You’ve probably never heard of Tianjin*. And that’s probably for the best because it must be one of the world’s most boring cities.
Tianjin lies 130 kilometres east of Beijing and functions as the capital’s port. The cities are well connected by high-speed rail and I decided to make a quick visit.
With a population of about 15 million, Tianjin is just under 4 times the population of Sydney, but wandering the streets, it was a ghost city. The few people I encountered were fishing beside a canal passing through the city centre. There were no street vendors and few open shops. The city centre was dead.
A lonely fisherman on the canal.
I’d heard that many people from Beijing go to Tianjin to retire because of its cheaper housing, which explained why most of the people I encountered were elderly.
To make matters worse, the city covers a large area and public transportation is woeful. One potentially cool attraction – an old Soviet aircraft carrier converted to an amusement park – is 3 hours away from the city centre, so I doubt it gets much patronage.
After wandering the empty streets, I headed for the Tianjin Wheel. The operators had set up a long queue waiting area. They needn’t have bothered; I was the only visitor.
Next, I ventured to the Tianjin’s Natural History Museum.
The Tianjin Natural History Museum.
The curved structure of the building must have seemed like a good idea to the designers, but it works like a magnifying glass for the strong sun, blinding and burning any visitor that dares approach it. The large glass lobby acts like a greenhouse. The air-conditioners battled to keep it cool for the 4 guests I shared it with. Hardly a feat of efficiency.
After the museum, I headed towards the large shopping mall that appeared on my tourist map. But even the ghosts of this ghost town must have found it too dull because it was completely abandoned.
Some shops were gutted, others locked shut with bike locks.
The abandoned shopping centre.
All were closed. The thought crossed my mind that I might unknowingly be walking into a building that was prepared for demolition, but then I spotted a solitary cleaner, mopping the floors of the empty complex.
I followed the signs for the mall’s bus terminal, but it too was locked.
Eventually, I made it back to the central train station. The place was a hive of activity. Every seat was taken. At last, I had found the most popular place in Tianjin: the exit.
* If you have heard of Tianjin, it’s probably because it made international news in 2015 for being the location of huge industrial explosions that tragically killed 173 people and injured hundreds more.
