Tiānjīn, not Tōkyō

Tianjin at night

So, you're probably wondering about the title of this post, right? A fair question, the answer to which requires a bit of explanation. In my line of work, I carry two passports: one is a normal ten year-valid travel document, like the one you have (or not) in your possession; the other is a diplomatic passport, valid for five years, and within which is pasted the diplomatic visa allowing one to be posted to a particular location (though not every country requires one). The latter passport is used for official travel, the former for personal. So, for example, if I want to take a vacation to South Korea, I use the diplomatic passport when leaving China, but present the regular passport upon arriving in Seoul. The reverse occurs when it comes time to return to Beijing 北京. It means always having to carry two passports with me while traveling, but I would describe it as only a minor inconvenience at most. 

The above also applies to my wife and daughter, but in their cases, a third passport is thrown into the mix. Shu-E and Amber are both citizens of the Republic of China 中華民國, and so both have in their possession a green-colored travel document with the word "Taiwan" emblazoned on the cover. Normally this passport remains at home when we travel, unless of course we (or they) are going to Taiwan. Do the math, and this means a total of eight passports between the three of us. 

Cue to the previous weekend. My wife had returned to Taiwan earlier in the month for a couple of weeks, presumably taking two of her passports (the American diplomatic and regular Taiwanese ones) with her. Meanwhile, Friday the 10th of November was Veterans Day, a Federal holiday and a day off from work for me. Coincidentally (or not - Armistice Day perhaps?), my daughter had both that Friday and the following Monday off from school due to "professional development" for the teachers. To take advantage of this four-day weekend, I arranged to take Monday off as well, and made plans for Amber and I to spend the time in the historic city of Chengde 承德. Shu-E half-jokingly suggested the two of us should go to Japan instead, and almost immediately I changed our itinerary to that of a quick wham, bam, thank you ma'am jaunt to Tokyo 東京, with flights between the Chinese and Japanese capitals booked on Air China 国航, and a three-night hotel stay arranged in Ikebukuro 池袋. 

The best laid plans of mice and men. On Thursday evening while packing for our departure to the airport early the next morning, I made the unwelcome discovery of counting only one of my two passports - the diplomatic one. My regular passport was nowhere to be seen, but my wife's was. It didn't take long to put the pieces of the puzzle together - my devoted spouse had inexplicably decided to take all three of her passports with her when she flew to Taipei 台北, and crucially didn't check carefully which ones she grabbed. For as a very angry, very vocal (on my part) conversation via WeChat would quickly confirm, she had in her possession my regular passport, not hers. Which meant I only had my diplomatic passport, instantly putting our trip in jeopardy.

At this point you might be asking why I couldn't just fly on the diplomatic document. Officially, we are not supposed to, but in practice it happens frequently (though I've never done so), and I've heard of people who entered Japan for a holiday using said document. But there is aways the possibility of being denied entry if one attempts to use a diplomatic passport without a valid official purpose, and lacking the accompanying diplomatic visa. And as someone who frequently visits the Land of the Rising Sun, the last thing I would want is a blemish on my record that would require having to apply for a visa (and risk being denied) every time I would like to travel to Japan in the future. Nevertheless, I wavered.

In the end it was Amber who convinced me it wasn't worth the risk. And Shu-E, after having been ripped the proverbial new one by her husband, did her best from Taiwan to salvage something out of the four-day weekend by booking train and hotel reservations for us to go to...you guessed it, the city of Tianjin 天津. Which is how my daughter and I found ourselves on the morning of the 11th at Beijing South railway station 北京南站 waiting to board a high-speed train:

Reaching speeds of up to 348 kph (216 mph), it only took 30 minutes to reach Tianjin:

Emerging out of Tianjin railway station 天津站:

The Century Clock 世纪钟, an impossible to miss landmark while en route to our accommodations:

Shu-E had booked us a twin room at the Hampton by Hilton Tianjin Railway Station. Our room was on the 49th floor, with fantastic views to match the elevation. Never before had I stayed so high in an urban hotel, and I found it hard to sleep at night due to the 9/11-related anxiety I would be feeling:

Following check-in, Amber and I walked over to the Tianjin Tee Mall 天津天河城购物中心, and had lunch at a Taiwanese-style steak restaurant:

And proud of it:

The skies were clear the entire time we were in Tianjin, but the weather was cold, never rising above the single digits Celsius, and dropping below freezing in the early morning hours:

Tianjin is a huge metropolis, with a population of 12.5 million, and serves as the port to Beijing. The history of the city, however, is more akin to that of Shanghai 上海 rather than the capital. Beginning in the late 19th century, Western powers such as Great Britain, France, Japan, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Belgium carved out self-contained foreign concessions. One of these European-flavored neighborhoods was a short walk from the hotel, so following lunch we made our way to the Italian Concession 意大利风情旅游区, where we were greeted by a statue of Dante presiding over a busy roundabout:

I was the only obvious Westerner at a small local history museum, but didn't notice if anyone was grumbling in my direction. Besides, it wasn't the American Concession:

"Hey, man, can I bum a baby off you?" Surprisingly, I couldn't find any information about this brand online. I hope it isn't still in production, because I would probably buy a pack soley due to the name, and start the habit again after having quit more than twenty years ago:

The new face of Tianjin loomed over the area:

We may have been in the Italian Concession, but that didn't stop Amber from wanting to snack on some takoyaki たこ焼き:

Back at the hotel in time to catch the sunset...:

...and then it was out again, in search of dinner,,,:

...which was found back in the "Italian-style Tourist Area" (the Chinese are loath to use the word "concession"), where we shockingly found ourselves, of all places, at an Italian restaurant:

The nighttime scenery from our hotel room:

The Sunday morning view from on high:

Tianjin doesn't have any must-see individual sights. What draws the tourists, however, are its historic neighborhoods. Access to most of these areas from our hotel could by provided by the city's subway system, but as my daughter pointed out, it would be much easier (despite the chill) to take advantage of the city's shared bike system rather than try to figure out how to download the app needed to ride the metro. So following breakfast we hopped onto a couple of bicycles and set off to explore our surroundings. We soon passed what appeared to be a marriage market of the kind we saw years ago in Shanghai - places where parents and grandparents hawk the attractive qualities of their children and grandchildren (namely education and income) in the hopes of finding a suitable mate. The situation in China these days is even more desperate:

Our first stop was the Wudadao 五大道 area, a collection of streets lined with 1920s European-style residences. In the center of it all is the Minyuan Plaza 民园广场, built on the site of a stadium (only the running track remains) designed by Eric Liddell, the Olympic runner made famous in the 1981 Best Picture Chariots of Fire:

Vladmir Putin ate here:

Tianjin, not Tokyo:

Was this made to evoke the FIFA World Cup trophy, which China is unlikely to win in the foreseeable future?:

Buying some chewy grilled tofu cubes to snack on:

Dying for our sins, or a warning to other pink-colored cats that it's best to keep moving on?:

Leaving Wudadao we rode to check out a museum on porcelain, only to find it was housed in a 1920's mansion built by a Frenchman that had been turned into...this...monstrosity. We decided to give it a pass and look for something to have for lunch instead:

But not here:

Instead, we settled on crab-and-shrimp noodles at a place opposite the above:

At Jinwan Plaza 津湾广场, located on the other side of the Haihe River from the train station:

I admired the bride, braving the close-to-freezing temperatures in order to get the right wedding shots. Wishing you and your partner a bright, happy and, most importantly, warm future together:

Always on the lookout for snacks, this time some grilled sausages, with which to spoil our dinners:

With the onset of darkness, it was back on the bikes, this time to ride along the riverside toward the Tianjin Eye Ferris wheel, and passing by what looked like a temple lit up at night:

120 meters/394 feet high, the Tianjin Eye 天津之眼 is featured prominently in local tourist promotions (even being included on the wallpaper in our hotel room). Tickets, however, couldn't be purchased with Alipay (both of us have had issues with WeChat's pay app), but my daughter said she was content with just seeing the Ferris wheel at night:

More things to snack on - candied fruit:

After all these years making fun of those tourists in Pisa...:

The singer in the video clip above not only had a great voice, but absolutely nailed an American country song. Making our way back in the direction of the hotel:

Tianjin has one of the most attractive waterfronts I've ever seen, at least after dark:

Amber stops to get a photo:

For dinner, we returned to the Tianjin Tee Mall, though not at this subtly-lit establishment:

Instead, we settled on a so-called yōshoku 洋食 restaurant next door:

Ugh, coconut! I need to memorize the character 椰 for the hellish fruit so I can avoid future pitfalls like this one:

Tonkatsu 豚カツ...sort of:

Following dinner we stopped at an arcade to play some games...:

...before stepping back into the night air and returning to our hotel:

Monday morning sunrise:

The view from the 51st-floor dining room. Unlike the previous morning's breakfast, which was so busy we were seated at a table with strangers, on Monday we had our pick on where we could sit:

With our train back to Beijing not due to depart until 1650 hours, we found another pair of bikes and set out riding again, with our first stop being an historic theater:

I can always find time to have a look at heroic revolutionary socialist architecture, especially when it's overshadowed by capitalist...er, I mean socialism with Chinese characteristics high-rise condos:

The Northwest Corner area 西北角 is popular for its breakfast fare:

Amber had been wanting to try a snack called Ripe Pear Cake 熟梨糕 that we had seen being sold virtually everywhere we had been so far in Tianjin. Here she finally attained her goal, and it was worth the wait:

This friendly gentleman sold some tasty meat-filled buns. He wasn't of the majority Han ethnic group (being presumably a Muslim Hui), so his Mandarin was actually understandable:

From the traditional to the modern, all in the space of a few hundred meters:

A large mosque serving the spiritual needs of the resident Hui community:

The Tianjin Eye in the daylight. As you can see here, it stands in the middle of a bridge spanning the Xinkai River:

Get your motor runnin', head out on the highway...:

Having lunch at that most Chinese of dining establishments...not. Yoshinoya 吉野家:

Our final stop in Tianjin was the Ancient Culture Street 古文化街. Apparently, the ancestors of today's Chinese spent their days snacking:

The English is actually an accurate translation of the Chinese. My daughter was wondering why there was a large photograph of a man considering the subject matter:

Trying to keep one step ahead of a tour group:

Honesty in advertising:

Of course we had to go inside, and my colleagues at work were all the happier for it after the weekend:

Eventually it was time to get to the station, and catch the train back to Beijing. It was in Tianjin that this native Californian discovered his state was famous for beef noodles:

We were pleasantly surprised to learn Shu-E had booked the first-class car for us. Of course the cost came out of my salary, but that didn't stop me from savoring the guilt nonetheless:

And so the weekend was salvaged...sort of. Frankly speaking, the bitterness of not being able to go to Tokyo still lingers, and it's going to take some time before I can look back on all this and laugh, especially considering the financial penalties involved in changing flights and canceling hotel rooms. On the other hand, my wife did her best to make it up to Amber and me, and most likely we'll travel to Japan during the Lunar New Year early next year. And I have wanted to visit Tianjin.

Just not this soon.

Life since the last blog post hasn't all been related to canceled plans and last-minute trips. Before Shu-E left for Taiwan, the three of us went out on a very polluted day for lunch at a Korean BBQ, followed by a visit to Chaoyang Park 朝阳公园:

For the park we rented a couple of golf carts to get around:

Looking for adventure, in whatever comes our way:

Not a day to be doing anything strenous: 

For Halloween the missus and I dressed as the Heibai Wuchang 黑白无常, charged with escorting the spirits of the dead to the underworld. But not before first giving them candy:

"Become rich upon encountering me":

Please don't ask me to buy some for you:

My wife came across a site on Taobao 淘宝网 where you could see what your child would look like wearing different fashion styles. The results are yet further evidence that when my daughter grows up she'll be serving her AI overlords:

Another family weekend outing pre-Taiwan. I can think of two reasons for not wanting to swim in the Liangma River 亮马河: 1. the cool autumn weather; and 2. it's a body of water in a densely-populated Chinese urban environment. Dude, just because Mao swam in human waste doesn't mean you have to*:

These colorful leaves were changing on trees lining the street in a diplomatic quarter (not ours). Shu-E was disappointed she couldn't go in to have a closer look:

Lunch was all Greek to me (witty observations like this one make my daughter groan in amusement and appreciation):

Local beers purchased at a grocery store popular with expats:

Modern art:

The Socialist Values:

A restaurant with an eye-catching facade:

With Shu-E back in Taiwan, Amber and I have been ordering out for many of our meals. One night we had Vietnamese. Unfortunately, I couldn't order from the restaurant called PHOking Good as it was too far away:

On another evening the two of us went for a meal at a German restaurant:

Yet another dinner that arrived courtesy of Meituan 美团:

Timi looking at the birds outside the window:

On the Friday before going to Tianjin (i.e. the day we were supposed to fly to Tokyo), the girl and I had nothing to do. So we rode the metro to visit a cafe called Bear Brew, which unfortunately is no longer located in the scenic spot mentioned in this article. Still, the carrot cake and the coffee made it a worthwhile trip:

The friendly owner spoke excellent English, and presented me with this pin which I now have on my backpack:

That evening we went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner:

Post-Tianjin, and an evening repast at a neighborhood Punjabi restaurant:

Cricket World Cup highlights were of course being played on the TV:

This weekend it's just been the cat and me, as Amber has gone to Bangkok with her school swim team to take part in a meet. So yesterday I took advantage of the slightly warmer temperature (and relatively cleaner air quality) to visit one of Beijing hutong 胡同 neighborhoods: 

I popped into the Soloist Coffee Co. cafe for a break:

For lunch I had a panini, to go with my rooibos latte:

Afterward I took a stroll along the Dashilar Commercial Street 大栅栏商业街. It may be centuries old (though its present appearance dates from the Republic of China period) but these days it clearly caters to the tourists:

There are businesses selling goods other than snack foods, such as this shop:

Today (Sunday) turned out to be a nice one - sunny, with a high of 16°C/61°F. With time in the afternoon before my daughter returns to Beijing, I used the ideal conditions to go for a bike ride. A little over 30 minutes on the Trek took me to Beijing's supposedly most haunted house, Chaonei No. 81 朝内81号. Of course, in reality there wasn't much to see and entrance was verboten, so for now don't believe the hype:

I did take a walk around the neighborhood, passing by the kind of residences most Beijingers call home, a fact that often eludes expats expecting an American-style house with all the familiar comforts, and writers who until recently confidently predicted China's economic juggernaut would soon rule the world. Don't believe the hype:

Funei Avenue 复内大街 on a sunny Sunday:

It's good to have her back from Thailand, though the cat seems less than overjoyed:

*OK, the water quality of the Liangma River in 2023 is no doubt much better than that of the Yangtze in 1966, but I still wouldn't go for a dip in it.