18 Comments
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Cameron Cayer's avatar

I want to try those foods! Chinese street food is the best.

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Paul Dotta's avatar

Thank you Cameron! And I think, Tianjin's food is the best. 🙏

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Breanna Mariposa's avatar

Dang that food looks good! And those murals are truly amazing 🤩 it’s inspiring how often you get out and explore. Thanks for sharing Paul :)

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Peck Gee Chua 蔡佩芝's avatar

I love your Travelogue series and enjoying this armchair traveling! Your food pics is making me hungry again. And do share the drinks you enjoy along your journey too.

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Paul Dotta's avatar

Thank you so much! Drinks coming up!🍷🙏

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Nico Ranng's avatar

Nowhere does street food quite like China. I love the entire process: watching a master craft the dish in front of you, to the communal act of enjoying it together on the spot. Even better when it's a place that focuses on just one dish or only opens for a few hours each day. A fantastic read, Paul. The only problem now I’m craving it!

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Paul Dotta's avatar

Oh you've got that right, Nico, I love the street food, the "ancient towns", it is just endlessly cool and intriguing to me. No matter how modern or contrived, I just don't care! Tianjin has the best, in my humble opinion. We will visit their ancient town soon. 🙏

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Nico Ranng's avatar

I’m looking forward to more of your insights on Tianjin. I suspect many tourists overlook it because of its proximity to Beijing, or perhaps that’s exactly why they visit?

By a twist of fate, I could have ended up there myself. The group of teachers I arrived in China with was randomly assigned to various civil aviation colleges across the country—Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. I often find myself wondering how things might have turned out had I ended up in a different city.

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Paul Dotta's avatar

Quick turnaround tourists would miss Tianjin for sure, it is hard to pinpoint a “top tier” attraction there. Hardly a fair statement to be sure (sorry Tianjin ❤️). What a different experience working there for a decade would have been, but equally rich and positive. We discovered so much on this trip. My wife grew up there and much of this was new to her!

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Nico Ranng's avatar

I can only imagine how much change you’ve both witnessed over the years, some neighbourhoods must be almost unrecognisable from one visit to the next. Even in my relatively short time in Guangzhou, the pace of change (infrastructure, technology, and everything else) was absolutely lightspeed.

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Paul Dotta's avatar

There’s a neighborhood walk that gets right to that….

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Yuxuan Francis Liu's avatar

Well, who doesn't love the jianbing guozi?! I also used to like the big mahua 麻花, different from the ones in other parts of China, kind of like the unique Chicago pizza. I've been to Tianjin a few times, the people there are warm-hearted. Reading your words brings back some precious memories! Thank you!

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Paul Dotta's avatar

Yes, I will have to go back and do a whole article on mahua, and the assorted "cookies" that we always bring back from trips. 😉 They are some of the nicest people I'm luck to have met.

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Yuxuan Francis Liu's avatar

It'll be nice. I look forward to reading it!

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Debbie Liu's avatar

Paul! Tianjin has ... colour?!!?🥹

I remember Tianjin as endless streets of grey and grey. then some gray.

But as you say, regardless of shades of grey or colour, Tianjin embraces you with its humanity and hope. Possibly the only place in the world where the taxi driver will return to where he dropped you off the day before to give you the phone you left in his cab.

Hard not to love Tianjin. Then there is those jianbings.

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Paul Dotta's avatar

So much colour, what a great way to describe this series. Let’s see Tianjin in a new way. ☺️ They are gruff, kind people for sure. 🙏

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Yuezhong's avatar

This is making me so hungry!

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Paul Dotta's avatar

I hope you can satisfy that hunger!

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