Ma and Pa Larsen Visit China: Part 4- Tianjin

Tianjin, our new "hometown," provided us with a lot of fun in a more relaxed environment; it felt more like home here, well, because it is home. In this kind of nurturing atmosphere, grandmas can do what they do best: take care of your kids.



Ancient Culture Street, one of the first places we visited, is a walking street through numerous shops and vendors. You can find everything from traditional musical instruments to chopsticks to artwork here, and believe me we bought all of the above. These streets and alleyways surround a small temple towards the back, which we have never visited. (Consistent to most Chinese temples today, making a profit off of these cultural sites would make any upright Confucian more upset than Pee-Wee getting his bike stolen.)




G-ma, G-pa, Tiffany, Didi and I enjoyed a New Year light show at the Children's Amusement Park. (If you look closely at this display, you'll see dinosaurs wishing us "Happy New Year." I've stopped asking "why" here because it is the most futile question of them all, here in China). I'm not quite sure what Ellie is doing here- maybe reenacting a scene from the "Thriller" video? Cebu City, anyone?



Here we are at Din Tai Fung, a New York Times Top Ten World Restaurant! The workers have perfected the delectable xiaolongbao steamed bun- that's why we went there. YUMMY!



Though Tianjin is the third most populated Chinese city, I wasn't the only one who found the city's surprisingly calming atmosphere extremely relaxing. This was maybe the highlight of the city, that is when there weren't any firecrackers.