Day 4 – March 23rd – Tianjin

After breakfast we set out for the Ancient Scenic Zone, about 2 miles from the hotel.

There was a slight chill in the air and a light mist as we took a gentle stroll along the river and across the bridge by the shopping mall we visited yesterday for our roast duck lunch.

Only about 15 minutes later the sun broke through and the temperature lifted enough for our jackets to be stowed away in our backpacks.

Full of little stalls and shops selling traditional crafts and food we wandered around, tasting the food samples along the way, so very good chocolate items and pastries, no need to buy much as free samples were everywhere!

There were also plenty of not quite so ancient items such as these Tom and Jerry ice creams.

The ancient culture area is a 5 star rated tourist area

So we spent a pleasant hour or so meandering through the various offerings, Diane found several shops with Jade and silver jewellery which Gary was pleased when nothing really took her fancy.

Located half way between the Ancient Culture Area and our hotel was the Italian Concession and so we crossed back across the Hai He river to take a look around and have lunch.

The Italian concession of Tianjin was a small territory (concession) in central Tianjin controlled by the Kingdom of Italy between 1901 and 1943, officially ceded to China in 1947.

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There are plenty of Italian style villas here with many having been converted into restaurants and shops and many a bit run down waiting there turn to be given a new lease of life.

Feeling hungry we stopped at a good looking restaurant and ordered our beer and pizzas, a truly authentic Chinese lunch, LOL.

And so back to the hotel for a rest before heading out for an evening river cruise.

A very helpful security guard at the river cruise terminal kindly helped me book our tickets on the Chinese app and with an hour to spare before dusk fell for our 7.30 departure we visited a local German style beer Keller.

Our river cruise set off and we were all stunned by the views of the illuminated buildings along the river, absolutely stunning.

Virtually every building along both banks of the river for about 2 miles was lit up with millions of LEDs and lighting projectors, a stunning spectacle of lights and multi colour lasers.

And so after another very enjoyable but tiring day, we walked nearly 20.000 steps, we returned to our hotel for the night.

One of the food delivery robots joined us in the lift to make a delivery to the 47th floor.

See you all tomorrow for our final day in Tianjin.

TTFN

Bibbley