The Day was Dear & my first & only day in Chengde as we checked out of our Room at Qianyang Hotel. We had intended to skip breakfast so that we could sleep a little longer, but cos we realised that we would be setting off to our Chengde tour later than prearranged the night before, we decided to check out on the Hotel breakfast!

Well, the Hotel Restaurant was a pretty big one with nice elegant red velvet chairs, lightings & deco. But my goodness the Chinese Buffet breakfast spread was a mess all over the place!! According to our 2 tourmates Auntie & Uncle, the mess was all caused by the local crowds of Chinese tourists when they snatched & grabed the food!! Haha, it was no surprise for me cos I’d personally seen such scenes when I was travelling on the Silk Road, China!!

Anyway, Dear was delighted to find his favourite “You Tiao” at the buffet spread, & he managed to grab the last only piece haha!! As for me, the messy sights of the food just put me off & I prefered not to eat at all!

After breakfast, we left in our Chinese driver Sifu’s van to go on our Chengde tours.

I’ve put all the photos I took from inside our Hotel room to the Hotel Restaurant, to the time when we were leaving Qianyang Hotel for our Chengde tours, in the following Slideshow :

 We’re now on our way to the famous Imperial Summer Mountain Resort – Chengde Summer Villa (or “Bishushanzhuang” in Chinese – literally meaning “Avoiding the Heat Mountain Villa”).

The below Slideshow contains photos of the short drive from Qianyang Hotel to our arrival at the Chengde Mountain Resort :

Dear & I standing outside the Main Entrance (Gate of Beauty & Righteousness or “LiZhengMen” in Chinese) of Imperial Summer Mountain Resort – Imperial Summer Villa (“Bishushanzhuang”) :

In 1703, Chengde was chosen by Emperor Kangxi (of Qing Dynasty) as the location for his Summer Residence. Built between 1703 & 1792, the Mountain Resort took 89 years to complete, covering a total area of 590 hectares (& surrounded by a 10km Long Wall), almost half of Chengde’s urban area – as big as the Forbidden City & Summer Palace (of Beijing) combined.

In 1708, the Mountain Resort became the 2nd Political Centre of the Qing Dynasty.

Above the Gateway is a Tablet with carvings of ”LiZhengMen” in 5 National Languages; from right to left - Mongolian, Uygur, Chinese, Tibetan & Manchu, with the 3 Chinese characters in the Centre (calligraphed by Emperor Qianlong), symbolizing that China is a Multinational Counry :

In 1994, the Mountain Resort was added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation). This has made Chengde one of the Famous Cities in the World! 

Our Entrance Tickets to the Mountain Resort (“Bishushanzhuang”) :

We’re now entering the Mountain Resort via the Gate of Beauty & Righteousness, guarded by Chinese Guards :

The Chinese Guards are wearing traditional Soldier hat & Uniforms with the Chinese character “Ping” printed on the front & back of their Uniforms :

Dear & I inside the Mountain Resort - behind us are a huge group of Chinese actors getting ready for their morning routine performance of the ancient Imperial Family’s arrival at the Summer Villa.

Our Chengde tour guide stopped to show & introduce to us the Map of the Mountain Resort & its history :

The Mountain Resort is a vast complex of Palaces & Administrative & Ceremonial Buildings. Temples of various architectural styles & Imperial Gardens (which makes up the Palace District) blend harmoniously into a Landscape of Lakes (Lake District), Pastureland (Plains District) & Forests (Mountainous District). The Lake District is home to a collection of Fishing Villages & the popular Rehe Springs. The Plains Distrcit is a model of Mongolian Grasslands & the Mountainous District fearures hundreds of yards of dence Green Forests!

Emperors Kangxi, Qianlong & Jiaqing often spent months a year here at the Mountain Resort to escape the unbearable Summer heat of the Capital of Beijing! Thus, the Palace zone in the Southern part of the Resort was designed to resemble the Forbidden City in Beijing. It consists of 2 parts – a Court infront where the Emperor received high Officials, Nobles of various minority Nationalities & Foreign Envoys, & the 2nd part which are the Bed Chambers in the rear, for the Imperial Family’s living quarters.

True to its name, the Mountain Resort is known to be at least 3 degrees celsius Cooler than the Chengde City itself. The Mountain Resort is most famous for the 72 Scenic Spots (many copied from the famous landscaped Gardens of Southern China), which were named the Emperors Kangxi & Qianlong.

Outside the enclosure of the Mountain Resort in a semi-circle is the “Eight Outer Temples” (or “Wabia Miao” in Chinese) of various styles, reflecting artistic characteristic of the Han, Manchu, Mongolian & Tibetan Nationalities. These Temples are taken as Treasure houses of Buddhist Arts.

Built between 1713 & 1780, the Eight Outer Temples was built to consolidate the relationship between the Imperial Family & local Nobles, & to ensure the unification & development of all the Nationalities in the whole of China. As the Temples were built outside the Forbidden City in Beijing, & they were administered by 8 different departments in the Court, thus they were called the Eight Outer Temples.

We arrived at the Hall of Frugality & Placidity (or “Danbo Jingcheng” in Chinese) of the Mountain Resort. Made of Nanmu (a kind of high quality, fragrant hard durable wood), the Hall was the place where the Emperor held grand celebrations & met the Princes, Dukes, Officials & Foreign Diplomatic Envoys. 

As the Nanmu wood was of Imperial quality, parts of them were stolen off the wooden pillars of the Hall, leaving holes here & there on the pillars. However, these holes had since been replaced by woods, as can be seen from the following cracked parts of the pillar :

And there were many money donations from visitors from all over the world who slotted dollar notes into the glass panel of the wooden doors of the Hall – we even saw our own local Singapore dollar – a 100 dollar & 2 dollar notes!!

The following Slideshow contains all the photos taken at the scene of the Hall of Frugality & Placidity :

We next came to the Sizhi Book House (or “Si Zhi Su Wu” in Chinese meaning “Four Knowledge Study”) where the Emperor took his rests or called in Officials & conducted State Affairs :

Below is the Slideshow of photos at the SiZhi Book House :

We then saw some exhibitions & just before we arrived at the Hall of Refreshing Mists & Waves (or in Chinese “Yanbo Zhishuang” Hall) which was the Bedchamber used by where Emperor Jiaqing & Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty, died on their sickbeds, we stopped at the small Souvenirs Store :

And the below beautiful bangles of Tibetan stones & design were bought at the Souvenirs Store  – my very first Chengde Souvenirs :

And I also got the following Golden plated Key Rings of Emperor Kangxi & Emperor Qianlong :

Now, the below Slideshow contains photos from taken from the Exhibitions to the Souvenirs Store, to the Hall of Refreshing Mists & Waves :

We also visited the “Xinuange” (West Chamber of Warmth) where Emperor Xianfeng was forced to sign the Beijing Treaty (in 1860) with Britain, France & Russia, which ceded South Kowloon to Britain, & to admit Aihua Treaty through which more than 1000000 square km of Territory lying in the North of Heilongjiang River & East of Wushulijjiang River was ceded to Russia. This was the Chinese National Humiliation in the History of China.

The following Slideshow contains photos of the Chamber where the Beijing Treaty was signed :

From the Chamber where the Beijing Treaty was signed, we walked to the below Hall of Yunshanshengdi (with its Chinese characters written on the Board above the Hall) :

On the first storey of the Hall of Yunshanshengdi used to be a Stage for performing Beijing Opera, & the Emperor & his Imperial Family would watch the performance from the Rockery Garden infront of the Hall.

And inside this Hall we visited another Souvenirs Shop where I bought the below Tibetan Necklace to match the Bangle which I bought earlier :

I’ve put the photos taken from the Rocky garden Courtyard infront of the above Hall of Yunshanshengdi in the following Slideshow :

We soon left the Hall of Yunshanshengdi to enter the Lake & Plains – Pastureland Districts (6 times larger than the Palace District) of the Mountain Resort.

The following Slideshow contains photos taken at the Lake & Plains District :

Dear & I standing beside the huge Stone inscribed with the Chinese characters “Bishushanzhuang” meaning Imperial Summer Villa, & “Si Jie Weng Hua Yi Chang” meaning World Heritage Site, with the UNESCO Logo.

Below is the Guide Map for the Bus Route round the Mountains of the Mountain Resort,

which we would be exploring later :

The Sketch Map (Lake & Plains – Pastureland Areas) of the Mountain resort :

Hey see who’s just come to welcome us from the Summer villa?!

It’s a Beautiful Deer!!

Dear posing beside the huge graceful Deer!

The following Slideshow contains photos taken from our Buggy Ride :

Our Buggy Ride Ticket :  

We arrived at the Tower of Mists & Rain (or “Yan Yu Lou” in Chinese) on the Qinlian Islet (or Green Lotus Island), a 2-storey Building standing against the River, which is a copy of the Nanhu Lake at Jiaxing City, zhejiang Province.

The faraway mountains & nearby water, & the Lake reflecting the Tower of Mists & Rains are rich in poetic & artistic conceptions of Gardens & Southern China. When it’s raining in the Mountains, there’ll be lots of mists rising up like gauze, & the water & sky merge in one, which makes us feel like flying in the Paradise like a celestial being.

Dear & I beside the Stone inscribed with the Chinese characters “Yan Yu Lou” :

From the Tower of Mists & Rain, we could see the Sledge-Hammer Peak standing on a Hill 5 km

East of the Mountain Resort. The Peak, formed through a long time of geological process,

looks like a inverted Sledgehammer, thus the name. For the local Chinese in Chengde,

this unique Rock formation is also referred to as the “Da Mu Zi” meaning ”Big Thumb”,

cos of its similar shape to our Big Thumb!

Below are some photos of Dear & I posing at the quiet tranquil Lake & the serene rocky Garden

of the Tower of Mists & Rain :

The following Slideshow contains all the photos taken on the Green Lotus Island (Qinlian Islet) of the Towet of Mists & Rain or “Yan Yu Lou” :

We next hopped on the Buggy to our next destination – the Mongolian Yurt Resort of the Summer Villa located in the grand grassland of the “Ten Thousand Tree Garden”. It was here that Emperor Qianlong received the Mongolian Princes, Tibetan Panchen Lama & British Special Envoy.

To the West of this vast grassland was where the Emperor selected horses for hunting. And to the East was where Fruits Trees & Vegetables were grown for the Imperial Kitchen.

Dear & I standing at the Mongolian Yurt Resort entrance :

The Mongolian Yurt Resort Flat Map (or “Mongo Bao Du Jia Chun Ping Mein Du” in Chinese) :

Behind us are the Milky White Mongolian Yurts – Dear & I felt like we were on Mongolian Grassland – so Happy!

Dear & I with a Mongolian Yurt :

The following Slideshow contains photos taken at the Mongolian Yurt Resort : 

Dear & I seated by the Rehe River, located on the East of Pingxiangting – one of the most important sceneries in the Mountain Resort, & the main source of water for the Lakes. Rehe River is the Shortest River in the World, recorded in the British Publication Encyclopedia Britannic.

The water in the Rehe River doesn’t freeze in Winters, & it contains minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium & Iron, & is suitable for making Soft Drinks!! How COOL!!

Me wearing the Jade Beaded Pearl Necklace bought in Happy Valley, Beijing :

Dear & I learning against the Stone inscribed with Chinese characters “Re He” meaning “Hot River” : 

The below Slideshow contains photos taken at the Rehe River : 

We soon left the Rehe River & took the Buggy Ride to the Exit of the Mountain Resort, where we saw the 9-storey 6-sided Pagoda at the Temple of Eternal Blessings (or “Yongyousi” in Chinese – biggest Temple of all the 16 Temples of the Mountain Resort), located North of the Ten Thousand Tree Garden. This Pagoda was built in the style of the Liuli Pagoda at Baoen Temple (Temple of the Paying Debt of Gratitude) in Nanjing City, & the Liuhe Pagoda (Six-Harmonies) in Hangzhou City. It was at this Temple that Emperor Qianlong & Jiaqing came to pray for Longevity for their lives.

Just before the exit of the Mountain Resort, there was a Souvenirs Shop where we shopped for a while before leaving the Mountain Resort :

We soon left the Mountain resort (or Chengde Summer Villa) with cooling, happy relaxed hearts!

Below is a Portrait of Dear & I taken outside the Main Entrance (Gate of Beauty & Righteousness or “LizhengMen” in Chinese) of ”Bishushanzhuang”, that comes with a beautiful Book of Bishushanzhuang, & a VCD that tells the history of Bishushanzhuang, & showcases beautiful sceneries of the Mountain Resort & the Putuo Zongcheng Temple which we would be visiting later.

Book of Bishushanzhuang :

 The following Slideshow contains photos of the Book of Bishushanzhuang :

After having our Tianjin Hotpot (or Steamboat) Lunch at the renowed Dong Lai Shun Restaurant, we walked to the very nearby Nanshi Food Street (or “Nan Shi Shi Pin Jie” in Chinese).

Covering 25000 square km, Nanshi Food Street is located in the old Shopping area in the Centre of Nanshi. Like a Palace in a rich Folk style, the 2-storey Nanshi Street is like a Shopping Mall except that it’s full of food, well-known as the biggest Food Emporium in China, catering for both Popular & Special Food. 

Delicacies from all over the Country can be found here, such as dishes & flavours of Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, Hunan & Jiangsu. One can even sample the unusual Chinese cuisines like the Snake & Dog. Besides, the Street also serves Russian, Italian, German & English cuisines. There’re also many local snacks of Tianjin available in the many Sweets Shops in the Nanshi Food Street. In addition, there’re the Street stores selling all kinds of stuffs like toys, Chinese stuffs & Souvenirs.

Entering Nanshi Food Street now, upon which we were given 35 mins to explore the Street by our tour guide Wang Jing.

See the above gigantic replica of the Fried Dough Twist, which Dear & I had seen selling in Wangfujing Street in Beijing. This’s a traditional Tianjin snack called “Tianjin Ma Hua”, or Fried Dough Twist. And the most famous of this local Tianjin snack is the above “18th Street Fried Dough Twists” (or “Shibajie Ma Hua” in Chinese), so called cos they’re made at the former 18th Street.

This Fried Dough Twists are made of good quality flour & fried in Peanut Oil. And they’re sold either plain, or stuffed with a variety of fillings such as Beanpaste (or “Dou Sha” in Chinese).

Dear & I started walking in the Nanshi Food Street, taking as many photos as we could along the way, of the building, stores & the items that were on sales.

Fridge Magnets on sales above – I saw these, took a quick glance at them & took the above photo!! But I never notice that there were actually 2 Koi Goldfish Magnets till I was back home in Singapore!!

The 2 Koi Fish Fridge Magnets :

I was sure I didn’t see them, or else I’d have bought them cos I kinda like them – always finding them really beautiful, & they’re supposed to bring Good Luck & Prosperity!!

Now that I’m looking at the above photo – I realised I really like the above handpainted Wooden blocks!! Yes, I’d actually told Dear I liked them when I first saw them. But If only I’d paid more attention to them when I was taking this photo, & if only we’d been given a longer time to shop in there & not being so rush!!

Anyway, could you guess which one of the above Wooden blocks I’d buy if I’d noticed them more when I was there?!

Well – the Panda one on the 2nd from left 1st row from bottom! Heehee did you guess correctly?!

Dear & I had a little taste of the Tianjin Fried Dough Twist, offered by the Chinese lady seller from the following shop. Very nice – the aromatic Twist was sweet, crunchy & crispy – tasted just like the Malaysian twisted snack, & the smaller ones look like them too!

See the big white signboard with the Chinese characters (“Erduoyan Zhagao” – meaning “Ear-Hole Fried Cake”) in the following photo – that is another popular Tianjin snack of 100 years old!

The following 2 photos show another of Tianjin’s traditional snack – Chatang, which is made of baked Millet & Glutinous Millet Flour. The Soup is made by pouring boiling Water (from the below big Copper pot that looks like a big Kettle) to the mixed Flour & then adding Sugar or Brown Sugar.  

Tianjin Snack Signboards outside Sweets Shops :

Hey, there was even a Dolls Store – I was so happy & excited when I saw these many Lovely DOLLS on sales!! I’m a lover of Dolls & of course, I took the opportunity to take as many photos of them as possible!!

Me posing beside the Dolls trying to be as Lovely & Beautiful as them!! But of course, they’re still the best!!

And of course, I couldn’t help but had to bring one of these Dolls home with me heehee!! I wished I could afford to carry more more home - but Dear & I were worried about our lugguage space, so we had no choice but just pick one!! And that was a real hard choice cos all the Dolls were simply Irresistable!!

The Dolls are all so Nice so Nice!! Why didn’t I see the Victorian style Dolls – I like the PINK & YELLOW ones from the bottom right!!! And so many of the rest too I like!! Why didn’t I notice them when I was there?!?! Why didn’t I pick her….or her…..you mean that one……..this one………or hey you………..

Aiya……if only I’d more more time in there – just 35 mins was surely not enough for me to explore the Nanshi Food Street, sample the Sweets now & then, take many photos as usual, & shop or even study all these many Dolls carefully before I made my purchase selection!!

All so so Cute & Special  – if only I’d more time & more lugguage space I’d definitely select a few more of these Dolls to bring home!! Best, if I could bring all of them home haha!!

And guess what?!?!? The Dolls were all so so so cheap!!! Guess how much they cost?!

ONLY 28 Yuans!! We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the Sales Tag at the Store, nor did we believe our ears when we reconfirmed the price with the Doll seller Uncle!!

See the grey Sales Tag at the above photo left pillar – YES it was true the Dolls only cost 28 Yuans each – which when converted to Singapore dollars it’s only $5.60!!! And their outfits are all so exquisitely selected & made, & their facial expressions on their Porcelain faces so Lifelike & Beautiful!! My Goodness my Goodness what TREASURES we just found!!

And I like the following Doll outfits hanging behind the huge Babies below – especially that Blue Purplish Dress! I actually asked the Doll seller Uncle if he’d got a Doll wearing that dress – but NOPE he didn’t have!

Doll seller Uncle showing me the DOLLS :

It was so so hard making the selection considering the so lack of time & the so so many Gorgeous Dolls it was like whenever I laid my eyes on each & everyone of them, I just wanted to bring all of them home with me (

Finally, cos I couldn’t really make up my mind on which Doll I like best, I told Dear to select instead! And he chose the following Sweetie, who looks like a Countryside English gal.

And do you know why Dear chose her?!

Of course it was cos she was Lovely, but the main attraction was cos she’s carrying the Bear – Dear must have missed all our Bears at home when he decided to pick this Doll, cos our house is full of BEARs! In fact, I often call our home the BEAR HOUSE heehee!!

Isn’t she Gorgeous?! I love her so Cool so Pretty so Radiant face (wish I’ve EYES like hers haha!!), & that Beautiful curly Blond hair of hers!! I simply adore her so much!!

Btw, her name is PRETTY )

More bigger Dolls on sales at the opposite store, but too bad we couldn’t afford to bring a 2nd one home!!

Hair Bands & Hair Clips on sales, somethings which I couldn’t resist too!!

So here they are - my 3 exquisite colored “Diamonds” gold Hair Bands :

Many Restaurants selling all kinds of Cuisines & Seafood, unfortunately we had not enough time, or else Dear & I would love to try some of the available delicacies – may be Dog meat perhaps?!! Not sure how Dear & I will feel, since Dear has got 3 lovely puppies in his Family home!

Me standing infront of the Restaurants :

Dear & I started walking back to the main Entrance (or exit) of Nanshi Food Street where we were supposed to meet our 2 tourmates & tour guide, sharply on time after 35 mins!

Outside Nanshi Food Street now :

Goodbye Nanshi Food Street, & Thank you very much for leading us to ”Pretty”, who’s now officially a permanent resident staying comfortably & happily with us in Singapore!

It’s lunch time now in Tianjin – at Dong Lai Shun Restaurant, a Legendary Mutton Hotpot Eatery in China.

A “Lao Zhi Hou” (meaning “Old Brand Name”) Restaurant, Dong Lai Shun is a Halal Restaurant & it’s been around for hundreds of years, considering China has got its own Xinjiang Chinese Muslims.

Our tourmate Thai Auntie about to be seated at our Lunch table inside the Restaurant. Dear & I were so excited cos we both love Steamboat meals!!

The huge tall Hotpot, or Steamboat (fired by hot burning charcoal) with steaming boiling hot Soup ready for us to tuck in anytime!

Our Tianjin waitress serving us plates of dishes for our Steamboat.

The waitresses were still getting our dishes on the table for our Steamboat! 

Huge plate of thick fat Rice Noodles, Mushrooms, Black Fungus (or Wood Ears), Mee Hoon, Tofu, Cabbages & Green Vegetables :

The noodles were very long & thick & had to be cooked for quite a long time before it was soft enough to be eaten.

Below are a plate of sliced Muttons, a plate of Meat Balls, a bowl of whole Garlic Gloves, a bowl of diced Onions & Chinese Parsley, & 3 bowls of Sauces – Sesame Sauce (or “Zhimajiang” in Chinese), Dried Chili Oil, & Dark Sauce :

Dear & I were happy to see the sliced Muttons cos we love having Pork & Beef Shabu Shahu for our home made Steamboats! However, these Mutton slices were thinly sliced & not too many for the 4 of us!!

As for the Meat Balls, they were quite nice – probably the best food, besides the Mushrooms & Vegetables, for our Steamboat!

Well, mix the Sesame Sauce (“Zhimajiang”) with the diced Onions, Chinese Parsley, Dried Chili Oil with the Dried Red Chilies, & the Garlic Gloves, & see the result below :

It sure looked rather good ha but NOT really, cos the combined taste was just not great & appetizing at all!! Dear & I have tasted better Sesame Sauce before, especially I who would never forget the really best Sesame Sauce I tasted during my individual mini Steamboat dinner in Xian, Silk Road.

Plates of Thin Dried Noodles & fried Sesame Pancakes (or “Zhima Bao Bing” in Chinese).

The thin noodles turned out to be really nice & tasted like Mee Sua, which reminded me of home & Mom!!

But the ”Zhima Pao Bing” or Sesame Pancakes (which seemed to be made up of thinly layers of “Bing”) were not tasty at all but very hard & stiff & aweful to our likings!

Plate of fresh Prawns & Fish Balls :

I was so delighted to see Fish Balls (cos it’s my favourite!) but to my disappointment, they were rather hard & tasted not too good! As for the Prawns (also my faourite!), they were ok but too few for the 4 of us!

Plate of Sliced Chickens – these were too paper thinly sliced & melted once we dipped them into the Steamboat! Horrible!!

Dear seated with our tourmates Auntie & Uncle.

Our waitress brought us more food – a huge plate of Fried Rice & a small plate of 4 “Gou Bu Li Bao Zi” (Steamed Buns stuffed with Minced Pork) :

We were all more than happy to see these “Gou Bu Li Bao Zi” but they turned out to be a real disappointment cos they were hard & didn’t taste nice at all, unlike the really delicious ones we ate in Beijing!

Actually, “Gou Bu Li Bao Zi” was supposed to originate from Tianjin when the abandoned Chinese Boy, found in a garbage dump & adopted by his Family who later named him “Doggy”. This was in the Wuqing County, during the Qing Dynasty.

At the age of 14, Doggy left home to come to Tianjin & he was apprenticed to a Restaurant specializing in Stuffed Buns. A deligent & honest young man, Doggy eventually opened a shop of his own. His Stuffed Buns tasted better & better, & soon his Buns became very popular among many customers. As time went by, cos he was too busy making his Buns, Doggy’s customers had difficulty getting his attention, so they called him “Gou Bu Li” meaning “Doggy is not interested”. And eventually, Doggy’s Stuffed Buns became known as “Gou Bu Li Bao Zhi” meaning “Stuffed Buns that Doggy is not interested in”! 

The huge big plate of Fried Rice with diced Zucchini, Red Bell Pepper & Eggs – this was pretty ok though slightly tasteless, & the quality of the Rice wasn’t too good either.

Our steamboat was boiling fast though we were eating pretty slowly cos the Steamboat was very deep, & we had to search a long time for our food once we drop them inside the Steamboat. It was also too narrow & we could not scoop our food easily, & sometimes burning them at the sides of the hot Steamboat! Besides, the soup base was too plain & kinda tastless for us.

All of us did not really enjoy this Tianjin Steamboat lunch very much. Though the food & the Steamboat looked really impressive to us at first sights, they turned out to be kinda lousy. And we were really surprised that we were dinning in the famous “Lao Zhi Hou” Dong Lai Shun Restaurant, which was supposed to carry the best Mutton Hotpot!

In fact we were not aware of the famous Dong Lai Shun chain Eatery till after we were back home from Tianjin! What a surpise & disappointment – or may be to the Chinese, such a Steamboat meal would already be very good, but for us foreigners, may be we were just being too picky ha!?! But serious, it was really not good!! Go try it the next time you’re in Tianjin, & you would know what I mean )

Leaving the Restaurant now – see the bottom left table where we just dined.

Hey, what beautiful grand colorful Hotpots (or Steamboats), even with the Chinese characters “Dong Lai Shun” written on them!!

See the Trophy at the bottom right corner – the Restaurant even has it to prove it’s truely famous!! However guess it’s only by name, cos we did not get to taste its so-called renowed yummy delcious Hotpot meal at all!!

Or may be they should serve us using these beautiful Steamboats!! Why they never served us using these, then may be our experience of the Steamboat meal might be a much better one!!

But guess even such a beautiful Steamboat woudn’t change the fact that the food itself was not well prepared & well cooked at all!

Dear standing outside the Dong Lai Shun Restaurant, feeling real disappointed with our Steamboat lunch we just had - we all had the same feelings – so so Sad (

We’re now travelling to Tianjin from Beijing – Dear stopped our Chinese driver Sifu cos he was very urgent!! Actually, Dear & I were expecting Sifu to stop at the next nearest Petrol Kiosk or Toilet, but instead, we were so surprised cos Sifu immediatetly stopped the car by the roadside of the Expressway!! So Dear got off & peed!!! Right infront of us by the roadside!!

Actually, it’s very common, when travelling in China (cos the Expressways or roads are normally very long without any single building or toilet) to just stop your car & do your business be it small or big, by the roadside or among the bushes nearby where you deem safe & convenient!!!

I myself have had the worst experience of my life while travelling on the Silk Road, China. That morning I had drank too much water (almost 1 to 2 bottles of mineral water) in the Hotel, & when we were travelling out of the countryside through the high & low mountains, I began to feel so so so URGENT!!! I swear I kept trying to curb it for a long long time – a long long half hour before I finally gave up & informed the Chinese driver Sifu to stop our big tour coach!!

And guess what!! It was raining heavily & we were in the middle of a wet slippery muddy Mountain top where there was not a single shelter, not to mention any toilet!! Or should I say, YES, there was indeed a “Nature Toilet” nearby cos I had to just squat on the muddy sandy roadside (blocked by an umbrella behind my back towards the big tour coach full of all my tourmates, as well as another umbrella over my head held by my Chinese lady tour guide)!! It was so embarrassing but during those moments I felt so so relieved being able to just pee pee, & that was all that was in my mind then!! It was a really COOL experience haha!!

Well, I’ve put the rest of Dear’s pee pee photos, as well as our travelling inside Sifu’s car, till we arrived at Tianjin about 2 hours later, in the following Slideshow :

Tianjin is one of the four Municipalities in China. Its name means “The place where the Emperor crossed the River”. Lying in the Northeast of the North China Plain, it’s bordered by the Bohai Sea, & separated by the Haihe River flowing  through the urban area of the City.

Tianjin Map :

Tianjin, neighbouring Beijing, has always been known as the Gateway to the Capital of China, experiencing a great deal of astonishing changes of China’s modern history. In 1860, the Treaty of Peking opened Tianjin to Foreign Trade. Tianjin was then shared by 8 other Countries (Italy, Germany, France, Russia, Great Britain, Austria, Japan & Belgium). Today, the City still has many old European-style buildings, & from 1925 to 1931, the last Emperor Pu Yi, lived here.

The unique geographical position of Tianjin made it the largest Cosmopolitan Port City, Transportation Hub & Commercial & Industrial Centre in North China. As a major foreign Trade Port, Tianjin, like a Bridge & a Window, plays an important role in the Export-oriented economy of China.

Tianjin has a population of 10 million, & the importance of Tianjin was reaffirmed in May 2006 when the Chinese Government officially designated Tianjin as the Primary Engine for the further economic development of North China.

We arrived at the Drum Tower (or “Gulou” in Chinese) Plaza, where we first visited its 2nd storey looking for toilets.

Drum Tower Plaza Slideshow :   

There were shops along the whole stretch of street at the Drum Tower Plaza – a Street Bazaar filled with second hands Goods, Handicrafts, CDs & DVDs, Toys, Kites, Folklore Paintings, Chinese Calligraphy Brushes, Pewterware, Glassware, Jadeware, Chinese Traditional Games, Chinese Fans, Chinese traditional Clothings, Chinese Brocade Bags & Shoes, & all sorts of Tianjin Souvenirs.

Dear paying for my Tianjin Souvenirs :

My very first 2 Tianjin Souvenirs – a pair of beautifully hand-blown glass Swans :

I bought more locally handmade Tianjin Souvenirs – Clay Figurines that came packed in beautiful Chinese Boxes :

Clay figurine is one of antiquated Folk Arts in China, dating back to the Neolithic Period. The Clay is taken as raw material & manually kneaded into a Figurine – the sculptures mainly characters & animals.

However, it was until the Ming & Qing Dynasties that Clay Figurine had been substantially produced & became one of the main Artworks in the Chinese Cultural life.

According to a Chinese Fairy Tale, Humans were created out of Clay by a Goddess. In the hands of the Folk Artists, this myth is repeated over & ovee as the otherwise worthless Clay is molded into fascinating Sculptures via kneading, basking, coloring & baking. 

So excited & happy cos we were finally travelling to Beijing, Tianjin, Chengde, Hong Kong & Macau in China!!

We arrived at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 1 going to have breakfast at the 24hr Food Callery.

We decided to have Subway, fresh & healthiest choice of all!!

The new promo which we would later have.

The different types of soft cookies – Yummy Yummy!!

My dear dear with our breakfast!

Guess who this is? It’s of course ME heheh…..Hello!! NICE to meet all of you out there reading this right now )

My Italian B.M.T Sandwich.

Dear’s Subway Melt Sandwich.

Dear loves these cookies the most! It was BOARDING time after breakfast……..

Our Boarding Passes.

We’re now onboard Cathy Pacific Flight No CX 312

We brought our babies with us.

Dear with Smartie & Sparkie.

Smartie & Sparkie buckled up & seated in-between Pa Pa & Ma Ma.

The Cathy crews welcomed us aboard….& soon we’re in the air………

The in-flight entertainment soon began…. Dear’s favourite flying passtime……

Snack time!

And it’s meal time now…….

My Beef Pasta with French Beans & Carrots set – Very yummy!!

Dear’s Fish with Rice with Chilli, Steamed French Beans & Carrots set – pretty good too!

Desserts – Warm Bun, Chocolate, Fruits & our favourite Haagen-Dazs ice cream….the best of all – so so cool!!!

Yummy Yummy!!!

Smartie & Sparkie looking at the outside beautiful blue sky & candy floss clouds………..

Smartie & Sparkie close with Pa Pa….

It was Pa Pa’s, Smartie’s & Sparkie’s very first time flying with Cathy Pacific & they liked it!

Very soon, we would be arriving at Hong Kong……….

In-flight TV details of arrival in Hong Kong….. stay tuned for my Hong Kong arrival – see ya later!!