Tianjin stroll offers broader view of city's renewal

In contrast to overcrowded and hurried trips to tourist landmarks, the city walk is a more immersive and slow-paced experience, with an emphasis on the city's history, culture, landscapes and other features.

A city walk tour in Tianjin on both banks of the Haihe River has attracted a number of online personalities this week and their photos have drawn wide attention.

Tours that trace the urban renewal projects launched along the river can make for a unique experience.

They include the Cotton 3 Creative Park in Hedong district — a modern area built in a nearly century-old industrial factory complex that has integrated history and spectacle.

A newly opened Russian style street combines the country's distinct architecture with bronze Russian dolls, music and art, and a Star Avenue featuring historical Russian figures.

The Splendors Shopping Mall was opened early this year, renovated from an old thermo-power factory.

Greenway Park in Hexi district is being constructed on the abandoned Tientsin-Pukow Freight Railway, which opened in 1912.

Further down the river, the new Tianjin Juilliard School has become a landmark. The concerts it presents to local communities by faculty and students are greatly appreciated.

Farther down, the Haihe Laboratory of Cell Ecosystem has had two new buildings completed during the past two years, attracting some 700 scientists including seven academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

A city walk in Tianjin can bring together the old and the new, and provide a broader perspective on the area's evolution.