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Plan your Tianjin tour? Don’t miss boating on Haihe River! As you know, Tianjin lies on the downstreams of nine rivers with crisscross river courses, hence the name of Water City in Northern China. The 72km Haihe River flows through the city of Tianjin and emptifies itself into the Bohai Sea at Tanggu of New Binhai District in Tianjin.
After all-round revamping and redevelopment, Haihe River has been beautified as a sightseeing and bsiness belt. Crusing on Haihe River gives you a chance to enjoy the spectacular views on the both sides of the river lined with historical buildings, modern highrises, hotels, shopping centers, restaurants and recreation units.
Now 20 pleasure boats run every day with three boating routes. The pleasure boats are operated by Tianjin Haihe River Boat Co.,Ltd. It started the Haihe River Cruise service on July 13, 2009. At the time of my writing, it operates three cruising routes with three ferry terminals. Below is the Timetable for Haihe River Boating:
Ancient Cultural Street Terminal (文化街码头）
Daytime Baoting Time: 09:00 – 16:30
Night Boating Time: 19:30 – 20:30
Dabei Temple Terminal （大悲院码头）
Daytime Baoting Time: 09:30 – 15:30
Night Boating Time: 19:30 – 20:30
Tianjin Railway Station Terminal (天津站码头）
Daytime Baoting Time: 10:00 – 16:00
Night Boating Time: 19:30 – 20:30
Daytime Boating Ticket Price: CNY80 Per Person
Night Boating Ticket Price: CNY100 Per Person
Let’s boat on Haihe River!
We are boarding the boat from the ferry terminal of Tianjin Ancient Cutural Street. The Ancient Cultural Street is located in the northeast of Nankai District with its east adjacent to Zhang Zizhong Road along the Haihe River. This is Ancient Cultural Street Terminal.
This is Ancient Cultural Street Terminal.
We are boarding the pleasure boat.
The boat staff persons are standing at the boarding gate welcoming us
The boat can accommodate over 100 passengers
The inside bow of the boat offers a better view of the outside illuminated sights
We are passing under Yongle Bridge, over which the Eye of Tianjin (Ferris Wheel) is built. It has a diameter of 110 meters with 48 cabinets which can accommodate 384 persons at the same time. Visitoirs can enjoy the sights within 40km radius when the cabinet is rotated at the highest point, nearly the height of a 35-storey building. It is the only ferris wheel built on a bridge in the world.
the Eye of Tianjin (Ferris Wheel)
This is a stone boat known as Tianshifang (Sky Stone Boat)
This is Jingang Bridge over Haihe River
The monument to the Project of Bringing the Water of Luanhe River into Tianjin.
Shizilin Bridge (lions bridge), built in 1974, 97.6 meters long and 34 meters wide
Jinwan Plaza is surrounded by the Haihe River to the east and north with buildings typical of moder Chinese and western styles. It is a high-level international business areas with elegant and trendy taste.
Jinwan Plaza is surrounded by the Haihe River
This is Dagu Bridge.
Tianjin has kept a variety of foreign style buildings
Tip: Hassle-free Tianjin Guided Tours
If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours, here are some options for Tianjin guided tours:
Tianjin Night Cruise on Haihe River Tour from US$65 p/p
Tianjin Huangyaguan Great Wall Tour from US$95 p/p
Tianjin 2 Day Highlight Tour from US$160 p/p
Tianjin Day Tour from Tianjin Port from US$100 p/p
Huangyaguan Great Wall Day Trip from Tianjin Port from US$105 p/p
Beijing Tianjin Round Trip Day Tour by Car or Van from US$75 p/p
Beijing Tianjin Round Trip Day Tour by Bullet Train from US$110 p/p
