Leadership Insights | Illustrated Lectures: Experiencing Traditional Culture in Tianjin

Chinese modernization wouldn’t be achieved without the inheritance and promotion of excellent traditional culture. Tianjin is a unique, charming city. It is necessary to protect and leverage its historical and cultural districts to make them shine in the process of building Tianjin into a modern metropolis.

On the downstream of the three-forked estuary in Tianjin, there is a historical and cultural block boasting numerous traditional buildings and time-honored shops. It is the Tianjin Ancient Culture Street, an important window to learn about the folk customs of Tianjin and a calling card of the city. The ancient street was the earliest place in Tianjin that gathered folk customs, local cultures, and commerce. Strolling down its 600-meter main street, one can see time-honored stores such as Clay Figure Zhang and Ear-hole-like Fried Rice Cakes packed with customers, as well as local intangible cultural heritage items such as Laomeihua and Tianjin Cai’s Feather Duster. 

A store selling Yangliuqing woodblock New Year pictures, a national intangible cultural heritage item, is also located in this bustling old street. The time-honored store not only focuses on the traditional New Year picture market, but has also developed a number of cultural and creative products that incorporate the classic elements of Yangliuqing New Year pictures, giving new life to the traditional art. There is also Darentang, a brand of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The TCM pharmacy has been converted into a comprehensive museum integrating the exhibition of TCM culture and intangible cultural heritage skills, and sale and experiencing of TCM products, attracting many consumers who come to find new experiences.

In the Ancient Culture Street, traditional crafts such as New Year pictures and TCM regain new life in the market, attracting tourists from all walks of life with their unique flavor of Tianjin and even China, historical significance and cultural taste. The street has become a place for people from around China and even the world to experience Tianjin’s folk customs, lifestyles, history and culture.