Haihe River, a splendid landscape of Tianjin

Haihe River’s night view is now a beautiful landscape in Tianjin after lights along the river have been upgraded to be increasingly international style. Paying attention to details and in pursuit of fashion and good taste, the renovation work used new and unique designs to decorate the river colorfully. In 2011, work on lights along the upstream started while designs for the downstream were under way.

The upstream project, 8 kilometers from Zhicheng Bridge to Daguangming Bridge, included adding lights on the Monument of Diversion Project from Luanhe to Tianjin and greening around it, installing lights on landmarks of “Jin Men” (San Régis Hotel) and “Jin Ta” (Tianjin Tower, strip lights from bottom to top). Eave lighting of the British architecture on Tai’an Road was designed resplendent, constituting a prosperous British characteristic together with the Tian’an Building. A 468-square-meter screen was set up on Longmen Building near Tianjin Railway Station. Hyatt Regency Tianjin Hotel has gained a gorgeous laser show, lights and lanterns on eaves, full of Tianjin’s features.

LED lights and 20 alight mascots were erected at the CITIC Plaza as well as eight billboards which mainly introduce the Jinwan Plaza, night of Haihe River, Wudadao and a planning sketch of the river’s 5-km downstream. Lights were added or renovated along the banks of the 2-kilometer section from Daguangming Bridge to Liuzhuang Bridge. Red, yellow and blue strip lights were installed on Jinfu Bridge, and changing lights of purple, red and blue on Zhigu Bridge. Tianjin Drainage Management Office on Nanjing Road was decorated in European style in facade, with lights on eaves, a color-lighted “Eiffel Tower” on top of the building, and a bridge outlined with lights in the front gate. The five extension pipeline holders standing in Tianjin First Thermal Power Plant were changed into screens showing pictures of “a magpie staying on a plum branch”, “golden carps swimming in water”, “blooming peonies”, “the lotus pond by moonlight”, and “red roses”, and 10 sky rose lights were also put up here. The Rose Pavilion near Zhigu Bridge is illuminated by color lights, mainly red, yellow and blue and there are meteor shower lights of about 200 meters long. There are also colorful meteor shower lights in Ningbodao Marina.

The renovation in 2011 has reached the leading level of the world, and in 2015, Tianjin upgraded lighting in the part of Haihe River from Tianshifang (Sky Stone Boat) to Daguangming Bridge. Rafting on Haihe River at night, people will find Western-style buildings, the “international architecture exposition”, along the river are compelling. Thanks to the designers and construction workers who consulted lots of information and learnt from similar project experience in advanced regions from home and abroad, just to guarantee the buildings corresponding to Haihe River’s culture and features, they finally became a highlight along the river.

For example, the business district centering on the Jinwan Plaza echoes Tianjin Railway Station to give a modern feel to visitors as soon as they exit the station. The contrast of the Ancient Cultural Street and the new Cultural Center across the river reflects Tianjin’s active and innovative ideas under multiple influences. The distinction between the modern Chinese buildings, including the Ocean Plaza, State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Company building, Kind Hotel, Jin Men, Jin Ta, and the classical European-style buildings, such as the Continental Bank building, the Tianjin bureau of the China Banking Regulatory Commission and Financial City No 2, also reveals Tianjin’s “international architecture exposition” feature, and its spirit of always pursuing new development in different times. At night, scenery along the river in the city center is colorful and splendid, conveying the special charm of Tianjin as a historical, cultural city. The lit Haihe River is a business card of Tianjin