good buys. When we arrived a little after eight a.m. we found that there was no one there. We walked around for a while talking about what to do when one older man opened his small shop. We bought an old photograph of a man and his two daughters at his shop. One by one, other shops began to open and we ended up spending about three hours looking through the different shops. I am usually quite thankful for my lot in life, but this was one time that I really wanted to be rich. There were the most wonderfully exotic and beautiful things in the market and I wanted them. My one find was a silver bug hotel. It has three little rooms with glass windows. I can't wait to get home and put some bugs in it.

One of the antique vendors in Tianjin's famous antique market.

Look out bugs of America. I'm coming home with a sterling silver bug motel.

In the afternoon we visited the Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall. It is dedicated to the Chinese leader and his wife, Deng Ying Chao. Zhou was a hero of the revolution. He was second in command to Mao Zedong. He is held in particularly high regard by the Chinese because during the Cultural Revolution he helped to temper some of the more extreme policies of Mao. His wife was a crusader for the rights of women and children in China. Both are very highly revered by the Chinese people. While most of the presentations in the museum were in Chinese, some of the major text was also in English so we were able to learn something about their lives.

A large marble statue of Zhow Enlai and his wife, , at the Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall in Tianjin.

NEXT: 4/19 Beijing - Life on the street

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ED GIBBS
egibbs@tcc.edu    

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