About the City-Tianjin
About Tianjin
Geography
Tianjin is located in northern China along the west coast of the Bohai Gulf, looking out to Shandong and Liaoning across those waters, bordered by Beijing 120 kilometres (75 mi) to the northwest, and except for the east, is surrounded on all sides by Hebei. With a latitude ranging from 38° 34' to 40° 15' N, and longitude ranging from 116° 43' to 118° 04' E, the total area is 11,860.63 km2 (4,579.41 sq mi). There is 153 km (95 mi) of coastline and 1,137.48 km (706.80 mi) of land border. It lies at the northern end of the Grand Canal of China, which connects with the Yellow River and Yangtze River. The municipality is generally flat, and swampy near the coast, but hilly in the far north, where the Yan Mountains intrude into northern Tianjin. The highest point in the municipality is Jiuding Peak (九顶山) in Ji County on the northern border with Hebei, at an altitude of 1,078.5 m (3,538 ft).
The Hai River forms within Tianjin Municipality at the confluence of the Ziya River (子牙河), Daqing River (大清河), Yongding River, North Grand Canal, and South Grand Canal, and enters the Pacific Ocean within the municipality as well, in Tanggu District. Major reservoirs include the Beidagang Reservoir in the extreme south (in Dagang District) and the Yuqiao Reservoir in the extreme north in Ji County.
Climate
Tianjin features a four season, monsoon-influenced climate, typical of East Asia, with cold, windy, very dry winters reflecting the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone, and hot, humid summers, due to the monsoon. Spring in the city is dry and windy, occasionally seeing sandstorms blowing in from the Gobi Desert, capable of lasting for several days. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from ?3.5 °C (25.7 °F) in January to 26.6 °C (79.9 °F) in July, with an annual mean of 12.7 °C (54.9 °F). With the low annual total precipitation of 540 millimetres (21.3 in), and half of it occurring in July and August alone, the city lies within the humid continental zone, with parts of the municipality being semi-arid (K?ppen Dwa/BSk, respectively).
Extreme temperatures have ranged from 22.9 °C (9.2 °F) to 40.5 °C (104.9 °F).
Tourism
The city has many sights; it's the streetscapes – an assemblage of historic nineteenth - and early twentieth-century European architecture, juxtaposed with the concrete and glass monoliths of contemporary China – that are its most engrossing attraction. Though wide swaths of the city are being redeveloped, much of the colonial architecture has been placed under protection, and the shopping opportunities, especially for antiques, just about justify a day-trip from the capital, an hour away by train.
In the nineteenth century, the port city caught the attention of the seafaring Western powers, who used the boarding of an English ship by Chinese troops as an excuse to declare war. With well-armed gunboats, they were assured of victory, and the Treaty of Tianjin, signed in 1856, gave the Europeans the right to establish nine concessionary bases on the mainland, from which they could conduct trade and sell opium. These concessions, along the banks of the Hai River, were self-contained European fantasy worlds: the French built elegant chateaux and towers, while the Germans constructed red-tiled Bavarian villas. Tensions between the indigenous population and the foreigners exploded in the Tianjin Incident of 1870, when a Chinese mob attacked a French-run orphanage, and again during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, after which the foreigners levelled the walls around the old Chinese city to enable them to keep an eye on its residents.
The dense network of ex-concession streets south and west of the central train station, and south of the Hai River, now constitute the areas of most interest to visitors. Unmistakable are the chateaux of the French concession, which now make up the downtown district just south of the river, and the haughty mansions the British built east of here. Farther east, also south of the river, the architecture of an otherwise unremarkable district has a sprinkling of stern German constructions.
Culture
Traditional Opera in TianjinPeople from Tianjin speak the Tianjin dialect of Mandarin, from which it is derived. Despite its proximity to Beijing, the Tianjin dialect sounds quite different from the Beijing dialect
, which provides the basis for Putonghua, the official spoken language of the People's Republic of China.Tianjin is a respected home base of Beijing opera, one of the most prestigious forms of Chinese opera.
Western oil painting tells the fairy tale of China
Tianjin is famous for its stand up [comedy] and comedians including Guo Degang and Ma Sanli. Ma Sanli (马三立) (1914–2003), an ethnic Hui and longtime resident of Tianjin, is renowned for his xiangsheng (相声), a hugely popular form of Chinese entertainment similar to comedy. Ma Sanli delivered some of his xiangsheng in the Tianjin dialect. Tianjin, along with Beijing, is a center for the art of xiangsheng.
Yangliuqing (Green Willows), a town about 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Tianjin's urban area and the seat of Xiqing District, is famous for its popular Chinese New Year-themed, traditional-style, colourful wash paintings (杨柳青年画). Tianjin is also famous for Zhang's clay figurines (泥人张) which are a type of colourful figurine depicting a variety of vivid characters, and Tianjin's Wei's kites (风筝魏), which can be folded to a fraction of their full sizes, are noted for portability.
Cuisine
Tianjin cuisine places a heavy focus on seafood, due to Tianjin's proximity to the sea. Prominent menus include the Eight Great Bowls (八大碗), a combination of eight mainly meat dishes. It can be further classified into several varieties, including the rough (粗), smooth (S: 细 / T: 細), and high (高). The Four Great Stews (四大扒) actually refers to a very large number of stews, including chicken, duck, seafood, beef, and mutton.
The four delicacies of Tianjin include Goubuli baozi(狗不理包子), Guifaxiang Shibajie Mahua(十八街麻花), Erduyan Zhagao(耳朵眼炸糕) and Maobuwen Jiaozi(猫不闻饺子). Well-known foods include Caoji donkey meat, Bazhen sheep-leg mutton of Guanshengyuan, Luji Tangmian Zhagao, Baiji Shuijiao, Gaogan of Zhilanzhai, Guobacai of Dafulai, Kansubao of Shitoumen and Xiaobao chestnut. These famous snacks are available in Nanshi Food Street, which was a famous calling-card of Tianjin in the aspect of cuisine.
Transport
Port of Tianjin
Tianjin port is the world’s top-level and China’s largest artificial deepwater harbor, and the throughput capacity ranks the fifth place in the world. Located in Binhai Economic Zone, a national new economic zone of China, Tianjin harbor is the port of call of international cruises visiting the wider area, including Beijing.
Trams
Main articles: Trams in Tianjin and TEDA Modern Guided Rail Tram
Tianjin's harbor area of Binhai/TEDA has an ultramodern, high speed rubber tired tram system, which is the first of its kind in China & Asia. Constructed in 2006, this marked a return of the tram to Tianjin, which once had an extensive standard steel-wheeled tramway network. The Tianjin tram network was constructed by a Belgian company in 1904 and opened in 1906. It was the first city-wide tramway system in China. It closed in 1972.
Rapid transit
Main articles: Tianjin Metro and Binhai Mass Transit
Light Railway
There is also a light railway line in the city, the Binhai Mass Transit line. The line runs between downtown Tianjin and TEDA (Tianjin Economic Development Area) in the seaside region. The eastern part of the line began service on March 28, 2004. The western part of the line is scheduled to be completed in 2006.
There is also a guided rail tram system in TEDA, called TEDA Modern Guided Rail Tram.
Metro
There are two rapid transit operators in Tianjin:
Tianjin Metro. Presently operating with 63 stations stations and three lines.
Binhai Mass Transit (BMT). Currently operating 33 stations.
Rail
The following rail lines go through Tianjin
l Jingshan Railway, from Beijing to Shanhai Pass
l Jinpu Railway, from Tianjin to Pukou District, Nanjing
l Jinji Railway, from Tianjin urban area to Ji County, Tianjin
l Jinba Railway, from Tianjin to Bazhou, Hebei
Tianjin West Railway Station
The inter-city trains between Beijing and Tianjin will adopt a new numbering system: Cxxxx (C stands for interCity.). The train numbers range between C2001～C2298
l C2001～C2198: From Beijing South Station to Tianjin, non-stop.
l C2201～C2268: From Beijing South Station to Tianjin, with stops at Wuqing Station (武清站) or Yizhuang Station (亦庄站);
l C2271～C2298: From Beijing South Station to Tanggu Station of Tianjin.[24]
l The new C trains take only 30 min between Beijing and Tianjin, cutting the previous D train time by more than a half. The ticket price as of Aug. 15, 08 is 69 RMB for the first-class seat and 58 RMB for the second-class seat.
Bus
Tianjin Bus Route 606
There were 402 bus lines in the city as of 2004
Airport
Tianjin Binhai International Airport (ZBTJ) is located in Dongli District roughly 13 kilometers away from downtown area. The city will also be served by the new Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, currently under construction and to be completed by 2017.
Colleges and universities
Under the National Ministry of Education:
Nankai University (南开大学) (founded 1919，one of the most prestigious universities in China)
Tianjin University (天津大学) (founded 1895, oldest university in China)
Under the municipal government:
Tianjin Polytechnic University (天津工业大学)
Tianjin Medical University (天津医科大学)
Tianjin Normal University (天津师范大学)
Tianjin University of Science & Technology (天津科技大学)
Tianjin University of Technology (天津理工大学)
Tianjin University of Finance & Economics (天津财经大学)
Tianjin University of Commerce (天津商业大学)
Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts (天津美术学院)
Tianjin Agricultural College (天津农学院)
Tianjin Conservatory of Music (天津音乐学院)
Tianjin Foreign Studies University (天津外国语大学)
Tianjin Institute of Physical Education (天津体育学院)
Tianjin University of Technology and Education (天津职业技术师范学院)
Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (天津中医药大学)
Tianjin Urban Construction Institute (天津城市建设学院)
Under the national Civil Aviation Authority
Civil Aviation University of China (中国民航大学)
Under the government of Hebei Province:
Hebei University of Technology (河北工业大学) (founded 1903, the earliest institute of technology in China)
Foreign institutions
The Florida International University Tianjin Center, opened in 2006 as a cooperative venture between the municipal government and the Miami-based university.
The Great Wall MBA Program Oklahoma City University Meinders School of Business, established in 1986 on the campus of Tianjin University of Finance & Economics.
Raffles Design Institute Tianjin is a joint-project between Tianjin University of Commerce, Boustead College and Raffles Design Institute, Singapore.
Private:
Boustead College (天津商业大学宝德学院)
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.