Tianjin Alive Tour: Foreign friends Experience Tianjin’s Cutting-edge Technological Innovations

Tianjin, serving as the coastal gate to the capital Beijing, has played an essential role in China’s modern history and development. It has been home to many eminent people and has witnessed course-changing events in China’s revolution, modernization, reform and rejuvenation during the last century.

More than a dozen foreign friends who are studying and working in China were invited to experience the city’s red-culture resources and cutting-edge technological innovations.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region “on the track” of high-speed development

“China’s high-speed railway is amazing! It takes only 30 minutes [from Beijing to Tianjin]; I mean, they are far [away from each other]!” a Spanish friend said excitedly as she checked the train’s arrival time in Tianjin. Since the implementation of the Beijing-Hebei-Tianjin coordinated development strategy, transportation infrastructure and the continuous expansion of Tianjin city have greatly shortened the commuting time in the region and within Tianjin.

Green-clad Binhai: Ideal place to live

Located in Tianjin’s coastal area, Binhai has a land area of 2,270 square kilometers, but over half of it used to be covered in high-saline soil, which is unsuitable for growing plants.

Over the past three decades since the new area was established in 1984 they have desalinated the soil and improved its fertility by a combination of scientific methods including introducing better oil, washing away saline substances and cultivating original plants.

Now the green-clad Binhai is an ideal place to live.

Smart Tianjin Port

Tianjin Port, an important shipping hub in north China, has been continuously upgrading itself into a smart port. It has built a world-first automated container facility, with intelligent tallying being realized for all terminals for the first time.

It has also deployed 25 intelligent self-driving trucks which enabled the port greatly increase efficiency and cut operational costs.

Binhai Library: One of the city’s biggest star attractions

Novel, futuristic design has made Binhai Library one of the city’s biggest star attractions.

The library is nicknamed “the eye” because of its sphere, which looks like a giant iris and can be seen from the park outside through an eye-shaped opening.

The library features floor-to-ceiling terraced bookshelves able to store 1.2 million books, and a large, luminous sphere in the center that serves as an auditorium with a capacity for 110 people.

Tianjin Haihe River night tour

The foreign friends on the tour arrived at Tianjin Haihe River and took a cruise to experience the charming night views of modern Tianjin.

Colorful lights reflected and twisted as the cruise ship sent ripples across the river’s surface. The surrounding historic buildings and bridges and the city’s modern skyscrapers were stunningly mirrored on the water’s surface.