I can now say that I have been on the fastest intercity train in the world. Reaching speeds of 332km/h I was far away from Beijing only to arrive...in Newcastle?...sorry, I was in Paris, no wait I was in an Italian Style Village. Where the shit am I? Did I reach speeds on the bullet train that actually took me to another country? Continent? Planet?
Silly me, I'm just in Tianjin. A nouveau riche city which is 30 minutes from Beijing on the bullet train. After walking across a spectacular train station you find yourself staring down a river, one way you can find the Eiffel Tower perched on top of a building that displays a 'Cosco' sign, the other way is the Millennium Bridge which Newcastle, UK made famous spanning the River Tyne. Slightly further down the road, across from the Wal-mart, there are directions that will lead you to an 'Italian Style Village'. All the money that was funnelled into Shanghai for the Expo seems a bit of a waste when the world was already waiting in Tianjin. The personality of the city is exuberant and eager.
We did manage to find the Ancient Culture Street which is delightfully tack and terrific tourist trap which is better then any I have found here in Beijing to date. After a long day of window shopping, Emma and I found ourselves relaxing on plastic Budweiser patio chairs, under Harbin beer umbrellas, drinking Tsingtao beer. All in all, it was the perfect Saturday.
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