Sunday in Tianjin

16.09.12

Sundays in China mark a day of frenetic activity- the day when everybody flocks to public spaces. We decided to follow along, and boarded the bus headed for the city. The heat from the day penetrated the bus, and it quickly became clear that the air con was not working. A 30 minute bus ride brought us to the front of the shopping area, and it was here we grasped the full population of Tianjin. People were crammed into the outdoor space, the heat beating down on the consumers. 

With no chance of the six of us staying together, we split into groups of two and agreed to meet back at 1:30 at the Starbucks. Many of the shops were western (the gap, Sephora etc), and not particularly interesting. I bought a new pair of bling-bling earrings for just over a dollar, and made a mental note to come back at a later date for platform converses.

Walking through the streets, there were constant beeps of buggy carts carrying shoppers from one end of the shopping centre to the other. They drove nearly as fast as the cars on the streets, and dodged me by a hair constantly. I contemplated how ironic it would be to be knocked over by a cart in a shopping centre, the one place where a certain level of safety is assumed. 

Meeting back up, we boarded the bus back home. The afternoon was spent exploring and taking some photographs. Altogether, a successful weekend was had by all.