My Beijing Trip ... Day 3

Day 3 in Beijing began with moving hotels.. we checked out from the Red Lantern Hostel and headed to our second hotel the Beijing Zaoyuanju Hutong Hotel near the Guoloudajie area . We checked in, relieved to find a more cleaner and prettier hutong then the old one and the hotel was more comfy as well. We got this room via Expedia.com.my for about RM125 per night...

When we had settled into our room, we decided to head out, originally to the Summer Palace and Yangmingyuan but sadly, it was drizzling, so we decided to head to the Beijing South Railway Station instead and get on the bullet train to Tianjin.... 

The train ticket costed RMB54.50 one way per person, but it was a great experience as I have never taken a ride on the bullet train before... 

Tianjin is about 146km from Beijing and via the bullet train it only took 30 minutes to get there...

Tianjin means 'the place where the emperor crossed the river'. Facing the Bohai Sea, Tianjin, once upon a time, an imperial port, serves as Beijing's important gateway to the sea. Recently, there are more visitors because of its illustrious historical heritage and other natural resources. 

Tianjin has a splendid historical background. However, it was half destroyed by foreign invaders long before the foundation of People's Republic of China. The city was once shared by nine countries: Italy, Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain, Austria, Japan and Belgium. This was an extremely hard time for the city and her people because those countries left permanent marks among them which were thousands of villas. Today these villas provide a European flavor, enhancing the beauty of the entire city.

My daughter and I visited the Muslim town there and saw the Chinese style Great Mosque there...

Then we wandered to the Lotte Shopping Mall there...

...and to the Ancient Cultural Street

Ancient Cultural Street is situated in the Nankai District of the Tianjin on the west bank of the Haihe River, with Tianhou Palace as its geographical center. 

The Ancient Cultural Street begins at Gongbei Avenue in the north, and ends at Gongnan Avenue in the south, being 0.36 miles long and 16 feet wide. Although essentially a shop street, it attracts people who come to see its unique and pretty Chinese architectural styles, buy various folk crafts, and sample the delicious local snacks. You can be impressed by the splendid copy of old architecture in the style of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

Here you can find dozens of stores selling folk handicrafts. This place is ideal if you are interested in Chinese curios,  jade items, cloisonné and potteries. The street is also a favorite place to sample the delicious local snacks. The local delicacies include Goubuli Steamed Dumplings, Erduoyan (the Ear-hole Lane) Fried Glutinous Cakes and tea soup

From the Ancient Cultural Street, yours truly here and her daughter wandered over the bridge and headed to the Italian Style Street...

We got to see many amazing condominiums and office buildings there...

Feeling a little loss, we asked around for directions and manage to find our destination safely....

Tianjin Xin Yi Street is also known as the Italian Style Street which was built in 1902. Owning the unique location, the Xin Yi Street is a potpourri of different cultures. It is said you can find celebrities’ residences, characteristic bar, foreign restaurants, western art exhibition. Among those buildings, the most famous are Liang Qichao’s Yinbin Room, Feng Guozhang’s Residence, Cao Yu’s building and Hua Shikui’s House, No. 1 Worker Cultural Palace and Italian Military Camp.

Xin Yi Street might be named after a street, but actually it is a small town. The center of the Xin Yi Street is the Macro Polo Square. The layout of the street is shaped like a chess board. Both sides of the street are decorated with lamp lights and green trees. In addition, the well preserved fences and other ancient buildings make the Xin Yi Street full of Italian aroma.

My daughter and I decided to stop there at one of the Italian restaurants to have some vegetarian spaghetti. Then we headed back to the Tianjin Railway station to wait for our train...

We decided to chill a little at the Caffe Bene and have some mocha ice blended... though they did not quite serve us with what we asked for... hehehe....

When we got back to Beijing, we went back to our hotel and rested... and that was the end of our Day 3......