Street Scene in Tianjin City

Tianjin situated 120 kilometers from Beijing, and it is the largest coastline city in north China opening to outside, and also has a reputation of "the bright pearl of Bohai Sea". With the operation of the high-speed express train from Beijing to Tianjin, it becomes very convenient to arrange one or two days' trip there. It takes only 30 minutes from Beijing to Tianjin. This kind of train is available from morning to evening, and costs CNY69.00 for the first class ticket and CNY58.00 for the second class.

The first day's tour starts from visiting the sites within Tianjin City. Of course, the national AAAA tour spot Shi Family's compound will be the first destination. Upon arrival at Tianjin railway station, take bus No. 824 to Shi Family's compound directly, costing CNY3.00 per person, while taxi will be more expensive. The Shi Family's compound is also called Yangliuqing Museum, which was first built in 1875 by Mr. Shi Yuan Shi, who devoted much attention to business and the relationship with the officials of imperial court, and ever be interviewed by Empress Dowager Cixi. The Shi Family's compound covers an area of more than 6,000 square meters with grand scale and ingenious design. A large amount of cultural relics are displayed inside, and it is also regarded as the First House of North China. The admission fee is CNY20.00.

Tianjin Ancient Culture Street

Then back to the city by Bus No. 824 and then visit the shopping center Quan Ye Chang and taste the famous Gou Bu Li steamed stuffed buns and other local flavor. Walk along this pedestrian street to Du Shan Road to visit the Xi Kai Church. This church is the unique France romantic construction with yellow and red bricks and green peak. You may also visit another national AAAA tour spot Tianjin Ancient Culture Street. This is for free but with many shops of old traditional folk art and handicrafts. If you are interested, you also can have a cup of tea at the famous Mingliu Tea house and appreciate the delicate performance there.

Stay overnight in the city, and the accommodation is easy to find. Next morning, take bus No. 621 and 623 and then change bus 110 at Tang Gu station to DaGu Port, which is built in 1816 to protect Beijing from invasion of foreign countries in Qing Dynasty, and now is one of the famous ten scenic spots in Tianjin. The admission is CNY10.00 Yuan per person. You may also visit the Haimen Bridge and Dagu Beacon nearby.

Then take bus to Tanggu Port, you may take cruise the BoHai Bay, and see Tianjin port and appreciate the different cruises from all over the world with different styles. You can pay the charge for the cruise on the spot. This new experience must give you a new feeling from your daily work. After lunch, you may take bus No.462 at Tianjin south station and change Bus 133 at HanGu Triangle Lake to visit the aircraft carrier in Tianjin. It is used to be the admiral of Russian Pacific Ocean Armada, and was sold to Chinese company in 1996. Now this restoration is a complex of knowledge about the aircraft carrier and amusement. Do remember to take your camera when visiting.

Sugar figurine making

In the third day's morning, pack your luggage and travel to Jixian County to visit the famous Du Le Temple. Take train 7142 07:39/10:39 or train 7141 14:54/17:34 from Tianjin railway station or take bus from He Bei bus station to Jixian County. Upon arrival in Jixian County, you may take the tourist taxi or Bus No. 2 to visit Du Le Temple, which inherited the construction style of Tang and Song Dynasty, representing the unique art impression of Chinese construction. It is also one of the oldest and best-preserved wooden structures in China's history. There is a Guan Yin Pavilion within the temple and which contains a standing statue of the Guan Yin Bodhisattva with ten small statues of Buddha above its head. It is also called the Guan Yin Bodhisattva with 11 faces. This temple was built in Tang Dynasty and with vicissitudes of more than 1000 years. Although experienced the chaos caused by war and earthquakes, this temple still stand well in Jixian County and the local people consider this temple as the holy land.

After visiting the Du Le Temple, you also can visit the White Pagoda and the Temple of Lu Ban.

Buses are available from Jixian County to Beijing Si Hui bus station, the latest one departs from Jixian County at 16:40. And the transfer needs about 100 minutes at the cost of CNY15.00 per person. If you do want to explore this County further, you may stay overnight in Jixian County and visit Huang Ya Guan Great Wall and Panshan Mountain