City
confidential
Tianjin
Travel
Beijing’s neighbour
may not be an obvious
choice for a trip, but
Tianjin offers a perfect
weekend escape,
says Kaye Holland
If you’ve already used up your holiday
time, but still fancy an indulgent
weekend away, look no further than
Tianjin. An exhilarating clash of the
modern and historic, this port city
situated 130km south of Beijing has
a scene for everyone. For the urbanite,
there’s modern architecture, hip hotels,
top-notch dining and chic bars.
Yet while much of Tianjin, like
its big brother Beijing, resounds to
the frenzy of construction, there are
plenty of corners that echo the past.
Wander around Wudadao and check
out its concession-era architecture for
starters. You’ll find charming early
20th-century buildings that once
housed a bustling community of
British, French and other European
merchants and diplomats.
Nature lovers aren’t neglected
either; whether you want to hike the
Huangya Pass of the Great Wall,
take a break in the Tianjin Tropical
Botanical Garden or work up a sweat
swinging a golf club (Tianjin has
15 golf courses) – it’s all there for the
taking. Tianjin is just over half an
hour from the capital by train, which
means you can be there before you’ve
even finished reading this magazine!
What to do
Spend a not-to-be-missed
morning getting acquainted
with Tianjin’s old quarter.
Much of the action
revolves around the
restored Drum
Tower (open
9am-5pm
42 www.timeout.com/beijing December 2010
The Tianjin crowd The city offers a great short break from Beijing – whether you’re a culture vulture or a gastronome
daily, 10RMB) and colourful Ancient
Culture Street – a cacophony of
shopkeepers selling all manner of
cultural treasures from calligraphy
gear to jade stones and the clay
figurines for which Tianjin is
famous. Once you’ve gotten the old
town out of the way, make for the
open-air museum that is Jiefang
Bei Lu. Unlike Shanghai, the
colonial buildings here haven’t been
reconstructed and an air of fading
grandeur prevails. Next, wander
around Wudadao – which is lined
with charming European-style
villas dating from the 1930s – before
checking out the Memorial Hall
to Zhou Enlai for the lowdown
on the PRC’s first Premier (and the
city’s famous son). Then, admire
the architectural feat that is the
Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium
(it’s a giant flying saucer to Beijing’s
bird’s nest), or ride to the top of
the 415m-tall Tianjin TV Tower
(open 8.30am-9.30pm daily, until
April, 50RMB) for impressive views
of a city in the making.
Where to eat and drink
No gastronomic tour of the city
is complete without a pilgrimage
to Goubuli (77 Shandong Lu,
22 2730 2540) to sample Tianjin’s
most celebrated treat: steamed buns
filled with meat that were a favourite
of the Qing Dynasty Empress
Dowager Cixi. Visiting gourmands
can munch on hearty European
fare at Kissling (33 Zhejiang Lu,
22 2331 1702) – a local landmark
famous for its 100-year history,
culinary excellence and elegant
ambience (the restaurant sits
in an original art deco
building). For dinner,
head to Yue Wei
Xian (283-285
Hebei Lu, 22
2339 8888)
for unbeatable
Cantonese cuisine
and culture – the
restaurant’s four
floors are adorned
with Chinese artefacts
and antiques. When the
sun sets, take in panoramic
vistas over a Tianjin Sling
cocktail in City Space – a gorgeous
drinking den perched on the 50th floor
of the Raffles Tianjin hotel (see
Where to stay, below, for address). Or,
for more killer cocktails and top DJs,
party the night away at Mayflower
Bar (junction of Zijinshan Lu and
Qixiangtai Lu, 22 5859 9898).
Where to stay
Following on from the success of
co-hosting the 2008 Olympic Games,
Tianjin is now marketing itself as
a tourist destination, and hotels
are rising all over, puncturing the
city’s skyline. The opulent Raffles
Tianjin hotel (219 Nanjing Lu,
22 2321 5888, from 1,150RMB)
towers above its more established
competitors, both figuratively and
literally – it’s the tallest penthouse
in town. The Holiday Inn
Tianjin Riverside (Haihe
Dong Lu, 22 2627
8888, from 730RMB)
enjoys an enviable
location overlooking
the Haihe River and
offers 419 tastefully
decorated rooms.
On a budget? Head
to the Hanting
Hotel (164 Liaoning
Lu, 22 5109 9828,
from 208RMB). The
decor is a tad old-fashioned,
but the rooms are spick-and-span,
and it’s not a bad base if cash is tight.
How to get there
The best way to get from Beijing to
Tianjin is by bullet train. The journey
from Beijing South to Tianjin’s main
train station takes 35 minutes, and
you’ll travel at more than 320kmph.
One-way tickets cost 69RMB for first
class and 58RMB for second class.
Trains run throughout the day, with
the first service leaving Beijing at
6.15am and the last departing for
Tianjin at 10.10pm. The last train to
Beijing leaves Tianjin at 10.06pm.