Tianjin serves as Beijing's port. It is a separate municipality that is not administered by any province. Tianjin is often referred to as 'Shanghai of the North', because it shares the same industrial pollution, European style architecture and it used to be a foreign concession port just like Shanghai.
There are numerous interesting sights in Tianjin. Especially the old town is interesting. It boasts numerous lanes, lined with dilapidated temples and traditional architecture, but many buildings were erected in western (Gothic) style as well. On the city's antique market you can find countless artifacts that survived the Cultural Revolution somehow. The Chinese have attempted to re-create an old Chinese street, with traditional looking buildings in Ancient Culture Street. All sorts of cultural memorabilia are for ale there. In Hai River Park people come to practice some t'ai chi in the mornings and the rest of the day it is occupied by hawkers and street artists.
Ther are numerous hotels and restaurants in Tinajin. The city is 105 km southeast of Beijing.
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