Day 3 - Tianjin to Beijing

It was finally time to head back to Beijing. We proceeded to the train station to board the bullet train. The train station's atmosphere was very much like an airport. There were people everywhere; on the chairs, on the floor. We had the privilege to board the train first and make ourselves comfortable. Unlike the bus ride to Tianjin, the journey back to Beijing only took about 30 min. It was so peaceful I managed to catch up on my sleep.

Waiting for our tickets

Train arriving

Everyone rushing up the train

Comfy seats

Upon arrival of Beijing, the tour guide brought us to the famous Wang Fu Jing street. It was similar to the Bu Xing Jie we went to in Tianjin, where vehicles where not allowed on the streets, yet, it was so different. The buildings were more modern, the streets bigger and the crowd larger. In some ways, it was nothing like the Bu Xing Jie we went in Tianjin. The streets along Wa Fu Jing where all straight, we just needed to keep walking forward.

Wang Fu Jing Street

Almost towards the end of the streets stood the famous bookshop. It was nothing like any bookshop I had seen. It was enormous! There were 5 levels, each for a different category. On the 4th level, they sold all the English books; Harry Porter, Twilight, etc. I spent almost an hour in the bookshop looking and reading through the books. I finally contemplated and bought a book on finance.

Day 3 - Tianjin University

We ended our stay in Tianjin by visiting the Tianjin University. We had to wake up earlier than usual since we would be checking out of the hotel and needed to pack our things. The journey to the university was shorter than our usual rides.

Tianjin University

Our first stop in the university was the museum. The speaker spoke in rather fluent English and we were all very thankful for the change in language. The museum portrayed the past of the university and which allowed us to compare the differences between the past and the current university. The first certificate of graduation and the introduction of the different courses were among the displays in the museum.

The history museum

Journey to the past

The student in-charge of us

After that, we went to tour the School of Engineering. We started off by walking past their lecture theaters. We all noticed a very stark differences between the lecture theaters, teaching methods. Firstly, there were no air conditioner in the LTs. In Ngee Ann, all the LTs and even the tutorial classrooms were fully air conditioned. Yet, there in China. not only were there no air conditioner, the fans were not even switched on in most of the occupied LTs. Secondly, the LTs were smaller compared to LTs in Ngee Ann. The LTs' sizes were similar to the size of 2 of the classrooms. In Ngee Ann. students usually fill the LTs from the back and slowly moving towards the front. But in Tianjin University, since the LTs were comparatively smaller. the students filled up the whole LT, even the tables right in front. Lastly, the teachers were still using chalk and blackboard even though there were visualizers present. I think if lecturers in Ngee Ann went back to using chalk and blackboard, attendance for lectures would decrease dramatically. After all, we had never been through a class with a chalk and blackboard.

We visited the labs after that. Since we were not Engineering students, we were all very curious about the practical labs and the machines. It was a rare opportunity for us to be in a lab, watching the students go about in doing their practicals to handling the machines. We even had the chance to touch the machines.

Lecturer behind the machines

Students' masterpieces

After touring the university, we were given a short speech about the life of a student of Tianjin University.

Gathering around to view the stadium

 We ended the visit by having lunch in the University and we had the opportunity to interact with an overseas student who was studying in Tianjin University. I think this trip to Tianjin University made me realize how fortunate I am to be studying in Singapore where there were so much more facilities as compared to Tianjin University.