Memories along Tianjin’s Hai River

Nestled under a weeping willow and surrounded by pink, red, and purple morning glories, I watched a rusty old barge being towed by a small motor boat down the Hai River this morning. Were I to be here longer, I would buy myself a folding chair and spend as many hours sitting here as possible.

To think that I had been coming to this university in Tianjin for a decade and had no idea that the river and this lovely spot was within half a mile of me disappoints me in my own discovery skills.

I cannot be too hard on myself as when I first came, the area fronting it from the university was a jumble of falling down, dilapidated, sad hutongs (small traditional Chinese houses) that promised little of real interest. Today, the road not usually taken past the new Wu-Mart gave way to new experiences.

Blue sky, the first I’ve seen on this trip, energized me as nothing else had. Having no class this morning, I went walking. Leaving pavement and onto a dirt path, I passed an unofficial landfill where the likes of Garfield, a huge stuffed bear, several porcelain products, numerous plastic bags and other junk had seen better days. Soon I was rewarded with a water view.

Five elderly women stood alongside the river path singing. Likely they had been meeting there for years. Greeting me enthusiastically, they invited me to join them, Grateful for their invitation, I might have done had I not been so eager to pursue the walk.