Tourism – An important part of Tianjin's economy and culture

The breadth of Tianjin history allows visitors plenty of opportunities to head out into the city and explore the engaging and often times lively, historical areas. Guwenhua Jie or the Tianjin Ancient Cultural Street is situated right along the river and hosts a long street full of many different cultural shops which are a stones through away from many other shopping centers.

The Tianjin Drum Tower is also just a 20 minute walk and that location features prominent cultural shopping concessions very similar to those of Guwenhua Jie. Closer yet is the beautiful Wanghailou church which lies directly across the river of Guwenhua Jie so there's plenty to see in that one area alone. Not only does Tianjin host some great ancient Chinese architecture, but it also includes a vast sampling of different architectures in districts which used to be concessions to foreign countries.

Wudadao, just south of Nanjinglu features five large avenues filled with great historical character straight out of England. It is easy to get lost among the streets and completely forget that you're in China, for those of you feeling homesick. Even the notable shopping streets of Binjiangdao and HePinglu at the heart of the city have many examples of French architecture.

Besides these locations, there are also the beautiful parks which dot the city, the largest of which is the Shuishanggongyuan, literally meaning Water Park. If you have extra time out during the day, visitors may also travel to the south end of the Water Park to the Tianjin Zoo which could certainly use some renovation, but still serves as a decent experience worth the admission price.

In the past, Tianjin has always been a significant destination for foreigners and was one of China's first gateways since restrictions were in place for the nearby capital of Beijing. Now Tianjin boasts some of the world best international hotels. A recent entry is the Banyan Tree group, a Singapore based Resort Hotel Group now celebrating its 20th Anniversary, the Tianjin location, Banyan Tree Riverside was just opened in 2013. But the present site has a long history as it was the location of the famous Chinese philosopher Hong Yi (1880–1942), his birth name was Li Shutong who was a Chinese Buddhist Monk, an artist and art teacher. He was born in Tianjin.

General Manager Richard Neo came to Tianjin in 2013 and has spent 17 years with the group and the last ten years in China. This is a new experience for Richard as his previous assignments were located in relatively remote resort locations such as Guangxi in Southern China. He grew up in Singapore and finds Tianjin to be one of China's new cosmopolitan cities and is excited about its future growth. The entertainment aspect in Tianjin is also of high international standard.

In 2014, the Banyan Tree Riverside was awarded the Best New Hotel and Best Resort Hotel, which is quite an accomplishment for a newcomer in a very competitive industry. For the future, the General Manager feels that there is a new type of client with new standards of expectations. He refers to them as the "New Millennium" and there is a need to provide a high degree of up to date modern efficient service with modern technology. The GM expressed a positive attitude regarding the future and feels that the hotel industry is growing and will be able to meet these new demands. Coming from a resort background, he feels he can provide a unique experience for his clients.

Culinary diversity

With the distinctive concessions and the notability of Tianjin cuisine, it makes this city great for nights out at fine restaurants or grabbing meals in hole-in-the-wall joints in shady side streets. The street food of Tianjin is plentiful and it's easy to find amongst the maze of avenues adjacent to Binjiangdao. If you find yourself shopping amongst the massive street of Binjiangdao and find nothing worth eating despite the variety, one can simple duck into a side street and be met with all the street food which China has to offer.

Besides the street food which may likely be a mild health detriment, there's always a plethora of western cuisine for those who are craving food from home. The best places tend to be in Nankai district, close to the universities, but you can find many other great modern western cuisine choices in Heping district, the Italian Style Town, Aocheng Plaza, and many of the newest malls. It's very easy to spend most of your time shopping, dining, sightseeing, and enjoying entertainment in Nankai and Heping district alone.

Entertainment

These different forms of everyday entertainment have been gaining much traction especially with the rise of tourism in Tianjin and the growth of the foreigner population. When it comes to entertainment, Tianjin might not be as lively at all times as the nearby Beijing, but it does have its own special things. It's a much more laid back city and that shows when the forms of entertainment are mostly bars, restaurants, and scenic locations.

Like all development in China though, expansion comes down purely to what is seen as necessary for the people, so if it's seen that Tianjin does have a growing artistic population, it's very well possible that concessions will be made to both showcase the entertainment which stems from artists and allow for their continued expansion. Tianjin has the culture, has the history, and has the notoriety to stand out as a great city of its own merit despite its proximity to Beijing. Now what Tianjin needs is an artistic revival which challenges the way people engage in media to allow for much more thrilling forms of entertainment.

It's nice to know with a great amount of certainty that the history and culture of the city will be preserved well into the future, unchallenged as the city grows and expands in new ways. While trends in entertainment will come and go, tradition will last forever, which is something certainly worth celebrating. With the turbulent growth in China over the past decades, we'll certainly be seeing more of the entertainment venues on par with Shanghai and Beijing gracing Tianjin in time. For now though, there are plenty of relaxing things to do in this unique city.

Tianjin has much development going on right now in the entertainment industry. The entertainment industry of Tianjin is surprisingly lackluster when it comes to finding live performances and music but there are plenty of arts to fill that void. With such a close proximity to Beijing (which does have a decent presence of live music venues) it's quite surprising that Tianjin is still relegated to the 13 Club venue located in the Italian Style Town just west of the Tianjin Railway Station.

If you’re looking to engage with the live music, there are usually plenty of shows going on at 13 Club and the admission is quite cheap. It's a great sampling of the different local musicians and certainly feels like the formative stages of a larger music presence which can hopefully take root in the coming years. With the Strawberry Music Festival just having happened outside of Tianjin this summer, it may seem that investors and sponsors alike are starting to timidly dip their toes into underwhelming music scene of Tianjin. The musicians are certainly here in the city (as seen at 13 Club), but they've yet to have many chances to express their talents to a broader audience of the city.