Tianjin to Beijing - transportation? Guide?

[tommui987]

Planning ahead, but our cruise goes to Tianjin in mid March 2011. Looking for advice on transportation from Tianjin to Beijing and a guide. The cruise ports at Tianjin for two days.

 

Been to Beijing before, but would like to re-visit the Forbidden City and see the Temple of Heaven.

 

We were at the Beijing Hotel previously and liked it.

[Luker]

Planning ahead, but our cruise goes to Tianjin in mid March 2011. Looking for advice on transportation from Tianjin to Beijing and a guide. The cruise ports at Tianjin for two days.

 

Been to Beijing before, but would like to re-visit the Forbidden City and see the Temple of Heaven.

 

We were at the Beijing Hotel previously and liked it.

 

Hey "Toomui987", I posted some information on a tour that I arranged while at that port, which took me and 10 others to Beijing. It included a very nice hotel, some meals and a lot of sites. It cost only $220 per person and was well worth it. If you want to read more about it, check out my blog post. It says "Xingang" but that is where you are actually porting at, and Tianjin is the next town in. There is also more information with photos on what we did in Beijing on my blog. You can find all of that with the drop down menu on the sidebar. The link to the port post is:

 

http://lutherbailey.blogspot.com/search/label/Port%20Information%20for%20Xingang%20China%20Beijing

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Luther

[tommui987]

Luther: Thanks - I checked your webpage. My problem is that I had been on a Viking Cruise in China and been to the usual spots - Great Wall, Summer Place etc.

 

I thought I would like to see the Temple of Heaven and revisit the Forbidden City and perhaps see a couple of spots that I didn't see the last time. That would make it difficult to get a group together as I suspect most on the ship may not have been in that part of the world before and they would want to hit the high spots - Tiananmen Square, across the street to the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and so forth.

 

Is there a possibility of catching the bullet train from the port to Beijing? And if so, how far is the station from the port? Can one walk from the ship to the entrance of the port if it is anything like Danang?

 

Thanks again for the assist!

[j2ink]

I posted this information a few days ago on another thread: A taxi ride to Tianjin station is about ¥175 (depending upon how well you can bargain) and takes about a half hour. The cost for a second class ticket on this train is ¥69 each, one way. An alternative, depending on your timing, is to take the bullet train from Tanggu Station. This station is closer to Xingang, but the trains to Beijing are less frequent. Tanggu station is about 10km from the port, and a taxi is about ¥25. The trains from both stations go to the Beijing south train station, where you will need to take another taxi to central Beijing.

 

If you don't speak Chinese, the first time you take the train, it may be a little stressful. Going to Tianjin station (or any place else), the taxi drivers don't speak English, nor do the ticket sellers at the train station. And there are no English signs at the train station to indicate which line to get into for tickets (the bullet train has separate lines) or how to get to the trains. If you are lucky, you may find someone who speaks English who can help you if the need arises. (I assume Tanggu station is similar, but since it is smaller, it may be easier to navigate.)

 

Overall, the train-taxi trip from Xingang Harbor to central Beijing probably will take you at least two hours, depending upon how long you wait for the train and the taxis. However, taking the train is really an interesting experience, traveling in a compartment that looks more like an airliner than a train, and speeding along at over 200 miles per hour.

 

Considering how long it takes to travel to and from the central city, you may want to stay in Beijing overnight. The hotels are relatively inexpensive by western standards, and a four hour round-trip (six hours if you travel on the road) two or three days in a row wastes a huge amount of your limited time.

 

Concerning your last question, after we passed through customs, we exited into a parking lot where there were taxis available. You may find someone there who speaks enough English to negotiate with, but your driver probably will not speak English.

[Luker]

Luther: Thanks - I checked your webpage. My problem is that I had been on a Viking Cruise in China and been to the usual spots - Great Wall, Summer Place etc.

 

I thought I would like to see the Temple of Heaven and revisit the Forbidden City and perhaps see a couple of spots that I didn't see the last time. That would make it difficult to get a group together as I suspect most on the ship may not have been in that part of the world before and they would want to hit the high spots - Tiananmen Square, across the street to the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and so forth.

 

Is there a possibility of catching the bullet train from the port to Beijing? And if so, how far is the station from the port? Can one walk from the ship to the entrance of the port if it is anything like Danang?

 

Thanks again for the assist!

 

Hello,

 

We did visit the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City, but the other places you mentioned were on the tour as well. "J2ink" had some good information about the train, so maybe that will help. Just be sure to leave early enough to get back to the port, because it's quite a long ways. Good luck and have fun!

 

Luther

[tommui987]

 

Concerning your last question, after we passed through customs, we exited into a parking lot where there were taxis available.

 

J2Ink - thanks for the information.

 

The ship makes its first stop in Quindao and so I am assuming that we don't have to go to Chinese customs again - not that it would be a big deal - but I do walk slowly and with a cane - and so the distance between the dock and the taxi stand becomes important!

 

I am also confused about the location of the port. In Googling, there was an article in 2010 about the Tianjin seaport being open to cruise ships - Costa was one - and was wondering if this was a new seaport and closer to Tianjin.

 

The Quest, being a small ship, had the ability to cruise almost right up to the city center in Bangkok and Saigon and I was wondering if this would be true in Tianjin.

 

I'm using the DK travel guide as a reference.

 

Thanks again for the previous message.

[j2ink]

Your cruise line may have information about exactly where the dock is. I was on a small Costa ship (the Classica) last summer, and we docked at Tianjin Xingang (Tianjin Port). I’m not sure if you can get much further inland, regardless of how small the ship is.

 

I don't recall too much walking involved in getting from the ship, through customs, and into the parking lot. There is also some walking required at the Tianjin train station getting to the trains and then again at the Beijing train station when walking to the taxi stand.

 

In your original email, you mentioned that you were looking for a guide. However, most of the sights don’t necessarily require a guide. You may just need someone to drive you around, drop you off at the sight, and pick you up when you are finished.

[j2ink]

A taxi ride to Tianjin station is about ¥175 (depending upon how well you can bargain) and takes about a half hour.

 

I wanted to correct this statement. The taxi ride between the harbor and Tianjin station is closer to an hour. The taxi driver wanted ¥300, and we settled on ¥200, but that probably was still too much. I've read on other websites that the cost should be closer to ¥150.