90 Miles from Beijing

Tianjin is a big city -with a port, big city landscapes, skyscrapers, monuments, billboards, narrow side streets, loads of small storefronts - and an estimated 11 million people (at the end of 2007). Tianjin is just a 90 minute drive from Beijing, depending on traffic. Soon there will be an even more convenient way to travel between the two cities. In July, about a month after our visit the central government will launch high speed train service to link Tianjin to Beijing, just in time for the Olympics. This is confirmation the Tianjin-Binhai area is increasingly important to the national economy.

When in Tianjin, I felt the same buzz of excitement I feel in NYC or any large city in the US. We saw lots of cars and other motorized vehicles, lots of people, and a typical cityscape. There is mix of wide boulevards with narrow city streets. Yes, we did see many people on bicycles, pedalling mini-cabs, and similar vehicles also. Some areas have lots of trees and green pocket parks while others are all brick, concrete, metal, and so on. It was a sharp contrast to the agricultural and industrial scenes we passed on the highway and into the city itself.



TEDA was our host in Tianjin, so the first order of business was a meeting at the Headquarters building, which we were told was designed by a US architect. The first floor space had the open space of a galleria, with some retail and professional offices lining an indoor courtyard. Adding to the feeling of being in a mall was a set of escalators leading to a mezzanine level - and the trees. The picture to the right captures some of the first floor atmosphere of the TEDA HQ building.

We had a formal meeting with He Shu Shan, the Chairman of TEDA's Administrative Commission. The Chairman gave us a concise overview of the history of TEDA, its accomplishments, ongoing initiatives, and future plans. TEDA employees are happy to describe the work done to reclaim the land from salt marches and point to the planned mix of residential, professional, commercial and recreational spaces within TEDA. The picture on the left is the formal picture taken by the TEDA photographer.

After that meeting, and after we posed for pictures in front of the TEDA HQ, we attempted to visit the port, purportedly one of the busiest ports in the world. Unfortunately, the closer we got to the port, the more congested the roads. Eventually, traffic ground to a halt a little over a mile from the port. We gave up our quest to see the port and went back to our hotel. We had to agree that from our perspective, it was a busy place.

After lunch at our hotel, the Renaissance Tianjin, we boarded the minibus to see more of the city on our way to a meeting with official from the Tianjin Binhai new Area, part of the Bohai Rim.