What to See in Tianjin
Tianjin is sometimes overlooked by someone who visits China for the first time and who is so focused on the very famous attractions in and around Beijing that they almost never take the 120 kilometers drive to Tianjin to enjoy the city’s own particular characteristics. As a port and a city opened to Great Britain and France in 1860, the city has much of Shanghai’s cosmopolitan nature, although to a different degree, joined with Chinese temple and older neighborhoods full of charm.
A good place to start your tours is at the Drum Tower, situated in the center of the city and host of numerous exhibitions that are worth a look. Although the initial tower did host a drum, it was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Its replacement, completed in 2001, now has a bell instead.
The Ancient Culture Street (Gu Wenhua Jie) is a good place both for shopping and just for strolling and taking in the traditional Chinese atmosphere in the small streets and shops selling traditional artifacts. Note that all shops close at 6 pm, so you should probably fit a walk on the Ancient Culture Street some time in the early afternoon. This is a good location for shopping anything from small souvenirs to art objects and remember that haggling is always part of the commercial process in China.
The architectural works of the Ming Dynasty are well represented in Tianjin as well, with Dabeiyuan Monastery. The two parts of the monastery (East and West) were built in different periods of time, with the New Temple, in the east, constructed as late as 1940.
Despite the modernism of the eastern part, it groups several relevant buildings such as the Grand Hall, the Dabei Hall and the Tianwang Hall, all hosting traditional Buddhist sculptures. If you do have a choice, try to visit the monastery during one of the local Buddhist festivals, you will benefit both from the architectural site and from observing religious traditions and social interactions on this event.
As a multicultural location, Tianjin also has one of the most well-known mosques in China, the Great Mosque of Tianjin, built during the 17th century. There are four structures on the grounds of the mosque, including the Prayer and Preaching Halls. The tablets in Arabic and Chinese on the walls of the mosque are 300 years old and one of the treasures of the location, along with two miniature Qurans.