T I A N J I N  

Since September 2001 I live in Tianjin, a city of about 11 million close to Beijing. The pace of life is slow and people are very friendly. Foreigners are few, so an excellent opportunity to immerse oneself in the Chinese way of life. Despite the dust, pollution and noise I have grown to like it there. (view map of Tianjin province/ Tianjin city)

Traditional Chinese gate just across from a modern supermarket, close to the city centre

Tianjin's Confucian temple

Traditional performance during June's temple festival

A typical scene and a standard example of the slow pace of life in Tianjin, which makes it a fairly comfortable place to live

Go go go! Studying hard is the best way to learn Chinese: Mo Disney, full of enthusiasm at the beginning of the first semester!

Sports festival at Ligong University, Tianjin, where I spent my first year of language study. Propaganda events like these almost remind me of Hitler's Germany, but they surely are colourful and fun to watch.

Yippie! Mao's red China turns 53, and fireworks light up the Tianjin sky, causing 15 minutes of glory...Photo taken from the rooftop of our appartment building!

This is where I live. Even Communist-style appartment blocks can have an air of beauty when the snow falls. Photo was taken two days before Christmas 2001.

The JHF Tianjin office girls over for dinner at our place. We had a wonderful time together!

Christmas celebration at my Chinese teacher's house (she is the one in the red dress), not quite like celebrating Christmas in Germany, but getting close...

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