Summer Break in China - Day 8 and 9

 

Tianjin Eye

June 20, 2024

Today we got up and enjoyed the hotel breakfast again, followed by coffee at Luckin Coffee. We actually thought about trying something different since there are so many coffeeshops nearby, but all of them ran these specials that require you to order from their apps so I didn't feel like learning and navigating a new one.

Here's me trying to figure out how to order from Cotti Coffee

We did our usual walk and shop, Teddy bought a couple of clothing items. For a small town, I was impressed with the amount of American fast food options. Next door to our hotel is KFC and Pizza Hut. Although their menu is different than what's back home.

Pizza Hut and KFC next to our hotel

We had lunch at my mom's, then everyone got their pedicures. Tonight will be an early dinner so we can go to the Tianjin Eye. I dropped the girls off at my mom's, then Teddy and I enjoyed some hotpot at Yuan's Hot Pot. Yuan's Hot Pot is a skewer hot pot chain that has locations all over China, and even several locations in Netherlands. Skewer hot pot simply means all foods are served on skewers, so it's easier for people who struggle with chopsticks.

Yuan's Hot Pot

After dinner, my cousin Vic drove us to Tianjin Eye. At the time of completion, Tianjin Eye was the 4th tallest Ferris Wheel in the world. Tianjin Eye overlooks Hai River, making the scenery spectacular. Another popular activity in the area is taking a boat ride on the Hai River, which we did in 2018.

Even though Jinghai was only about an hour from Tianjin, the atmosphere between the two was so different. Tianjin was so much more busy, touristy, and much easier to navigate without knowing Chinese. Tianjin Eye had proper English signs as well. The wait to ride it was shockingly long, and you don't get a private car - they'll make sure each car is filled, so we had some strangers in our car.

Boat ride at the Hai River

We had no plan to do the boat ride, but I overheard someone say that the boat ride was sold out hours in advance, so I guess it's good we weren't there for that anyway.

Looking down at the river from inside the Tianjin Eye

Alice and Ava riding the Tianjin Eye

View from inside the Tianjin Eye

Riding the Tianjin Eye

This is a very busy area where parking isn't easy. My cousin Vic didn't ride the Tianjin Eye with us so he could deal with the car.

Bustling area

After riding the eye, we walked along the river to enjoy the view some more. Although we didn't last that long, due to the amount of people.

At the exit of Tianjin Eye, there's a gift shop that sells all different kinds of Ferris Wheel toys. If you collect Ferris Wheels then you'll probably love it here.

June 21, 2024

Today is a super easy day as it's our last day in Jinghai. Tomorrow we will be taking the train to Shanghai, our final destination. After our normal breakfast and coffee routine, we walked around town, spent some time with my mom, then took the girls to KFC for lunch.

KFC

The price here is similar to back home, maybe a little cheaper, but the menu is a lot bigger.

Most noticeable difference is that there's no refills here, and the mashed potatoes are a lot smaller in size.

You know what's the best thing about small towns? Shopping. Since today is our last day here, we are going shopping. The closest grocery store is a chain supermarket called Wumart. When I first saw it, I really thought they misspelled Walmart. But apparently it's a pretty big chain with more than 1000 locations. Wu means product, so I guess Wumart makes sense?

Inside Wumart

Inside Wumart

After shopping, we spent some more time at my mom's place, and started our packing for tomorrow.