Tianjin (Chinese: 天津, Pinyin: Tiānjīn) is a province in the north
of China. The postal administration's transliteration Tientsin is
still widely known. Its core is the city of the same name (Chinese:
天津市, Pinyin: Tiānjīn shì), which, due to the Chinese practice of
creating huge regions through regional reform, is to be regarded
here as a city under direct government control and coincides with
the 12,000 km² region.
Historically, Tianjin was the capital
of the directly imperially ruled province of Zhili (直隸, Pinyin:
Zhílì) under its own viceroy. After the unequal treaty that was
forced on China in 1860 as a result of the Second Opium War, foreign
merchants were largely kept away from the capital; they settled
here. Firstly, France and Great Britain received concessions, i.e.
i.e. extraterritorial city districts. By 1895, such districts had
been added for the Tsarist Empire, Austria-Hungary, Japan and the
German Empire. The architecture of the buildings erected at that
time still bears witness to this era today.
The population
grew from a good 4 to over 9 million between 1990 and 2010 and is
now at a good 12.5 million in 2019. About half of them live in the
city center.
Where there are information boards in the city center, the text is
also in English.
In the area of the former walled, rectangular
old city, not far from the Drum Tower and the shopping streets, are:
Old Town Museum (天津老城博物館)
Theater Museum (天津广东会馆; Not far from the
Drum Tower). Housed since opening in 1986 in the old hall of the
Guandong Merchants Guild, which was a theater for merchants from there.
In the old theater hall, mainly Canton operas were performed, with its
70m² stage there is a magnificent dome-shaped ceiling construction that
ensures excellent acoustics.
Confucian City Temple (天津文廟)
In
the "Street of Ancient Culture" (古文化街), a new tourist trap with numerous
shops
Folklore Museum (天津民俗博物館) infoedit
Museum of Chinese Shoe
Tradition (天津華夏鞋文化博物館). Here, the (bad) custom of foot binding, which
was widespread among the upper classes until 1911, is also examined.
Palace of the Queen of Heaven (天津天后宮, Tiānjīntiān hòugōng)
In
the Hépíng district (和平区) is the district of the "five great avenues"
(五大道, Pinyin: Wǔdàdào), which is located south of the main business
district. At the time of the concessions, this was the villa district of
rich merchants. It is still a preferred residential area today. Several
of the old houses, which are designed in a variety of European styles,
are listed buildings. You can relax in Munnan Park (睦南公園).
The most
striking building is the 3rd St. Joseph's Cathedral (聖若瑟主教座堂), built in
yellow and red brick by French Catholic missionaries in 1912/3. This
church was the tallest building in the city for a long time.
Here
is also the Astor Hotel (33 Tai'er Zhuang Rd.; today 152 5* rooms),
which was already one of the most luxurious in Asia when it opened in
1910 and today also houses a museum.
Near the train station, on
the area of the former Italian concession, an "Italian-style street"
has been built. There is also a Marco Polo Square and the Italian
barracks, a brick building from 1925, designed for 1000 men.
Tianjin
Radio and Television Tower (天津广播电视塔). 415 meters high. Observation
platform at 253m. The best view is on clear days at sunset.
The park
on the water was still on the outskirts of the city when it was created
after liberation. Its "West Lake" is intended to evoke echoes of the
famous one in Hangzhou. The zoo is in the southern part. To the north is
the Zhōu Ēnlái and Dèng Yǐngchāo Memorial Museum (周恩來鄧穎超紀念館) (Tue-Sun
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.). The Ilyushin Il-14 used by the Prime Minister is
also on display.
Part of the cultural center complex (天津市文化中心) are:
Tianjin Museum
(天津博物館), 62, Pingjiang Road, Hexi District. New building, which since
2012 has housed the now merged buildings of the Art Museum and the
Natural History Museum as part of the new cultural center. 31,400m² of
exhibition space. One department is dedicated to exquisite art objects
of Chinese antiquity, bronze mirrors and jade, another houses a
collection of blue and white porcelain. 2,600m² is dedicated to the
history of the city between the Opium War in 1860 and the liberation in
1949. Open: Tues.-Sun. 9 a.m.-4.30 p.m. Price: free, but tickets must be
ordered in advance.
Natural History Museum (天津自然博物館). With 380,000
pieces in its storage rooms from all phases of the earth's history, the
house is considered the most important museum of its kind in China. At
its current location since 2013.
Museum of Science and Technology
(天津科學技術館)
Gallery
Library
Chinese Theater 中華劇院, Pinyin:
Zhōnghuá jùyuàn
An artificial lake has been created across the
intersection of Youyi/Binshui Rd., which is extended into an oval by
digging up the track of the former English horse racing track.
Porcelain House (瓷房子). A colonial building was clad on the outside with
porcelain and ceramic everyday objects from 2002 to 2007. There is a
corresponding museum inside. The facade alone is worth seeing.
Dàbēi Yuàn (大悲院, Temple of Great Compassion). The western part was founded in 1699, the eastern monastery in 1940. Both were damaged in the severe earthquake in 1976. 9999 small statuettes are carved into the base of the main Buddha statue, making a total of "10,000", which in Chinese tradition is synonymous with "infinitely many". The complex was a pilgrimage destination in the post-war years, as one of the 12 fragments of the frontal bone relic of Hsüan-tsang found near Nanking in 1941 was kept here. In January 1957, the Dalai Lama brought it to India to the Nalanda memorial as a gift from the Chinese people. The temple remains on the national list of Buddhist focal temples.
On the banks of the river, not far from the Dàbēi Yuàn Temple, is the
120 m high 1 Ferris wheel (天津之眼). At peak times (summer nights,
holidays) it is quickly booked out, but you can pre-order tickets
online. The promenade is lively in the evenings. A little further along
the river is the quay for excursion boat trips.
Happy Valley
adventure park (天津歡樂谷主題公園 Tiānjīn Huānlè Gŭ), Dongli-qu. Several roller
coasters. With indoor swimming pool, non-swimmers are given a life
jacket before they are allowed into the knee-deep end of the pool. Open:
9.30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; very busy on holidays. Price: Each attraction is
paid for separately, approx. 50-80 元.
In most of Tianjin, the Ji-Lu dialect, also called Hebei-Shandong dialect (冀鲁方言/冀魯方言, pinyin: Jìlǔ Fāngyán or 冀鲁话/冀魯話, pinyin: Jìlǔhuà) is used. It is also spoken in Hebei (“Ji”, 冀) and Shandong (“Lu”, 鲁).
By plane
Most foreign visitors arrive via one of Beijing's
airports.
1 Tianjin-Binhai Airport (天津濱海國際機場, IATA: TSN; Metro
2: 濱海國際機場站). 2 terminals. Mainly domestic Chinese flights, but there are
many. International connections (some only seasonal) to Korea, Ulan
Bator and a few Japanese locations with low-cost airlines. Feature:
WiFi.
By train
2 Tiānjīn Zhàn (天津站, main or eastern train
station; bus stations in front of the square. Metro lines 2, 3 and 9).
Complete reconstruction by 2018 after the opening of the high-speed
lines. Around 70 trains run daily on the high-speed rail line to Beijing
South, with one departure every five minutes during peak times. Trains
to Manchuria run from here to Shenyang North Station. 3 Tiānjīnxī (天津西,
West Railway Station; Metro: 1, 6 (4 under construction). Complete
reconstruction for the opening of the high-speed lines between Beijing
and Shanghai. The old normal railway line remains in operation, but the
cheaper service has been thinned out. Another route goes to Baoding (158
km). A direct high-speed connection goes to Beijing Daxing Airport.
4
Tiānjīn Běi (天津北, North Railway Station; Metro 3: Beizhan 北站站). Trains
to Shanhaiguan (303 km), the end of the Great Wall of China by the sea,
via Qinhuangdao. Regional trains to Jizhou District (薊州區, approx. 120
km).
A 5 railway booking office is in the old town.
By ship
From Incheon in Korea, Jinchon Ferry usually runs 2-3 times per week.
The one-way ticket from there costs 115,000 ￦ in a dormitory in 2020,
and 130,000 ￦ in a 4- or 6-bed cabin. Arrival is at the Tianjin
Passenger Port Terminal (天津港客運站) (Tel. 022-25708344), where tickets to
Korea are also available.
The metro has been massively expanded since 2010. Lines 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9 were in operation by 2018. There are 159 stations.
The food in Tianjin is hardly different from the rest of northern
China, except that people eat more fish and lamb.
Mahua (麻花),
dough braids fried in peanut oil, are considered a traditional dessert.
The nationally known manufacturer Guìfāxiáng from 18th Street 桂發祥十八街麻花,
Pinyin: Guìfāxiáng shíbājiē máhuā, founded in 1927, also has a company
museum. There are five branches in the city center.
Restaurant
Kiessling (起士林饭店), 33 Zhejian Lu 浙江路33号 .
Gǒubùlǐ (狗不理, Pinyin:
Gǒubùlǐ, Go believe, roughly: "Dogs don't eat it") is a restaurant chain
that traces its origins back to a restaurant opened in Tianjin in 1858.
Its main specialty is the steamed dumplings of the same name (狗不理包子).
There are several branches in the city center.
In the central block
of Nanshi Cuisine Street (南市食品街=), around 100 restaurants and food
retailers are crowded into four hectares.
Dongfeng donkey meat (東方驢肉
Dōngfāng lǘròu), Pingjiang Sth Rd, Hexi-qu (about 300 m from the Tianjin
Museum). The name says it all.
If you then need a real wheat beer,
the Bavaria Beer Bar (巴伐利亞啤酒坊, 41 Ziyou Rd., in the Italian Quarter) is
the place for you.
Near the train station
Shuanghe Hotel (雙和旅館), 49 Jianguo Rd.
Holiday Inn Express Tianjin City Center, 288, Zhongshan Rd., Hebei-qu
(29 floors, hard to miss). Tel.: +862226288888. Price: upscale.
Consulates
The consular contacts for visitors who get into
difficulties are all in the Beijing embassy district. For Germans, the
emergency number is +86-(0)10-8532-9000 during office hours, outside of
office hours …9202. Italians and French should note that their
"consulates" in Tianjin are the preserved buildings from the colonial
era, which no longer house any offices.
The history of the town from a fishing village to a modern trading
metropolis goes back many centuries and is closely linked to the history
of Beijing. From the 11th to the 14th century, Tianjin was a small
seaport that was of great importance to the imperial court as a grain
store. Later, when originally independent empires in southern China were
subjugated, the city was a transit port for tributes and deliveries from
those empires to the capital. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Imperial
Canal leading through Tianjin was finally completed in the 13th century
and extended to Dadu (Beijing).
The city was given the name
Tianjin by Emperor Zhudi during the early years of the Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644). At that time, it gained its preeminence as a port for
Beijing and a heavily fortified garrison town. Later, under the Qing
Dynasty (1644–1911), it became a flourishing trading center (especially
for sea salt).
In the 19th century, the maritime powers from the West became aware
of the city. Following China's defeat in the First Opium War, Great
Britain forced the opening of five southern Chinese port cities to its
trade through the Treaty of Nanking in 1842 (see Unequal Treaties).
Under the pretext that Chinese officials had seized the Lorcha Arrow,
which was sailing under the British flag, on October 8, 1856, the United
Kingdom declared war on China again. In this so-called Second Opium War,
also known as the "Arrow War", which France joined on the British side
for similar trade-related reasons, European gunboats and warfare proved
to be superior. With the Treaty of Tianjin signed on June 27, 1858, the
victorious Europeans were given the right to establish further
concessions on the Chinese mainland. In return, the British were to
withdraw from Tianjin (historical transliteration Tientsin) and evacuate
the fortress of Dagu, 60 kilometers southeast of the city. China
subsequently refused to implement the treaty. The British then opened
the second phase of the Second Opium War in June 1859 with a renewed
attack on Dagukou. It was only after the campaign in 1860, during which
an invasion army led by Lord Elgin reduced the Old Summer Palace in
Beijing to rubble, that Prince Gong, representing Emperor Xianfeng, who
had fled to Manchuria, confirmed the terms of the treaty. In the
so-called Peking Convention of October 18, 1860, they were supplemented
by further points, in particular the opening of the port of Tianjin
itself, further reparations and the cession of territory to Great
Britain and Russia.
On this basis, Great Britain and France (as
they had done in Shanghai in the 1840s) initially established two
concession areas in Tianjin, southeast of the walled city, from which
northern China could be opened up for international trade. Due to the
growing importance of the city as an important trade and communications
center (as the "Shanghai of the North") not far from Beijing, other
colonial powers (Russia, Japan, the German Empire, Austria-Hungary,
Belgium and Italy) followed by 1895/1900, who in turn negotiated
follow-up treaties (see Unequal Treaties) through diplomatic and
military pressure and established separate concessions along the Hai He.
These foreign enclaves - built in the respective national architectural
style - had their own infrastructure and administration. The First World
War gave the young Republic of China the opportunity to occupy and
regain at least the Austro-Hungarian and German concession zones in 1917
- just as the Russian Civil War enabled the recovery of the Russian
concession (also recognized by the Soviet Union in 1924). During the
Great Depression, Belgium voluntarily returned its concession in 1931
for cost reasons. The remaining concessions continued to exist de jure
until 1943, but were de facto occupied by Japan from 1937.
The
concessions shaped the development of Tianjin into a modern city, but
also symbolized the quasi-colonial penetration of China. One of the main
streets that ran through these European districts (today's "Jiefang
Beilu", 解放北路 - "literally Liberation Road North") had sections named to
represent the respective rulers: "Rue de la France", "Victoria Road" and
"Wilhelmstraße" (or after 1919 "Woodrow Wilson Road"). In 1900, Tianjin
was the scene of fierce fighting as part of the Boxer Rebellion, and as
a result the geopolitical importance of the city grew with increased
foreign garrisons.
As part of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing,
parts of the former Italian concession areas were revitalized as tourist
attractions. A similar project for the Austrian concession area is in
preparation.
Tensions between the local population and the privileged foreigners
erupt in the events in Tianjin on June 21, 1870, the so-called Tianjin
Massacre (天津教案, Tiānjīn jiào'àn, historical spelling Tientsin Massacre),
when an angry Chinese crowd attacked the French orphanage of
Notre-Dame-des-Victoires (望海楼教堂 - "Wanghailou Church"). The reason was
rumors about Chinese orphans being bought or kidnapped there and even
cases of cannibalism by the European nuns. Despite efforts by Chinese
officials to calm the people, the situation escalated, resulting in the
deaths of the French consul, nuns, priests, other foreigners and Chinese
Christians. It is estimated that there were around 60 victims in total.
Twenty Chinese were then beheaded and the prefect was banished from the
city.
Although, or perhaps precisely because, Tianjin
(historically Tientsin) was in fact a protectorate of the European
foreign powers, the city rose to become the second largest trade and
communications center in China after Shanghai.
As the center of
secret resistance against the Europeans, the city was the scene of
bitter fighting in the summer of 1900 as part of the Boxer Rebellion.
From here, the expeditionary corps (a total of 2066 soldiers) formed by
soldiers from eight nations set out on June 10, 1900 to relieve the
legation quarter in Beijing, which was besieged by insurgents and
regular imperial Chinese troops, but did not make it through and even
found itself on the defensive in Tianjin. With the landing of larger
foreign troop contingents (mainly British-Indian, Russian, Japanese and
US units) and their arrival in Tianjin on July 14, 1900, the connection
to the coast was restored. The now significantly strengthened
multinational army (approx. 20,000 soldiers) deployed in the concessions
and reached Beijing on August 13, 1900, and was able to free the trapped
foreigners. Large parts of the old town, including Tianjin's city walls,
were destroyed during the fighting, but were soon rebuilt in European
style. Finally, the foreigners had the walls and the old Chinatown
demolished in order to keep a better eye on the residents.
A
prominent resident in Tianjin at the time of the Boxer War was Herbert
Hoover, the later (31st) President of the USA, who was working as a
mining engineer in China at the time. After he and his family had
survived the weeks of bombardment of the foreign concessions by the
"Boxers", he was able to be of use to the advancing US Marines as a
local expert. For Hoover, Tianjin was a "universal city - like a world
in miniature with all its nationalities, its architectural styles and
its cuisines".
As a result of the Boxer Rebellion and its
suppression, the geopolitical importance of the city grew due to the
increased foreign garrisons.
From 1900 to 1909, the city was
administered by an international commission in which the powers that had
branches in Tianjin were represented: Russia, Great Britain, France,
Belgium, Japan, Italy, Austria-Hungary and the German Empire.
In
1906, the first tram was put into operation in Tianjin.
After
being expelled from the Forbidden City and placed himself in the care of
the Japanese embassy, Aisin Gioro Pu Yi, the last emperor of the Qing
Dynasty, moved to Tianjin on February 23, 1925. He lived in a stately
villa in the Japanese concession until 1932 and took an active part in
the social life of the cosmopolitan port city.
In 1927, Tianjin
was granted the status of an independent city at the provincial level
(直辖市 - "city directly under the government").
With the start of
the Second Sino-Japanese War as a result of the so-called Marco Polo
Bridge Incident (Lugouqiao) on July 7, 1937 near Beijing (then Peiping),
Japanese troops, who had already occupied Manchuria in 1931 and already
controlled large parts of northern China (see Manchurian Crisis),
advanced southwards over the Great Wall at Shanhaiguan. On July 29,
1937, Tianjin - in particular Nankai University, which was adjacent to
the Japanese concession and was an active centre of "anti-Japanese
agitation" among the nationally conscious Chinese student body - was
bombed by Japanese aircraft. The few, poorly led Chinese units could
hardly offer any resistance against the superior strength of the
Japanese army, so that the city was taken the next day almost without a
fight and remained under Japanese occupation until the end of the war.
The sovereign rights of the other colonial powers with whom Japan was
not (yet) at war were initially respected, so that the foreign
concessions continued to exist. However, with the Japanese blockade of
the British concession in the summer of 1939, it soon became clear that
these could not be maintained militarily. Even before Japan entered the
war against the USA and Great Britain, their garrisons withdrew from
Tianjin in 1940.
The expansion of the Tianjin-Xingang seaport
took place during this period.
The Japanese occupation lasted
until August 15, 1945, when US forces marched into the city after
Japan's surrender and the end of World War II. In December 1946, the
rape of Chinese women in Tianjin by American soldiers sparked protests
in the city, which culminated in a large demonstration on January 1,
1947. The US troops then withdrew from Tianjin in June 1947.
Communist troops captured Tianjin on January 15, 1949 after a 29-hour
battle with Kuomintang troops during the civil war. After the communist
takeover, Tianjin initially remained an independent city district at the
provincial level in China. In 1958, Tianjin became the capital of Hebei
Province and was granted the status of a city directly under the
government in 1967.
According to official figures, 23,938 people
died in Tianjin as a result of the Tangshan earthquake in 1976, and the
city suffered severe destruction. Tianjin's economy has shown high,
stable growth since the implementation of the economic reforms decided
by the Chinese government in 1978, which has led to rapidly increasing
prosperity for large parts of the population.
The biggest
problems the city is facing today due to the failure of modern urban
planning policies are the increasing immigration, air pollution caused
by outdated factories and the excessive traffic, which contributes to
the poor air quality and brings the city to the brink of a traffic
collapse. But many social problems that were thought to have been
eliminated forever by the communists after 1949 are also experiencing a
renaissance. Unemployment, drug abuse and prostitution are showing
strong growth.
On August 12, 2015, serious explosions occurred in
a warehouse for hazardous goods at the port in Tianjin (in Binhai). 173
people died and 797 were injured.
While the population of Tianjin has doubled since the 1950s, it has
remained relatively constant since the early 1990s - also due to the
introduction of the one-child policy. 3.8 million people live in the
core city (high building density and closed urban form) with their main
residence (2007). The population density is 22,379 inhabitants per
square kilometer.
The entire administrative area of the city
directly under the government has 10.5 million inhabitants (2007). Of
these, 9.5 million are registered residents with permanent residence
(户口, hùkǒu) and 1.0 million are temporary residents (流动人口, liúdòng
rénkǒu) with a temporary residence permit (暂住证, zànzhùzhèng). The
population density is 879 inhabitants per square kilometer. The
urbanization rate for the entire administrative area of Tianjin is
given as 72 percent.
Anyone who wants to stay in the city for
longer than three days must report to the public security office and
will be registered there. The applicant then receives a temporary
residence permit for three months, which must be extended after the
expiry of the period. A certificate from the place of residence must be
presented to the office, confirming that the person is registered there.
Of the 9,848,731 inhabitants of Tianjin, as determined in the 2000
census, 97.29% were Han Chinese, 1.75% Muslim Hui Chinese, 0.57% Manchu,
0.12% Mongolian and 0.11% Korean. Of the 56 officially recognized
nationalities in China, only four are not represented among the
inhabitants of Tianjin.
The following overview shows the
population figures of the core city (excluding the suburban belt). The
registered residents with their main residence in Tianjin are listed.
The supply of housing remains precarious, although according to
official figures from the city government, the living space per capita
has tripled since 1957. The communist city government was by no means
inactive; since the early 1950s, housing and living conditions in the
city districts with inadequate standards have been improved and many new
residential areas have been built. In China, it is expected that up to
350 million more rural residents will flock to the urban conurbations in
the coming decades.
For several years, there has been a trend to
build large-scale new housing developments in conjunction with landscape
parks, golf courses and artificial lakeshore areas. These buildings are
usually above normal standards, are designed for a well-earning middle
class and are hardly affordable for the average earner. One special
project is the construction of an ecologically sustainable large-scale
housing development. Around 24 kilometers south of the city center, an
attempt is being made to counteract the monotony of a dormitory town
with a series of high-rise buildings around a 7-kilometer-long and
3-kilometer-wide artificial lake. The area of several square
kilometers east of the suburb of Jinghai is to be powered by around a
third of renewable energy, otherwise it will have an infrastructure
suitable for everyday use and workplaces close to the settlement. The
Chinese government has declared the project a reference project for
future urbanization. The first apartments will be ready for occupancy at
the beginning of 2013, and everything should be finished by 2020.
The living situation of the approximately one million residents with
limited residence permits is significantly worse than that of residents
with their main residence. Numerous migrants, mostly former farmers from
rural areas of China, live on construction sites, in simple company
dormitories, or they rent a room from farmers on the outskirts of the
city. A large proportion of the temporary residents live on the
outskirts of the city because there is more space there for self-built
huts.
The city is located in the north of the country, southeast of
Beijing, five meters above sea level, at the confluence of the Hai He
and the Grand Canal. It borders the city of Beijing, which is directly
under the government, and the province of Hebei.
The
administrative urban area has an area of 11,943 square kilometers.
This corresponds roughly to the area of Upper Austria and is slightly
smaller than Schleswig-Holstein. Of this, 167.8 km² (1.4%) belong to the
core city (high building density and closed town form) and 11,775.2 km²
(98.6%) to suburbs and areas with a rural settlement structure.
It is 120 kilometers from the city center of Tianjin to Beijing. Bohai
Bay is located 50 kilometers east of Tianjin. The Hai He River flows
through the city to Bohai Bay.
The entire administrative area of
the directly governed city of Tianjin has a north-south extension of
186 kilometers and an east-west extension of 101 kilometers. The largest
cities are: Tianjin 3,755,249 inhabitants, Tanggu 564,498 inhabitants,
Hangu 227,358 inhabitants, Gangdong 141,741 inhabitants, Yangliuqing
77,768 inhabitants, Xianshuigu 75,366 inhabitants and Yangcun 64,908
inhabitants. (As of January 1, 2007)
The North China Plain (Great Plain), in which Tianjin is located, is
geologically a slump field that was later filled by the delta formations
of the North China rivers. It consists of alluvial loess and sands that
were brought in by the rivers from the western mountainous countries.
The plain is therefore a continuation of the loess land.
In terms
of climate – hot, humid summers and dry, cold winters with dust storms –
and in terms of plant geography – parkland with steppe-like features –
it is similar to the neighboring loess mountains. The North China Plain
is a huge alluvial fan that the Huang He, the most muddy river on earth,
has piled up over the course of many millennia and whose branches reach
the Yellow Sea north and south of the Shandong Peninsula. The area is
exposed to strong tectonic tensions that repeatedly lead to earthquakes.
The cause is the slow shift of the Indian continental plate northwards
into the Eurasian continental plate. The speed of plate tectonics is on
average about four centimeters per year.
On July 28, 1976, the
most severe earthquake of the 20th century occurred in Tangshan, 120
kilometers east of Tianjin (see Tangshan earthquake of 1976). It had a
magnitude of 8.2 on the Richter scale. The official figure given by the
government of the People's Republic of China for the number of deaths is
242,419, but some estimates put the number at up to 800,000, including
25,000 in Tianjin, and the magnitude is also officially given as only
7.8. The quake caused severe damage in Tianjin and other cities in the
region.
The administrative area of the city is divided into 15 urban
districts and one "new" urban district.
The core city is divided
into six urban districts (as of the 2020 census):
Heping (和平区, Hépíng
Qū), 10 km², 355,000 inhabitants;
Hexi (河西区 Héxī Qū), 39 km², 822,174
inhabitants;
Hebei (河北区, Héběi Qū), 30 km², 647,702 inhabitants;
Nankai (南开区, Nánkāi Qū), 41 km², 890,422 inhabitants;
Hedong (河东区,
Hédōng Qū), 42 km², 858,787 inhabitants;
Hongqiao (红桥区, Hóngqiáo Qū),
23 km², 483,130 inhabitants.
Four other districts are located in
the immediate vicinity of the core city (as of the 2020 census):
Jinnan (津南区, Jīnnán Qū), 386 km², 928,066 inhabitants;
Dongli (东丽区,
Dōnglì Qū), 469 km², 857,027 inhabitants;
Xiqing (西青区, Xīqīng Qū),
563 km², 1,195,124 inhabitants;
Beichen (北辰区, Běichén Qū), 474 km²,
909,643 inhabitants.
Five urban districts and the new Binhai
urban district are located in the rural areas outside the core city (as
of the 2020 census):
Binhai (滨海新区, Bīnhaǐ Xīnqū), 2,610 km²,
2,067,318 inhabitants;
Baodi (宝坻区, Bǎodǐ Qū), 1,510 km², 722,367
inhabitants - district until 2001
Wuqing (武清区, Wǔqīng Qū), 1,574 km²,
1,151,313 inhabitants - district until 2000
Jizhou (蓟州区, Jìzhōu Qū),
1,590 km², 795,516 inhabitants - Ji County until 2016
Jinghai (静海区,
Jìnghǎi Qū), 1,441 km², 787,106 inhabitants - district until 2015
Ninghe (宁河区, Nínghé Qū), 1,154 km², 395,314 inhabitants - district until
2015
Although Tianjin is only about 50 kilometers from the coast, its
location in the westerly wind belt means it has a temperate continental
climate, meaning warm, humid summers and cold, dry winters. The annual
rainfall averages 560.2 millimeters, of which about 61 percent falls in
the months of July and August.
The annual average temperature is
13.0 °C. The warmest month is July with an average daily high of 30.7 °C
and an average nighttime low of 22.7 °C. The coldest month in the area
around Tianjin is January with an average daily high of 1.6 °C and an
average nighttime low of −7.7 °C.
Winter temperatures can drop to
-20 degrees Celsius, with an icy wind blowing from the plains of Inner
Mongolia. Summer (June to August) is humid and hot, with temperatures
reaching 35 degrees Celsius, and the short spring (April and May) is dry
but windy. Autumn (September and October) is dry and mild.
When
the wind comes from the north, winter can be very cold, and spring is a
frequent source of sandstorms. The highest temperature ever officially
recorded was 39.7 °C on July 4, 1972, and the lowest was -22.9 °C on
February 22, 1966.
Tianjin is home to numerous theaters, opera houses and concert halls.
The People's Art Theater was opened in 1951 and shows contemporary and
classical pieces. The Opera and Dance Drama Theater opened in 1959 and
has classical opera and dance performances in its repertoire. The
Tianjin Peking Opera Theater was opened in 1995 and mainly shows
classical Peking operas.
Peking operas are also performed in the
Guangdong Guild Hall, a theater with space for 700 to 800 people. The
house was built at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) mainly
from wood. Each of the three main supports of the theater was made from
a tree at least 40 to 50 meters long. The stage is open on three sides,
which means that the spectators sitting on the side rows also have an
excellent view. Other theaters in Tianjin are the Grand Opera Theater,
the Song and Dance Theater and the State Puppet Theater.
The Art Museum, a grand old building, houses a collection of
paintings, dragons, Chinese New Year prints and clay figures (niren),
which became a popular craft in the 19th century. One of its most
notable exponents was the cartoonist Zhang, who recreated opera stars
and other celebrities, some of which are on display in the museum.
The new Science and Technology Museum has a variety of exhibits that
illustrate scientific findings. There are also exhibitions on
acupuncture and physiology, and models of the Chinese "Long March
rockets." In the part of the museum devoted to gravity, visitors can
learn about ball bearings, and the optics department displays distorted
images of Mao and Marx for demonstration purposes. Further up the
building is a 360-degree projection room where you can watch a film
about astronomy.
Southwest of the center, the huge Zhou Enlai
Memorial pays tribute to the city's most famous son. On the northern
edge of Shuishang Park is the bunker, whose interior houses wax figures,
Zhou Enlai's airplane and limousine, as well as a few details in English
about his achievements. The memorial to Zhou Enlai, who went to school
here between 1913 and 1917, was established in 1978.
In Tianjin, the streets with their buildings from the 19th and early
20th centuries are particularly interesting, mostly in European style
and side by side with the concrete and glass buildings of today's
wealthy China. The old town was once strictly divided according to
national affiliation and each part has retained a bit of its character.
Northwest of the main train station, on the west side of the Hai He, was
the old Chinatown.
To the east, on the north bank of the river,
were the Austrian, Italian, Russian and Belgian concessions, most of
whose old buildings were destroyed. The chateaux of the French
concession, which today make up the inner city area south of the river,
and the British mansions to the east of them are unmistakable. Even
further east, also on the south side of the river, there are examples of
austere German architecture in an otherwise rather unremarkable
district.
One of the most important sights is the Temple of Great
Compassion (Da Bei Yuan), the oldest part of which was built in 1669
under Emperor Kangxi. The complex, which was expanded in 1940, was
rebuilt according to old plans after the 1976 earthquake. Small antique
Buddhist statuettes made of wood and bronze are on display in a room in
the west of the complex.
On the north bank of the river stands
the Cathedral of Notre Dame des Victoires ("Wanghailou Church"). It was
built in 1904 and is already the third on this site - the first building
was destroyed a year after it was built in the massacre of 1870, the
second burned down in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. The unadorned
cathedral with its dark stones and the strict formality of its lines is
in stark contrast to the Catholic Church further south.
The
Palace of the Goddess of Heaven (Tianhou Gong), located directly at the
confluence of the Hai He and the Imperial Canal, was founded in 1326
during the Yuan Dynasty and expanded under subsequent dynasties. It is
the oldest building in Tianjin. In the side rooms there is an exhibition
of local handicrafts. The temple festival, which is of national
importance, is celebrated in the courtyard of the complex.
The
largest intact temple in Tianjin is the Wen Miao, built in 1436. Away
from Dafeng Street there is a mosque. This exquisite example of Chinese
Muslim architecture impresses with its floral wood carvings on the roof
eaves and windows.
The Tianjin Radio and Television Tower,
currently the sixth tallest television tower in the world, is located in
Tianjin.
The 597-meter-high and unfinished Goldin Finance 117
skyscraper is the tallest building ruin in the world in Tianjin.
The Tianjin Eye, a Ferris wheel in the city center, and the Binhai
Library in the Binhai urban development area are modern landmarks of the
city. The Ferris wheel, which opened in 2008, is one of the largest in
the world with a diameter of 110 meters and is equipped with 48 capsules
for 8 visitors each. A special feature is the construction on a bridge
that is used by traffic. The Tianjin Binhai Library, designed by the
Dutch architectural firm MVRDV, stands out above all because of its
futuristic-looking main hall. It has now established itself as a popular
photo object on social media.
South of the center, on Longcheng Street, is the Leyuan amusement
park with the Science and Technology Museum, a go-kart track, carousels,
a Ferris wheel and mechanical figures that nod to visitors at the
entrance.
From there, there is a bus connection to Zhongxin Park,
which is actually just a better roundabout. The park is located on the
northern edge of a large shopping district. Southwest of the center is
Shuishang Park with the Zhou Enlai Memorial and the statue of Nie
Zhongjie, a general on horseback.
For the residents of Tianjin, traditional Chinese festivals are of
great importance. It should be noted that the dates of the Chinese
festivals are calculated according to the Chinese lunar calendar and
therefore move in the Gregorian calendar. One of the most important
festivals is the Chinese New Year, which falls in January or February.
Two weeks later there is the Lantern Festival (also known as Chinese
Valentine's Day).
Other important events include the Tin Hau
Festival at the end of March, the Qingming Festival (Festival of the
Dead) at the beginning of April, the Festival of the Bun Hills (Cheng
Chau) and the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the 8th lunar
month. In ancient times, emperors sacrificed to the sun in spring and to
the moon in autumn. The Mid-Autumn Festival became one of China's most
important festivals during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Ming Dynasty
and the Qing Dynasty (1368-1911).
Culinary specialties
One of
the region's culinary specialties is "Chinese fondue". Raw meat or
vegetables are cooked in hot chicken broth. The dish is then served with
various seasoned sauces. Another specialty is Shuijiao. These are
dumplings filled with pork, chives and onions.
Another well-known
dish is the Mongolian hot pot, in which mutton cut into strips, cabbage
and noodles are dipped into a pot of boiling broth, usually kept at the
right temperature from below. The rest is sometimes drunk as soup at the
end.
A Goubuli restaurant is also worth a visit. Goubuli baozi
(steamed filled dumplings) are praised as the best in the city and
perhaps beyond. Legend has it that the founder's baozi were so good that
he was always too busy making new ones. When friends came and spoke to
him, he didn't always respond immediately. Hence the name "Gǒubùlǐ"
(狗不理), which literally means "ignoring even a dog", i.e. "not responding
to anyone". What began as a street food stall over 150 years ago has
long since become Tianjin's largest food brand.
The Quanye department store, a nine-story turquoise building on
Binjiang Dao, corner of Heping Street, offers a wide range of goods and
attracts more than 200,000 customers every day. The upper floors house
several fast food restaurants and video game facilities. The huge street
market, which runs the entire length of Binjiang Dao up to the
cathedral, offers a large selection of inexpensive clothing.
Immediately west of there is the antiques market, with its center in
Shenyang Dao and offshoots in the side streets. The variety of goods is
exceptionally large: in addition to the usual items such as jade
jewelry, ceramic teapots, fans and perfume bottles, Russian army
watches, opium pipes, snuff boxes, artistic playing cards, old
photographs, pornographic paintings and sunglasses are on offer.
In 2012, Tianjin had more shopping centers in various stages of
completion, with 2.45 million square meters, than anywhere else in the
world.
Huang Xingguo was mayor of Tianjin from 2007 to 2016 and also acting
party secretary of the Communist Party of China. On September 10, 2016,
he was relieved of both positions due to allegations of corruption. Li
Hongzhong has been party secretary since September 13. On September 14,
2016, Wang Dongfeng was appointed acting mayor.
The city
government is responsible for the governments of 15 city districts and
three counties. The city districts are in turn divided into street
districts, and in some cases also into municipalities and large
municipalities. The counties, on the other hand, are made up of
municipalities and large municipalities; only in Ji County, which has
developed a small urban center, is there a street district. At the
bottom of Tianjin's administrative pyramid are the so-called resident
communities (社区) in the urban areas, which are administered by the
resident committees (居民委员会, jūmín wěiyuánhùi), and in the rural regions
the villages (村), which are administered by village committees (村民委员会,
cūnmín wěiyuánhùi).
The city's economy is based on the production of chemical products,
electronic devices, steel and textiles, among other things. Vehicle and
mechanical engineering as well as the processing of petroleum are also
important. Tianjin is the seat of numerous foreign trading branches.
The city's port at the mouth of the Hai He is one of the largest
foreign trade ports in the People's Republic of China. It is operated by
the Tianjin Port Company. Since 1984, the special economic zone TEDA
(Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area), which is open to
foreign investors, has been under construction near Tianjin.
The
city is home to the Tianjin National Supercomputer Center (国家超级计算天津中心),
which twice produced the world's most powerful supercomputer, Tianhe-1A
(2010) and Tianhe-2 (2013).
According to a study from 2014,
Tianjin generated a gross domestic product of 371.9 billion US dollars
(GDP). In the ranking of the world's strongest metropolitan regions, it
was ranked 20th and fourth in China. The GDP per capita was 24,224 US
dollars, which makes Tianjin one of the wealthiest regions in the
People's Republic. From 2000 to 2014, the GDP per capita grew by double
digits on average every year and by 3.3 percent in 2014. In 2014, there
were 5.7 million jobs in the city. In 2006, industry employed around 41
percent of Tianjin's workforce and generated half of the GDP. Industrial
production in 2000 was slightly higher than that of Guangzhou or
Shenzhen. Around two thirds are generated by heavy industry, with large
companies dominating, but the trend is declining.
In 2000, the
service sector generated around 45 percent of GDP and employed around 40
percent of all employees, with the most important sectors being traffic,
transport, storage and telecommunications. Tourism plays a rather minor
role.
Around 20 percent of the inhabitants of the area
administered by Tianjin are employed in agriculture, even though this
contributes less than five percent to GDP. Grain and vegetables are
grown on more than five million hectares, and pigs (1.6 million), goats,
sheep and cattle are also kept. Of the 250,000 tons of fish caught in
Tianjin, most come from fish farms.
Tianjin's economy is
experiencing stable, high growth, the population's standard of living is
growing rapidly, with household consumption spending increasing annually
at constant prices. There are now hardly any market segments in the city
that could easily be liberalized in order to generate rapid and, above
all, large and sustainable economic growth. There are also a number of
economic problems that require painful cuts to solve. These include
state-owned companies that have not been privatized and some of which
are making large losses.
The state banks are constantly providing
these state-owned companies with new loans to keep them alive. As a
result, the dominant state-owned banks have accumulated large sums of
bad loans, making the banking system illiquid. If bank customers
suddenly demand all of their deposits back, the claims cannot be
serviced. However, reform of the state sector is being approached very
hesitantly, as there are fears that the closure of unprofitable
state-owned companies would lead to a sharp rise in unemployment in the
city.
Many European companies such as Airbus, Vitesco
Technologies and GEZE have production plants in Tianjin.
Tianjin is an important transport hub where railway lines and
motorways intersect. The city was connected to Beijing and Shanghai very
early on by the Chinese state railway Tientsin-Pukow. In total, the
territory has almost 9,000 kilometers of roads, of which 300 kilometers
are motorways, 530 kilometers of railways and 440 kilometers of
navigable waterways. On the motorway, the journey time from Tianjin to
Beijing is just under an hour.
Tianjin Airport is 15 kilometers
east of the city and is regularly served by shuttle buses that stop in
front of the Air China offices or go to Beijing. Taxis can be taken from
the airport to central Tianjin or to Beijing.
Tianjin Railway
Station is conveniently located just north of Hai He, with the city
center a few kilometers further south. The other two city railway
stations are the North Station, where trains arrive from the northeast
of the country, and the West Station on the Beijing-Tianjin high-speed
line and to southern destinations.
Tianjin's port operations have
been relocated to the city of Tanggu, 50 kilometers away. Ferries depart
from there to Kobe in Japan and Incheon in South Korea. Domestic ferries
travel to Dalian and Yantai. Minibuses run regularly to Tanggu from
Tianjin's main train station, and state buses depart from the South
Station. Tanggu can also be reached from the main train station daily,
which takes just under an hour.
The first section of the Tianjin
subway was opened in 1976. In 2013, a network of 139.1 kilometers with
five lines and 95 stations was in operation. A large part of the public
transport is handled by diesel-powered buses. The city's bus network is
confusing and completely overloaded. There were trams between February
16, 1906 and 1972. Trolleybuses operated between July 1, 1951 and April
1997. On December 6, 2006, the Translohr Line 1, a so-called tramway sur
pneumatiques ("tram on rubber wheels") of the Lohr Industrie company,
began operations in Tianjin. The route runs north-south through the west
of the TEDA special economic zone. It is 7.86 kilometers long with 14
stops.
Tianjin has numerous universities, colleges, technical colleges,
research institutes and libraries. The city's most important educational
institutions include Tianjin University (天津大学, Tiānjīn Dàxué) - founded
in 1895, Nankai University (南开大学, Nánkāi Dàxué) - founded in 1919 - and
the Tianjin University of Technology (天津理工大学, Tiānjīn Lǐgōng Dàxué) –
founded in 1960.
Other universities in Tianjin include the Civil
Aviation University of China (中国民用航空学院, Zhōngguó Rényòng Hángkōng
Xuéyuàn), the Tianjin Foreign Language University Tianjin University of
Education Tianjin University of Commerce China (天津商学院, Tiānjīn
Shāngxuéyuàn), the Tianjin University of Finance & Economics (天津财经大学,
Tiānjīn Cáijīng Dàxué), the Tianjin University of Science & Technology
(天津科技大学, Tiānjīn Kējì Dàxué), the Tianjin University of Technology and
Education (天津职业技术师范学院, Tiānjīn Zhīyè Jìshu Shīfàn Xuéyuàn) and the
Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (天津中医学院, Tiānjīn
Zhōngyī). Xuéyuan).
Other important educational institutions in
the city are the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts (天津美术学院, Tiānjīn Mĕishù
Xuéyuàn), the Tianjin Agricultural College (天津农学院, Tiānjīn Nóngxuéyuàn),
the Tianjin Conservatory of Music (天津音乐学院, Tiānjīn Yīnyuè Xuéyuàn), the
Tianjin Institute of Physical Education (天津体育学院, Tiānjīn Tĭyù Xuéyuàn)
and the Tianjin Urban Construction Institute (天津城市建设学院, Tiānjīn Chéngshì
Jiànshè Xuéyuàn).
In 1995, the city of Tianjin hosted the 43rd Table Tennis World
Championships. Players from 104 nations took part in the Tianjin
Gymnasium.
In 2007, Tianjin was one of the host cities for the
Women's World Cup. In addition to two preliminary round matches, two
quarter-finals and one semi-final match were held in the Tianjin Olympic
Centre Stadium.
According to the ranking of the British journal Nature as of 2022,
Tianjin ranked 20th among scientific research centers in the world.
The leading scientific research institutions in Tianjin are Tianjin
University, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Nankai
University (including the Institute of Artificial Intelligence), Tianjin
Polytechnic University (Tiangong University), Tianjin University of
Technology, Chemical Science and Engineering Collaborative Innovation
Center, Tianjin Medical University, Cancer Institute of Tianjin Medical
University, Institute of Hematology / Hospital of Blood Diseases of
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, General Hospital of Tianjin Medical
University.
Tianjin is also home to Hebei University of
Technology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin First and Second
Hospitals, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin
First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese
Medicine, Tianjin Eye Hospital, Institute of Industrial Biotechnology of
the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the National Supercomputing Center.
Perennial Holdings General Hospital of Singapore
The city has several football teams representing the Super League
(Tianjin Teda) and the first league (Tianjin Songjiang).
There is
also a basketball team playing in the Northern Division of the Chinese
Basketball Association (Tianjin Ronggang).
Among the largest
sports complexes is the Tianjin Arena.