Sunday was not quite as jam packed as Saturday. But as per usual in China - was full of delightful surprises. After riding the light rail into Tianjin city, we were picked up by a colleague in his new Citroen (1 week old) and taken to the Tianjn Radio and Television Tower (or Tianta). Tianta is a 415 meter space needle like tower with three observation areas - an enclosed lower level, a Chinese space themed revolving bar level, and the outdoor viewing deck. The most unexpected aspect of Tianta was the group of 6 guys playing hockey on the frozen lake surrounding the tower. The space themed revolving bar was Chinese kitsch at its best. The outdoor viewing deck had a glass bottomed viewing outcropping that I could not bring myself to step out on - but the entire Zenium team had a portrait taken out there!After Tianta, we went off the agenda and toured the Tianjin Museum. The Tianjin museum is a beautiful modern building housing some ancient Chinese treasures (600 year old scrolls - relativly new for Chinese history) as well as an in depth exhibit on the history of Tianjin.
Following up our Museum tour, we took a late lunch at a very fancy Shanghai style The restaurant was housed in arestaurant. western style building constructed in the late 1800's. It was in a district full of Western style architecture (Tianjin is known for its many architectural styles). Of all the Chinese meals we have enjoyed on this trip, this one was the one where the food seemed less like a dare - it was the most like American Chinese food.After our lunch, we took in Ancient Culture Street - an area dedicated to selling traditional Chinese souvenir's. Even though the area was fairly touristy, a couple of Westerners walking around still drew a large amount of stares. I was even invited to sit down in one of the shops we were shopping in - "Sit down, you big giant" the 4 foot 2 inch shop keeper instructed me with a smile.
Check out all the photos in the usual spot!
