Tianjin is my beloved city. Perhaps if you have just come here you, you don't understand my feelings, maybe you feel that Tianjin far behind your own country in many ways. We all experience these feelings at first, and the culture shock just adds to what sometimes turns into disappointment that the city we have chosen to live in is far from what we expected. Has Tianjin failed to live up to your expectations? Do you wonder what you have let yourself in for? Although you heard about the pollution problem before you came, you probably never realised that the sky could be this grey. Do you have friends in other parts of China, like Shanghai or Beijing who wonder why you have come to Tianjin? Perhaps they tell you to quit this city and go somewhere "better". When I first came I knew someone who was living in Beijing and he was leading a really nice, comfortable life. He said to me "You should come here, you can buy lots of English food". This is actually a big deal because ‘although we now have quite a few high quality import shops here, they mostly sell American brands. However by that time I had already become attached to Tianjin and so my reply was "I can buy English food in England". If you can get over the first few months here, if you can get over the physical sickness, the home sickness, the culture shock and the "Oh my goodness what have I done!" feelings, you will learn to love Tianjin

If you talk to any of us that have been here for some time, you will find that even though we are foreigners, we don't really like people criticising Tianjin, because it actually is a very special place. We have seen many developments, and you will soon realise that Tianjin is evolving all the time and that it is a powerhouse of a city. You have come at the right time because soon Tianjin will be a much sought after place to live in and prices will rise. Let us remind ourselves of some of the facilities we can enjoy here.

The Schools

Those of you that came here with children naturally worried about their education. However you have since discovered that the schools here can compete with anywhere in the world.

Those of you that came here with children naturally worried about their education. However you have since discovered that the schools here can compete with anywhere in the world. They have the most amazing facilities and the syllabuses leave me green with envy, they make me wish I could go to school again. If you talk to your children, not many of them will say that they hate their school, and one reason is that there is definitely a lack of bullying. In our own countries bullying in schools is rife and recently there have been several reports of teenagers being bullied to death, including some committing suicide because of being harassed through networking sites - that does not happen here and not just because these sites are not available! Apart from the fact that there is zero tolerance to bullying here, the children, as they are all far away from home, band together and there Is a spirit of real camaraderie. No doubt the many artistic performances that the kids give promote teamwork. Every year the schools give concerts that are huge productions, I have been to several and can totally recommend them, and you don't need to have children at the school to watch them. Seeing how much effort the schools put into these activities shows the commitment invested by all parties, the teachers, the students and the parents.

Recently there have been one or two new schools added to the fine portfolio and most of the other schools have all made big improvements to their existing facilities. The schools definitely add to the advancement and gentrification of Tianjin, no longer a poor old lumbering behemoth, crouching at the table of Beijing waiting for a few crumbs to drop.

Each international school has its own special characteristic to recommend it. Western schools tend to emphasise sport and team work, and also they encourage lateral thinking and problem solving. A large percentage of the pupils in most of the schools are Korean, and it may be that at first Korean parents do not understand the schools' ethos. However once they see that their children are happy and fulfilled, and therefore keen to go to school and learn, they relax. Tianjin can really rival anywhere as far as international education is involved.

It is not just the children of expats that can get a good education. Tianjin also has many fine universities that Chinese students attend. Shi Fan University is famous for producing teachers. Nankai University is famous all over China, as it has produced some of the country's highest ranking government ministers. The Foreign Languages University is living history. It really is worth taking a little trip just to look at the buildings and read the plaques explaining their background. Apart from these three there are actually many universities here, a fact that is attested to by the existence of University City （大学城）. As far as education is concerned, Tianjin is not a second class city.

The Hotels

Well what can I say? At first I was worried about the amount of new five star hotels that are planned for Tianjin, as we already have a good amount of particularly fine hotels here. However many businessmen tell me that it is a good thing for the city as good hotels are a measure of its development. As I am not a businessman, I can't come to terms with this thinking. My view is that if there are so many businesses in the same field all vying for custom, there are a finite number of customers and the supply and demand criteria is not being met, i.e. supply outstrips demand. However one thing is definitely true, as there are so many newly opened hotels this year, the other hotels are facing stiff competition and that is good news for the customer. They are all so keen to attract custom that they have really good deals on offer. The hotel buildings themselves absolutely enhance the city and are definitely one reason why our skyline here is becoming more and more attractive.

I have a friend who has a Chinese wife. They wanted to come and see me, but at that time it was not convenient for them to stay at my house so I offered to book them into a hotel. The wife was not that keen at all, because as far as she was concerned, Tianjin is not as developed as where she is from, and she also thought that there was nothing much to see here and nothing much to do. I was keen to show them Tianjin and had it all planned out as to where I would take them. In the end they didn't come and it is such a shame as they have no idea what they have missed. Maybe they thought I was going to book them into a cheap hostel. Of course we have those here too, but we can rival any other city for fine hotels and the beauty of a five star hotel in Tianjin is, that whilst the price is cheaper, the facilities and service are of the same high standard as anywhere else. I would really be proud to introduce any of my friends to the hotels here. When famous people come, or high ranking government officials, they will be pleasantly surprised by their temporary home. As far as hotels are concerned, Tianjin is a first class city.