It seems like so long ago since I left Beijing, it’s only been 3 years but it feels like so much longer. Last week, I was so happy to share the best day of my life with my “Beijing family” and it brought back so many memories of living in China.
I never got round to putting this video together, but a day trip to Tianjin was eventful – just 20 mins by rapid train from Beijing South railway station and the speed trains ran very regularly at 10-15 minutes interval if I remember correctly.
There’s been plenty of developments since I’ve last been in Tianjin, with a booming new hotel scene and the world’s largest Porcelain museum. The photos are stunning and I can’t wait to go back and make a day trip out to Tianjin again.
While Beijing was the government seat of China, the port city Tianjin is an intoxicating mix of colonial influence with its own unique identity, most of the foreigners that lived in Beijing had their children going to boarding school in Tianjin. You must also read Midnight in Peking by Paul French – one of the best books on Beijing I’ve read based on a true story. One of my favourite is their jianbing – the traditional pancakes that I used to have for breakfast regularly in Beijing, they add crispy fried dough sticks adding a delicious layer of texture to the mix!
Well, enjoy this little video of street food – rice flour steam cakes topped with jam “Shou Li Gao” 熟梨糕. Reminds me very much of my childhood Kueh tutu.