Trip to Tianjin! (May 2019)

-
This May, our family traveled to Tianjin!

Tianjin is one stop (30 minutes) from Beijing by High Speed Rail. The High Speed is REALLY fast - it can go up to 300-some kilometers an hour!

Everyone is traveling at around this time, so the High Speed Rail station was really crowded!


There are a lot of stores at the High Speed Rail station in Beijing. There is even McDonalds and a restaurant called "Beef Noodles from California, USA"! Hmm... I don't think I remember ever eating beef noodles in California!!

My Dad says that the "Beef Noodles from California, USA" store was already in Beijing 30 years ago, so perhaps there really were beef noodles in Californian 30 years ago (though not now anymore)!



Waiting in line before going on the High Speed Rail:


The High Speed Rail!!!




Inside the train (Anabel):



Freckles the bunny and Huggie the bear!



In 30 minutes, we arrived in Tianjin!

In Tianjin, we visited some relatives that we have not seen for about 9 years! There were even some that I had never met before!

We ate lunch at a Tianjin restaurant. There was delicious Peking Tianjin duck! Everyone has heard of the famous Peking duck, but Tianjin duck tastes great as well!

We also got to taste many other delicious Tianjin dishes: fried okra, a dessert that tasted like ice cream made from "san yao" (a root that is a bit like a potato), fried mushroom, lamb, fish, and more.

We got to see the chef prepare the duck in front of us!

After lunch, we rode the Tianjin subway to the Tianjin Cultural Street.

Tianjin's subway has a long history. According to my aunts, Tianjin's subway was the first one built in the country (even before Beijing's)!

However, I asked someone from Beijing, and he said that Beijing's subway was built first before Tianjin's.

I don't know which one is true, but Tianjin and Beijing's subways must both have long histories!




Because we would only be riding the subway once, we got a one-way subway coin (instead of a subway card).


Another delicious treat from Tianjin: CHESTNUTS!!!

They are cooked in a special way (that I don't know how to describe).

They tasted so delicious that by the time I remembered to take a photo, there were only 3 left!




At the end of the day, we rode the High Speed Rail back to Beijing!

Comments

Post a Comment

Feel free to write a comment! Thank you for commenting!

Popular posts from this blog

OC Fair 2023!

-
Image
When my siblings and I were younger, our family would go to OC Fair every summer. We have great memories from the Centennial Farm and the Read & Ride program. The last time I went to OC Fair was before the COVID-19 pandemic.  This August 2023, my sisters and I and some friends went to the OC Fair together (the rest of the family wanted to come but weren't able to make it this time). The Lord was SO good to us. We got good parking, the weather was cool, the sky was cloudy, and we had an amazing and memorable time. Selfie at the OC Fair with my sisters! Heroes Hall In the morning, we visited Heroes Hall and the museum at the site. When we entered the museum, we were greeted by a very sweet young lady who introduced us to the exhibit.  The first floor of the museum featured Stanley Troutman, a war correspondent during WWII. He is known for being the first to capture photos after the atomic bombs and for many other photos he took during the war.  War correspondents like Troutman di
Read more

Highlights from Lava Beds National Monument - part 2

-
Image
On Thursday 6/29/2023, we visited Lava Beds National Monument again! We got to explore Hopkin's chocolate cave, Golden Dome cave, and Hercules' leg cave.  Enjoy these photos! Outside the caves, there was a sweet butterfly that kept flying around us. Then, it landed on Catherine's helmet and didn't want to leave. I was able to get some beautiful close-up pictures. Here we are outside Golden Dome cave!  Dad outside a cave (I think it's a different one from the one above. It's our car in the background, too!) I think this entrance is called the "headache" entrance or something like that. That is because the entrance is so narrow that people sometimes accidentally bump their head on the ledge! Thankfully we are all on the smaller side and we were careful and didn't bump our heads. Caves have three different zones - the entrance zone (lots of sunlight), the twilight zone (a little bit natural light) and the dark zone (no natural light - if you turn the
Read more

New Blog!

-
Image
 As some of you may know already, I am currently in Jerusalem for a one year study abroad program! I will be posting on another blog, which you can visit here: https://myisraeljourney.home.blog/ Enjoy! Blessings, Grace
Read more

Crater Lake National Park

-
Image
We were blessed to visit Crater Lake on 6/28 Wednesday! This lake is the deepest volcanic lake in the world and the deepest lake in the United States. And, it's so cool and beautiful! (photo taken by Dad) Even in the middle of the summer, with daytime temperatures warm enough to wear T-shirts, there is snow!
Read more

Highlights from Lava Beds National Monument - part 1 (6/27/2023 Tuesday)

-
Image
It's been a while since I last posted on this blog (last post in 2020)! Time has flown by so quickly. For 2020, 2021, and 2022, our family has been blessed to do a fun summer road trip from CA to the east coast. We've been blessed to visit the OH Scriptorium, dear friends, and fun places along the way. This year, we weren't able to make it to the east coast again, but we are doing a short 1-week trip up to northern CA and Oregon.  My family and I were blessed to visit Lava Beds National Monument again! When we visited in 2017, I posted about our visit: http://insummerautumnwinterspring.blogspot.com/2017/07/lava-beds-national-monument.html On Tuesday 6/27/2023, we visited Mushpot cave again and Valentine's cave. Mushpot is a beginner cave with paved paths and lighting inside. Valentine's cave was named for the day it was discovered and has bumpy lava paths, pillars, and sections with low ceilings where you need to duck walk or crawl. Anabel has been so brave and pers
Read more

Grand Canyon (6/16)

-
Image
Tuesday, June 16th 2020 We are in Arizona! We were so blessed to be able to visit the Grand Canyon! "O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions—" -Psalm 104:26 My family at the Grand Canyon! Theodore, Anabel, and I (we took off masks just for the photo) The Raven/hawk at the beginning of the 5-minute trail to see the Grand Canyon. Rock formations. The Grand Canyon!!! photo by T.C. by T.C. On the trail: by T.C. by T.C. Trees in the desert: Between rocks: by T.C. Squirrel (all squirrel photos by T.C.) Tree growing on rocks: And finally... Freckles the bunny! Surely, these wonders of nature points to God! Something as majestic as the Grand Canyon could not have come about by chance, which proves that God is real. He is the Creator, from whom and through whom all things exist. May His name be praised and glorified!
Read more

A day in Chi Shan, Taiwan (part 1)

-
Image
     Yesterday my aunt (my mother's cousin) brought us to Chi Shan, a place near Yu Li (my grandparent's hometown, where we are staying).        After about 20 minutes on the train, we arrived at Chi Shan. Since Chi Shan is in the countryside and far from big cities, the air was really nice there. We could even see the mountains from far away. Mountains Mountains      My aunt rented 2 four-person 'mini-cars' and we traveled in them during our time in Chi Shan. They could also be pedaled like bikes. My aunt, my two sisters, and me traveled in one car. My Dad, Mom, brother, and Grandma traveled in the other car. We were going to rent bikes in the beginning, but thankfully, we didn't. It was very hot, and even though the mini-car had a cover on the top, we all got sunburned in the end on one arm. Picture taken by my Mom. In front are my aunt, sisters, and me riding in the 'mini-car.'      After driving for a while, we came to a wa
Read more

Snow in Beijing

-
Image
It’s snowing in Beijing!  Even though the temperature is quite cold here (at least compared to California), it rarely snows because the weather is dry.  We were all very excited, since snow comes about once a year in Beijing.  After we finished our homework and studies for the day, we went outside to play in the snow.  The snow was very thin, but we still had a lot of fun.  My sister wrote her name on the snow. My brother wrote his Chinese name on the snow. There was snow on the benches and on the bicycles, too. A cat left some footprints in the snow. We made small snow cupcakes by pressing snow into a cup, and then taking the packed snow out.  On one of them, we added a small snow strawberry on top. On another, we added some snow icing. We also played catch with the snow cupcakes we made.  It was not easy, because the snow often crumpled to pieces if you didn’t catch the ball the right way.  The next morning it s
Read more

The Israel Museum

-
Image
We went to the Israel Museum on Tuesday.  We walked to the museum, bought two adult tickets (children under 18 are free from 4pm-9pm on Tuesdays), borrowed 6 audio guides for each of us(in English), and entered the museum. The audio guide is very helpful, and is available in both English and Hebrew.  Don't forget to ask for them at the entrance!  This is the Shrine of the Book, where the dead sea scrolls are. Model of Jerusalem.  Very fragile, don't touch the rails(/fence)! A close-up. The second Temple. The second Temple from a different angle. Here the audio guide is very helpful, but don't feel pressured to listen to all of it. In another section of the Museum... Try to walk across the bar without stepping on the cars! The orange-yellow 'yarn' in the center is actually made of rubber bands connected together!  Every few minutes it automatically swings around in circles. A work of art in the
Read more

Wuhan, Wuhan, you are not alone!

-
Image
Pray for the peace of Wuhan, China! As the coronavirus outbreak spreads, please continue to pray for the people of Wuhan, China (where the outbreak is concentrated) and for all those suffering from the outbreak. I would like to share a Chinese hymn written especially for the people of Wuhan.  Click here  for the link to the audio recording of this song (http://www.zanmeishi.com/song/41507.html). Below are the Chinese lyrics along with the English translation by my sister Catherine. "Wuhan, Wuhan, You Are Not Alone!" Written and composed by Xiao Ming English translation by Catherine Chen 武汉！武汉！你不孤单！ 武汉！武汉！擦干泪眼！ 武汉！武汉！你要壮胆！ 你的名字牵动着华人的心弦！ 成千上万的天使向你走来， 血脉相连的同胞与你肩并肩。 上帝已兴起亚伦站立天地间， 瘟疫必止息不见！ 灾难中要闭门思过， 逾越节的羔羊为你被献。 我们有责任为你昼夜求平安！ 武汉平安！ 中国平安！ Wuhan, Wuhan, you aren't alone! Wuhan, Wuhan, wipe your tears! Wuhan, Wuhan, be courageous! Your name touches the hearts of your people. Tens of thousands of angels descend upon you, Shoulder to shoulder
Read more