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City guide · 天津 Tianjin
Tianjin
A showcase of world architecture on the Hai River: the Five Great Avenues, the Italian Style District and the Ancient Culture Street
Tianjin is a northern port city at the mouth of the Hai River, and one of the places in China where modern concession-era architecture is most densely preserved: between the more than two thousand garden villas of the Five Great Avenues and the European-style streets of the Italian Style District are crosstalk teahouses, jianbing stalls and Hai River cruise boats. You can cover the Five Great Avenues, the Ancient Culture Street, the Tianjin Eye and the Hai River banks in two to three days, with one day left for Mount Pan in Jizhou or the seaside in the Binhai New Area. Also worth visiting in the city: the Hai River, the Liberation Bridge, the Porcelain House, Xikai Church, the Tianjin Museum, the Tianjin Natural History Museum, the Drum Tower, the Nanshi Food Street, Binjiang Road, Jingyuan Garden and the Liang Qichao Memorial Residence.
History
How the city came to be
Tianjin lies at the junction of the Hai River and the Grand Canal, and as the saying goes, "first came the Sanchahekou, then came the Tianjin Garrison." In 1404, the Ming dynasty established the Tianjin Garrison here, and Tianjin took its name from this and gradually became the gateway to the capital region and a grain-transport hub. In 1860, Tianjin was opened as a treaty port, and Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Japan, Russia, Italy, Belgium and Austria-Hungary successively established concessions along the river, making Tianjin the northern city with the most concentrated foreign concessions. The Five Great Avenues area was originally a depression at the southern edge of the British Concession; between 1919 and 1926, silt dredged from the Hai River was used to fill and level the land and build roads, and it later developed into a high-end residential area. Tianjin was liberated on 15 January 1949; between 1958 and 1967 it was briefly downgraded to a city under Hebei Province, then restored to municipality status; in 1984 it became one of China's first coastal open cities.
- 1404The Ming dynasty established the Tianjin Garrison.
- 1860Tianjin was opened as a treaty port; the British Concession was opened on 17 December, and the French Concession followed.
- 1919 to 1926The British Concession's municipal council used silt dredged from the Hai River to fill the low land of the Five Great Avenues area and build roads.
- 1922 to 1929The main roads of the Five Great Avenues were completed one after another.
- 1937Japanese forces occupied Tianjin.
- 1945After victory in the War of Resistance, the Chinese government recovered the last British and French concessions in Tianjin.
- 15 January 1949Tianjin was liberated.
- 1958 to 1967Tianjin was briefly downgraded to a city under Hebei Province, then restored to municipality status.
- 1984Tianjin became one of China's first coastal open cities.
- May 2006The Tianjin Binhai New Area was approved as a national comprehensive reform pilot zone.
Stories
Stories of the city
A Ferris wheel on a bridge
History · Tianjin Eye
The Tianjin Eye's design was chosen through an international competition, won by the Japanese firm Kawaguchi & Engineers. The wheel was built in the middle of Yongle Bridge, while vehicles and pedestrians still cross the bridge deck. In December 2007 the last section of the rim was joined, and the main structure of this "Ferris wheel on a bridge" was essentially complete.
Mazu, goddess of the sea
Legend · Ancient Culture Street
Mazu, honoured at Tianhou Temple, was born Lin Mo and is said to have been a fisherman's daughter from Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian, in the Song dynasty. Legend says she could save relatives in danger at sea while in a trance, and that she often stood on the shore in red to guide fishing boats home; after her death, coastal people honoured her as goddess of the sea. The Yuan court titled her "Tianfei" (Princess of Heaven) and the Qing court "Tianhou" (Queen of Heaven), which gave Tianjin's Tianhou Temple its name.
The Huanghui fair on the 23rd of the third month
History · Ancient Culture Street
Tianhou Temple was first built by the Hai River in the Yuan dynasty as a place where grain-transport boatmen prayed for safety. Every year on Mazu's birthday, the 23rd day of the third lunar month, a flower fair (Huanghui) is held before the temple, with gongs and drums, dragon and lion dances, stilt-walking and opera in turn — one of Tianjin's liveliest folk festivals.
Must see
Places you shouldn’t miss
Tianjin Eye
A Ferris wheel built on Yongle Bridge over the Hai River: about 120 metres high and 110 metres across, with 48 cabins taking about half an hour …
Ancient Culture Street
Tianjin's most celebrated imitation-antique commercial and cultural street, opened on New Year's Day 1986 and listed as a national 5A scenic are…
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Italian Style Town
A relatively well-preserved Italian-style historic quarter in Tianjin, centred on Marco Polo Square, whose main attractions are its grid of stre…
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Five Great Avenues Historic District
A modern historic district dominated by garden villas of the 1920s–1930s, known as an "exposition of world architecture", best explored on foot …
Trips beyond the city
These places can be explored from this city but lie outside it. See each place for transport and visiting guidance.
Tianjin Mazu Cultural Festival
April 29, 2027
Mazu worship reached Tianjin with grain shipping; Binhai New Area has a 42.3-metre Mazu statue, and around Mazu's birthday the Tianhou Palace on…
Mount Pan
Hailed as the "No. 1 Mountain East of Beijing", this national 5A scenic area is famed for its layered scenery of "pines above, rocks in the midd…