Recent Solo Travel
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Solo Travel is an adventure for one person.
Recently, during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, I took a trip to nearby cities, visiting Tianjin, Tangshan, and Xi’an. I didn’t spend many days there, usually staying in one city for only three or four days before getting tired and feeling like there wasn’t much more to see—just a few main attractions.
Tianjin
Here’s the travel plan for Tianjin, covering several attractions. These places are close to each other on the map or can be visited in sequence. Just follow the map:
Tianjin Eye
First stop was the Tianjin Eye, the iconic structure of Tianjin:
The waterside view along the way was beautiful, any random shot looks great:
Underneath the Tianjin Eye is a street similar to a commercial area. There were many people along both sides of the river, creating a relaxed square-like atmosphere. People were dancing in the square, and many were live-streaming while singing. You could request songs or even sing yourself. There was also a street full of snacks:
The night scenery was really photogenic:
This accidental shot of a cruise ship turned out really nice, with the reflection of lights and water blending with the distant night scene:
This is the front of the food street, across the river from the initial picture:
This street-side stall photo also turned out well:
Here’s a sign and seating area for a beer bar with almost no business:
Outside another small shop, I saw a figure of Luffy standing on the Thousand Sunny:
That wraps up the trip to the Tianjin Eye.
Tianjin Ancient Culture Street
Ancient Culture Street is just a commercial street with many stalls selling antiques and bracelets, along with some common stores. There were quite a few pedestrians on both sides:
I captured a statue of a Buddha, though I’m not sure of its background:
There were many street stalls inviting people to listen to traditional cross-talk performances. Since I was tired, I decided to take a break and sit down at one of these. As someone who’s listened to Guo Degang’s cross-talk recordings countless times, I was pleasantly surprised by the content and humor of this small venue, worth the ticket price:
After listening to the cross-talk, I left Ancient Culture Street.
Italian Style Street
Also known as Yi Feng Qu:
The entrance features some European-style buildings, great for girls taking photos. Beyond that, it’s just an ordinary commercial street, similar to the 798 Art District. I came across an old sculpture that was quite large:
Porcelain House
The Porcelain House has ornate decor, and the place was packed with people. Forget about whether you needed a ticket to enter—there were so many people that it was impossible to go inside:
I just took a glance from the entrance and left:
Jinwan Plaza
The final stop in Tianjin was Jinwan Plaza:
It was quite lively with lots of people:
The overall scenery was nice, a good place to walk around after dinner, but not particularly interesting from a tourist perspective.
Binhai New Area
I ended up skipping the Binhai New Area. There were many negative reviews on Xiaohongshu, plus it’s too far from the city. The long round trip was inconvenient, and I wasn’t sure if it was even the right season for seagulls. If I could feed seagulls in the park, I would have gone, but it didn’t seem like there were many seagulls around recently:
Tangshan
Hetou Old Street
No need for much planning in Tangshan, as I only visited one place, Hetou Old Street, which is said to have great scenery and photogenic spots, as well as performances.
I went early, before nightfall:
Snapped a candid photo of a girl in Hanfu—her outfit was really beautiful:
There was a lake with many koi fish. The scene depicted a group of small monks gazing at a scholar, which seemed to be part of a story, but I didn’t pay much attention:
At nightfall, the street lights turned on and various performances began. That’s when Hetou Old Street really came to life.
First, I saw a girl dancing on the street:
Meanwhile, there was an interactive performance next door, featuring a matchmaking event:
Further down the street, a stall performed some magic tricks:
There was even a street-side movie showing A Chinese Odyssey:
At night, the scholar statue looked even better:
Some street acrobatics:
The most scenic spot in Hetou Old Street:
Photo:
Video:
A more complete video:
Absolutely beautiful! It’s called the Waterborne Tang Dynasty Night City, with wonderful scenery and performances, fully showcasing the lively market life of the Tang Dynasty (way better than Xi’an’s so-called Tang Paradise Night City).
Being surrounded by such beautiful scenery:
The color-changing tree and dancing girl:
A flute performance:
The second most beautiful spot:
Photo:
Video:
It was truly crowded:
There were many small street performances too.
The most spectacular finale at Hetou Old Street was the Iron Firework Show. Just the viewing platform alone was worth the anticipation. Unlike the enclosed space in the square, here you could see the entire night view of the street:
An impressive opening, with music that got the crowd pumped:
This section combined all elements—iron fireworks, fire cubes, and water flyboarding:
After the Iron Firework Show, there was a Phoenix Flying performance:
Short version:
Full version:
Seeing such a performance made the trip truly worthwhile!
Xi’an
This was the plan for Xi’an, covering just a few spots. Initially, I was mainly interested in seeing the real Tang Paradise Night City.
Terracotta Warriors
I wasn’t initially planning to visit the Terracotta Warriors, but someone recommended it, saying it was quite impressive. Honestly, after seeing it, I wasn’t that moved. It’s just a bunch of earthen pits and clay figures, maybe I didn’t quite get it. There were a ton of people visiting the Terracotta Warriors.
After visiting the three pits of the Terracotta Warriors, we headed to Lishan Garden. The real tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang is located inside, but what’s open to the public are the accompanying tombs. The most famous might be these few horses:
Tang Paradise Night City
Tang Paradise Night City is overrated. It’s got a big reputation, but there’s nothing much to see. All the performances take place during the day.
This small performance was so crowded, with layers of people:
So many people:
Snapped a candid shot of two girls from behind—their outfits were nice:
Finally, the sky turned dark, and I thought the lights would look better at night, but there wasn’t much. It was just a commercial street, with snacks being sold on both sides:
The one-way path leading to the exit:
The best photo of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was taken from the north square, outside of Tang Paradise Night City, right where the musical fountain show happens:
Tang Paradise
Tang Paradise is the best place to visit in Xi’an, far better than the Night City. There are plenty of big and small performances throughout the day, keeping you busy and entertained.
Upon entering, you’re greeted with a welcoming performance, and you can follow the parade:
The parade marches to Ziyun Tower’s North Square, where the Dream Back to the Tang Dynasty show begins:
After the show, there’s an accompanying musical fountain performance:
This entire set of performances lasts nearly an hour, keeping you busy right after entering the park, and you haven’t even started exploring the park itself.
Still at the North Square, if the timing is right, you can catch the Splendid China performance, which is more like a variety show, featuring everything from fountains, dance, and lion dances. It lasts about an hour:
Afterward, you can see smaller performances elsewhere in the park, like this music show:
And a performance about the Tea God story:
At the Chang’an Wharf, there was a girl dancing:
In the Noble Ladies’ Hall, there was a beautiful “unmovable doll” performance, much better than the ones in the Night City:
Right after the “unmovable doll” performance, there was a poetry duel featuring Li Bai:
Further along the stage at the Noble Ladies’ Hall, there’s a performance called the Qujiang Flower and Moon Banquet. I didn’t have time to watch it since I was rushing to catch the grand finale, The Dream of the Tang Dynasty.
For The Dream of the Tang Dynasty, you board a boat that takes you to the middle of the lake, opposite Ziyun Tower, where the show begins.
This video captures the overall setting:
The show features 3D water projections:
And dancers on the stairs:
Here’s a clip near the end of the show:
Overall, a very impressive show! This is the real spirit of the Tang Dynasty!
Drum Tower, Yongxing Lane
The Xi’an trip wasn’t over yet. First, I visited the famous SEG Plaza, but there wasn’t much to shop for—two floors of women’s clothing, one of men’s clothing, one for sportswear, and one for jewelry. Not much to see, it wasn’t as good as Chaoyang Joy City.
Next, I planned to visit Gao’s Courtyard, but after just a glance at the entrance, I knew I wasn’t going in:
It turns out Gao’s Courtyard is on the same street as the Drum Tower, so I followed the crowd towards the tower, giving off a Drum Tower Street vibe:
The Drum Tower looked like this, but I wasn’t interested in going up:
On the way out of the Drum Tower, feeling a bit tired, I found a shadow puppet theater to rest and watch Three Beatings of the White Bone Demon. The show was decent, like a low-budget cartoon:
After leaving the Drum Tower, I headed to Yongxing Lane:
Yongxing Lane had a viral bowl-smashing liquor spot:
Although it’s also a commercial street, it was quite lively, and there was even a puppet show:
You could take photos with the popular bronze men from Douyin:
At night, the lanterns gave the street more atmosphere:
Right outside Yongxing Lane is the Xi’an City Wall, but I didn’t feel like climbing it.
That marked the end of the Xi’an trip.
Other Cities
I had initially planned to visit many other places, intending to stop by some of them on the way back to Beijing, including Mount Laojun in Luoyang, the Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden in Kaifeng, and Daming Lake in Jinan. In the end, I didn’t visit these places. Hotel prices had surged in recent days, and after seeing the performances in Tangshan and Xi’an, I felt like there was no need to see more. It’s that “after seeing Mount Tai, no other mountain compares” feeling.
Conclusion
Finally, one of my favorite moments was Li Bai reciting poetry on the boat:
“Heaven has bestowed talents upon me, they must be put to use. Spend thousands of gold, and it will come back again!”