Tianjin, as a lively industrial town with a large foreign and trendy local population, is a fairly good place for nightlife and entertainment. There are a wealth of clubs and bars here that can be tried out, although nothing of exceptional quality.
The best, and most expensive, of the lot is probably the Sunrise Club (Zhaori julebu) on Chongqing Road (Chongqing dao), which, although a little bit to the south, has nightly live music and an interesting decor. My Disco (Wode diting) on Anshan road (Anshan dao) and Chat's Bar in the Hyatt are also worth a visit, while the DD Disco Square, on 335 Machang Road (Machang dao) is a little bit tacky Chinese.
Mother Nature seems to be on the side of Tianjin with its location at the junction of Haihe River and Bohai Sea, both economically and for recreation. Two of the most popular forms of entertainment here are
speed boating (Kuaiting) best done towards Tanggu at Dagukou, although the level of safety is debatable, and shooting.
If you are into guns, then Tianjin could well be your place, the city boasts some well equipped shooting ranges where you can try out pistols, automatic rifles and even machine guns. For those after a little less high-speed action, there is an ice rink and bowling center on the eleventh floor of the Isetan Department Store (Jili Dasha), open until 12pm. For budding Tiger Woods', there is a golf course (Gaoerfu qiuchang) out towards the main port of
Tanggu.
Festivals here are also quite popular, most of them held on the Ancient Culture Street. The New Year Picture Festival held during the Spring Festival is highly popular, a celebration of the coming year, with displays of the famous woodblock prints from Yangliuqing. Other festivals include the Rose Festival in May, the Great Wall Mountain Festival in autumn, and the popular International Marathon on the first Sunday of April. The street itself also often has displays of street art, Tianjin ballet,
puppeteer and traditional opera that makes this street lively and crowded.
