A Sightseeing Guide to the Hai River, Tianjin

A Sightseeing Guide to the Hai River, Tianjin

Colourful flowers and plants in the park, different styles of bridges, kaleidoscopic lights after nightfall and historic architecture are all part of what you'll enjoy during a sightseeing trip down the Hai River in Tianjin. The beautiful scenery around the Hai River and the unique culture of Tianjin are all part of what attracts visitors from near and far.


Hai River night view  

Hai River ferry tours start out from Tianjin Railway Station and pass by numerous attractions in the city, including Jiefang Bridge, Wenhua Street, Shizilin (Lion's Forest) Bridge, and Dabei Temple; the entire tour takes around 1 hour. There are three wharfs where visitors can opt to purchase tickets and board the tour ferries; they are the Tianjin Railway wharf, Wenhua Street wharf and Dabei Temple wharf. Ferries are in operation everyday from 09:00 -21:00, and they start out on the hour every hour. Visitors are able to see the different attractions lining the riverbank and can opt to go out on the docks to look and shop at the various specialty and souvenir shops. Visitors need not pay extra for return trips; they can catch return ferries just by showing the driver their ticket stubs.


Night View Over Hai River in Tianjin

The most unique attractions in Tianjin along the Hai River are its different style bridges. Visitors can catch glimpses of the Jiefang Bridge, Dagu Bridge, Bei'an Bridge, Jingbu Bridge, and Shizilin Bridge, among others. Each bridge spanning the flowing river is uniquely and beautifully designed and are very much part of the city’s heritage. Aside from the bridges, historic architecture, namely that of Tianjin Railway Station, Tianjin Gate, Tianjin Tower, and The Eye of Tianjin is also something else to be on the lookout for when you're touring around Hai River. The night view over Hai River is amazing. Near the water’s edge is a platform, perfect for a close-up view, and the dam and historic architecture line up against a backdrop of the city skyline illuminated by the lighting from the bridges – all are reflected like a kaleidoscope of lights in the river waters below.

Visitors touring the river on the ferries will have professional guides (in Chinese only) explaining the different scenery and attraction as they come into view. Visitors will also hear about the unique history of Tianjin and beautiful folk tales about the river. To better help you understand the explanations; you might consider buying a tour pamphlet for Tianjin before your visit. They also provide visitors free tastes of Tianjin local eats on board the ferries.

Aside from the beautiful attractions along the riverbanks, there are also special themed shopping districts within the vicinity of the Hai River. For example, you've got the historic Wenhua Street and the Italian-style pedestrian walkway. Wenhua Street features shops that have been in business for nearly a century in the city and are great spots to get your hands on hard-to-come-by classic books, folk and traditional crafts, etc. Specialty shops along Wenhua Street also carry old-style Chinese calendar paintings, colored mud sculptures, and brick carvings by well-renowned artisans. The Italian-style walkway offers a different feel to the scenery as architecture there is modeled after those more commonly seen in Europe and Italy. There are also six recreational facilities and eateries (including Siyuan Plaza) on both sides of the riverbank, offering convenience for shopping and dining options after sightseeing. 

Add: Buy tickets at Dabei Temple, Wenhua Street, and Tianjin Railway Station wharfs
Tel: 022 58789911
Operation hours for the ferries:
Day Tours (9:00 -19:00); Night Tours (19:00 -21:00); ferries start out at every hour sharp
Price: 80 RMB/person (day tours); 100 RMB/person (night tours)
Getting there:  Take bus route 954 to Shiji Tianle station and walk 100 m to Dabei Temple wharf;
Take bus route 829 to Dahutong station and walk 200 m to Wenhua Street wharf;
Take bus routes 17, 185, 28, 613, 621, 660, 676, 680, 690, 805, 806, 815, 845, 91 to Bawei Rd and Qijing Rd station, and walk 101 m to Tianjin Railway Station wharf. 

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Keywords: Tianjin hai river tour Tianjin hai river sightseeing tianjin sightseeing

2 Comments

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oxana212

Fantasy

Jul 18, 2021 07:01 Report Abuse

jaibuss

i would like to know more about this cruise.It is hop on/hop off even after 7:00PM. or not. Out plan is to take cruise from train station to various attractions -like tianjin eye,ancient street and on our way back take a cruise at 8:00PM to Train station.Let us know do we need to purchase ticket two times or just one time.is there any website we can check

Mar 18, 2019 04:03 Report Abuse