Relics of a European past in modern China

A stroll through Tianjin's Five-Avenue area is akin to an architectural take on Disney's "It's a Small World After All" ride.

Celebrated by the city's Tourism Bureau as a "World Building Expo", the 12.8-sq-km area features more than 230 Concession Era edifices from the invading foreign powers that carved up the port city like a Thanksgiving turkey after the Opium War in the 19th century.

Today, the area appears like a condensed colonial Europe inhabited by modern Chinese. One can start in what resembles England, turn the corner at what looks like France and walk straight ahead to reach a neighborhood resembling Italy.