Our route continued northeastwards across the plains. Again there were numerous watercourses and lakes, but also modern villages and new residential areas resembling small towns, local tourist developments, and more. We were approaching where the Haihe River widens, slowing down before entering the Bohai Sea. The latter is a vast semi-enclosed gulf that opens out to the Yellow Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Over time and continuing today, it has been northeastern China's gateway to world maritime trade. Indeed Tianjin itself boasts one of the world's largest container ports located exactly where the Haihe River merges with the Bohai Sea. Indeed the entire Bohai Bay has been identified as a major economic growth engine after the Yangtze Delta and the Greater Bay Area of the Pearl River in southern China.