Tianjin Ancient Culture Street Tourist Area is located in the northeast of Nankai District, Tianjin, along the Nanyun River, a tributary of the Haihe River. It is a national 5A-level tourist attraction and a famous historical and cultural block as well as a folk tourism resort in Tianjin. The scenic area features "Chinese flavor, Tianjin flavor, ancient flavor, and cultural flavor", concentrating on displaying the folk culture, traditional architecture, and commercial style of Tianjin and even northern China. The buildings in the block are mainly in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties, mostly of brick and wood structure, with blue bricks and gray tiles, and overhanging eaves and bucket arches, presenting a typical style of northern ancient cities. The total area of the scenic area is about 220,000 square meters, with a construction area of 100,000 square meters and a total length of 580 meters. It consists of a group of antique buildings, with nearly 100 shops along the street, covering various categories such as traditional handicrafts, folk products, and characteristic food. It is the core area to experience Tianjin's traditional culture.
Historical Culture
The area where Tianjin Ancient Culture Street is located has a long history. As early as the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was a gathering place for commerce and folk culture in Tianjin. At that time, due to its proximity to the Nanyun River and convenient water transportation, it became an important hub for material exchange between the north and the south, gradually forming a prosperous commercial street with various shops and workshops, where folk art and traditional skills flourished.
The current Ancient Culture Street was rebuilt in 1985 based on the original historical block, retaining the historical street pattern and architectural style, and continuing the core cultural landmark of "Tianhou Palace". Tianhou Palace was built during the Zhiyuan period of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1294). It is one of the oldest existing buildings in Tianjin and a famous Mazu Temple in northern China, witnessing Tianjin's development as a major canal transportation town. With Tianhou Palace as the center, Ancient Culture Street integrates Tianjin's canal transportation culture, folk culture, religious culture, etc., and has become an important window to inherit and display Tianjin's historical culture.
Main Attractions
Tianhou Palace
Tianhou Palace is the core attraction of Tianjin Ancient Culture Street. It was built during the Zhiyuan period of the Yuan Dynasty, with a history of more than 700 years. It covers an area of about 5,000 square meters and a construction area of about 1,700 square meters. The temple faces east from the west, consisting of the mountain gate, memorial archway, front hall, main hall, scripture storage pavilion and other buildings, with a rigorous layout and a solemn atmosphere. The main hall enshrines the statue of Mazu, with statues of Qianliyan and Shunfeng'er on both sides. Historically, Tianhou Palace was an important place for canal transportation ships and merchants to pray for blessings. Now it is still the main place for folk worship of Mazu in Tianjin. Every year on the 23rd day of the third lunar month, the birthday of Mazu, a grand temple fair is held here, attracting many tourists and citizens.
Yan Fu's Former Residence
Yan Fu's Former Residence is located on Gongbei Street near Ancient Culture Street, which was the residence of Yan Fu, a famous modern thinker and translator, in Tianjin. The former residence is a typical Qing Dynasty folk house, covering an area of about 400 square meters, consisting of the main house, side rooms, and reverse seats, with blue bricks and gray tiles, simple and elegant. The interior displays cultural relics such as Yan Fu's life story and translated manuscripts, showing his important contributions to modern Chinese ideological enlightenment and translation of Western works. Yan Fu lived here for many years, engaging in translation and academic research, so the former residence has become an important material for studying the cultural and ideological development of modern Tianjin.
Tianyan Square
Tianyan Square is located at the entrance of Ancient Culture Street, named after Yan Fu's famous translation "Evolution and Ethics". The square covers an area of about 1,000 square meters. In the center of the square stands a statue of Yan Fu, which is about 3 meters high, showing Yan Fu in deep thought. The surrounding area of the square is decorated with reliefs reflecting the ideas of "Evolution and Ethics", including concepts such as "natural selection, survival of the fittest". This is the first stop for tourists to enter Ancient Culture Street, which not only demonstrates Tianjin's cultural heritage but also provides a place for tourists to rest and take photos.
Folk Custom Museum
The Folk Custom Museum is located in Ancient Culture Street, reconstructed from the auxiliary buildings of Tianhou Palace, covering an area of about 1,000 square meters. The museum collects and displays a large number of folk cultural relics in Tianjin, including traditional costumes, festival supplies, folk musical instruments, handicrafts, etc., totaling more than 3,000 pieces. Through physical objects, pictures, and scene restoration, it vividly displays Tianjin's folk customs, weddings and funerals, seasonal festivals and other folk cultures, and is an important place to understand Tianjin's folk customs.
Food
Shibajie Fried Dough Twists (Ancient Culture Street Store)
Shibajie Fried Dough Twists is one of the "Three Treasures" of Tianjin food. This store in Ancient Culture Street is its authentic branch. Shibajie Fried Dough Twists are famous for their fine selection of materials and unique craftsmanship. They are made of high-quality flour, sesame, rock sugar, walnut kernels and other raw materials through multiple processes such as fermentation, twisting, and frying. The finished product is crispy, sweet, and does not become soft after long storage. Its fried dough twists have a unique shape, including ordinary ones and "assorted fried dough twists" and other varieties. Among them, assorted fried dough twists contain a variety of fillings, with a rich taste. The store also displays the production process of fried dough twists, allowing tourists to understand the technological characteristics of this traditional food.
Niren Zhang Colored Sculptures (Experience Store)
Niren Zhang Colored Sculptures are a famous folk art in Tianjin with a history of more than 180 years. The Niren Zhang Experience Store in Ancient Culture Street is an important place to display and sell this art treasure. Niren Zhang Colored Sculptures are famous for their delicate shaping techniques, bright colors and vivid images, with themes mostly including folk stories, historical figures, folk scenes, etc. The store displays various specifications of colored sculpture works, ranging from small ornaments of a few centimeters to group statues of several meters, with exquisite craftsmanship. Tourists can also experience the production process of colored sculptures here, and make simple clay figurines under the guidance of artists, feeling the charm of folk art.
Erduoyan Fried Cakes (Ancient Culture Street Branch)
Erduoyan Fried Cakes has a branch in Ancient Culture Street, which is also one of the "Three Treasures" of Tianjin. Its fried cakes are made of glutinous rice flour as the skin and red bean paste as the filling, fried using traditional techniques. The outer skin is golden and crispy, the inner part is soft and glutinous, sweet and delicious, and not greasy. The production of Erduoyan Fried Cakes emphasizes "made and sold on the spot" to ensure fresh taste, attracting a large number of tourists to queue up to buy every day. In addition to the traditional red bean paste filling, there are now new flavors such as hawthorn and purple potato to meet the needs of different tourists.
Tickets
It is open for free. However, some internal attractions require separate tickets. Among them, the ticket for Tianhou Palace is 10 yuan per person, and the ticket for the Folk Custom Museum is 8 yuan per person.
You can search for the official WeChat public account "天津古文化街津门故里" to get the latest news.
You can search for the official WeChat public account "天津民俗博物馆 天津天后宫" to book tickets.
Opening Hours
The block is open 24 hours a day, but the business hours of the shops along the street are mostly from 9:00 to 21:00. The opening hours of internal paid attractions are different. Tianhou Palace is open from 9:00 to 17:00 (admission stops at 16:30); the Folk Custom Museum is open from 9:00 to 16:30 (admission stops at 16:00) and is closed every Monday (except legal holidays). It is recommended that tourists arrange their time reasonably to fully visit each attraction.
Tour Route
A classic tour route is recommended: Enter from the main entrance of Ancient Culture Street, first come to Tianyan Square to visit Yan Fu's statue and reliefs (about 20 minutes); then walk along the main street, admire the antique buildings and shops on both sides, and can buy some traditional handicrafts by the way (about 30 minutes); then go to Tianhou Palace to visit the temple buildings and Mazu culture (about 1 hour); after leaving Tianhou Palace, go to the Folk Custom Museum to learn about Tianjin's folk customs (about 40 minutes); then go to Yan Fu's Former Residence to feel the modern ideological culture (about 30 minutes); finally, taste Tianjin's characteristic food in shops such as Shibajie Fried Dough Twists and Erduoyan Fried Cakes (about 1 hour). The total tour time is about 3.5-4 hours, and the stay time at each link can be adjusted according to personal interests.
Transportation
- Subway: Take Tianjin Metro Line 2 to Dongnanjiao Station, get out from Exit B and walk about 500 meters to reach the entrance of Ancient Culture Street; or take Metro Line 1 to Xibeijiao Station and walk about 1 kilometer to reach.
- Bus: Many bus routes can directly reach, such as Route 1, 24, 37, 15, 611, 612, etc. Get off at Dongbeijiao Station or Ancient Culture Street Station and walk about 200-300 meters to reach.
- Taxi: Take a taxi from Tianjin Railway Station, the journey is about 15 minutes, and the cost is about 15 yuan; from Tianjin West Railway Station, the journey is about 20 minutes, and the cost is about 20 yuan.
- Self-driving: There are parking lots around Ancient Culture Street, such as the Ancient Culture Street Parking Lot, with a charging standard of 8 yuan per hour, which may increase slightly on holidays, facilitating self-driving tourists to park their vehicles.
Must-visit Attractions
- Tianhou Palace: One of the oldest buildings in Tianjin, with a history of more than 700 years. It is an important Mazu Temple in the north, covering an area of about 5,000 square meters, where you can deeply understand canal transportation culture and religious culture.
- Folk Custom Museum: It displays more than 3,000 pieces of Tianjin's folk cultural relics, and comprehensively presents Tianjin's folk customs through rich exhibits and scene restoration, covering an area of about 1,000 square meters.
- Tianyan Square: The landmark at the entrance of Ancient Culture Street. Yan Fu's statue and the theme reliefs of "Evolution and Ethics" demonstrate Tianjin's cultural heritage. The square covers an area of about 1,000 square meters, which is a good place for taking photos.
Travel Suggestions
- It is recommended to spend half a day visiting, and choose to go from 9:00-11:00 in the morning or 14:00-16:00 in the afternoon to avoid the peak flow of people on holidays for a better experience.
- Learn about Tianjin's folk cultural background in advance, such as Mazu culture and canal transportation history, which can make the visit more rewarding.
- When buying handicrafts, you can choose Niren Zhang colored sculptures, Yangliuqing New Year paintings and other items with Tianjin characteristics. Pay attention to distinguishing the authenticity and choose regular shops to buy.
- When tasting food, you can buy a variety of characteristic foods in moderation, but pay attention to the preservation method. Some fried foods are not suitable for long storage.
- If you catch up with the Tianhou Palace Temple Fair on the 23rd day of the third lunar month, you can participate in it, experience folk performances, traditional sacrifices and other activities, and feel the strong festive atmosphere.
Notes
- Most of the buildings in the scenic area are antique buildings, and some areas have smooth floors. Be careful of slipping when visiting on rainy days.
- Respect religious beliefs. When entering religious places such as Tianhou Palace, you must abide by relevant regulations, do not make noise, and do not touch statues and cultural relics at will.
- Take good care of personal belongings. There are many tourists in the scenic area, especially in the areas with dense shops and during temple fairs, so beware of theft.
- Take good care of the scenic environment, do not spit, litter, or damage buildings and exhibits.
- When buying goods, pay attention to checking the price tags, consume rationally, and keep shopping receipts if you need to return or exchange goods.