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Today is a travel day. Tianjin is 30 minutes from Beijing and is the 4th largest city in China (10 million). It's an industrial city with a major seaport. As you walk around the city, you definitely notice the haze/smog in the air. It's also the first city were I've noticed the poverty with different people begging for money.
The major appeal is the Western Concession architecture, in 1858, foreign trading posts (Britain, France, Japan, Germany, Italy, and Russia built banks, churches and schools. During this time, no Chinese people were permitted in these areas. The local government has deemed some buildings as historic and investing a lot of money in infrastructure.
Another hi-light of the city is a giant food market. It's basically two floors of little restaurants, candy stores, and other special Chinese treats. One thing you learn to do is bring your own serviettes and beverages since restaurants charge for them.
It was at the food market where we encountered a limping hunched back handicapped Begger. The Begger asked Rafael for some money and it was given, as we walked away Bryce looked back and noticed the man no longer looked so helpless - he was walking perfectly fine.
In all the cities I have visited, there is major construction going on - highrises, train stations and commercial buildings. It's a sign of a growing economy and there are a lot of wealthy Chinese people.
We arrived in Beijing late afternoon. All the major attractions close around 4:30pm, we just took a leisurely stroll to Wanfujing shopping district. Rafael hired a moped driver to drive us to Wanfujing so we can experience the historic hutong quarter (old alleyways). OMG, Wanfujing is similar to Shanghai's Nanjing Road. It's a major tourist area.
Tomorrow we explore the Forbidden City
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