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Tianjin

天津市
Tiānjīn Shì

Abbreviation:津 (pinyin: Jīn)''
Origin of Name	天 tiān - heaven 津 jīn - river ford put together: emperor's ford
Area  - Total  - % of national  - % water	Ranked 30th 11919.7 km² 0.118% xx%
Population  - Total (2001)  - % of national  - Density	Ranked 27th 10,040,000 0.787% 888/km²
GDP in RMB¥  - Total (2002)  - % of national  - per capita	Ranked 21st 202.26 billion ¥ 1.98% 20150 ¥
City tree	Chinese ash (Fraxinus chinensis)
City flower	Chinese rose (Rosa chinensis)
Administration Type	Municipality
Mayor	Dai Xianglong
CPC Tianjin Committee Secretary	Zhang Lichang
County-level subdivisions	18
Township-level subdivisions	241
ISO 3166-2	CN-12

Tianjin is one of four independent municipalities in the People's Republic of China with provincial-level status. Historically, the city was, for a time, the capital of Hebei Province.

Table of contents

1 History 2 Geography 3 Economy 4 Political divisions 5 Sports Teams 6 Colleges and Universities 7 High Schools 8 Transportation 8.1 Airplane 8.2 Train 8.3 Road 8.4 Bus 8.5 Metro 9 See also 10 External link

History

The land where Tianjin lies today was originally part of the Bohai Bay, and was created by sedimentation of the Yellow River when it entered the sea at that point.

The opening of the Grand Canal of China during the Sui Dynasty prompted the development of Tianjin into a trading center. Until 1404 Tianjin was called "Zhigu". In that year, the Emperor Yongle renamed the city "Tianjin", literally "heaven ford", to mean that the emperor (son of heaven) forded the river at that point, as he indeed did earlier on his way to taking the throne forcibly from his nephew. A fort was established at Tianjin, known as "Tianjin Wei" (Fort Tianjin).

Tianjin was established as a county in 1731.

In 1856 Chinese soldiers boarded The Arrow, a Chinese-owned ship registered in Hong Kong flying the British flag and suspected of piracy, smuggling and of being engaged in the opium trade. They captured 12 men and imprisoned them. In response the British and French sent gunboats under the command of Admiral Sir Michael Seymour to capture the Taku forts near Tianjin in May 1858. The city was subsequently opened to foreign trade in June 1858, at the end of the first part of the Second Opium War, when the Treaties of Tianjin were signed.

Between 1895 and 1900 Britain and France were joined by Japan,Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Belgium in establishing self-contained concessions each with their own prisons, schools, barracks and hospitals.

In June 1900 the foreign concessions came under siege during the Boxer Rebellion for several weeks. Herbert Hoover, the future President of the United States, was working in Tianjin at the time as chief engineer in the Chinese government's imperial bureau of mines, and together with fellow engineers built a protective wall against the attackers and risked his own life rescuing Chinese children.

Tianjin has been municipality since 1927, except from 1958 to 1967, when it was reduced to a provincial city and capital of Hebei province.

Geography

Tianjin is at the northern end of the Grand Canal of China, which connects with the Huang He and Chang Jiang rivers. Tianjin borders Hebei province, the municipality of Beijing and the Bohai Gulf of the Yellow Sea.

Economy

The GDP per capita was ¥20443 (ca. US$2470) in 2003, ranked no. 56 among 659 Chinese cities.

Political divisions

• Heping District (和平区: Hèpíng Qū)
• Hexi District (河西区: Héxī Qū)
• Hebei District (河北区: Héběi Qū)
• Nankai District (南开区: Nánkāi Qū)
• Hedong District (河东区: Hédōng Qū)
• Hongqiao District (红桥区: Hōngqiáo Qū)

• Tanggu District (塘沽区: Tánggū Qū)
• Hangu District (汉沽区: Hàngū Qū)
• Dagang District (大港区: Dàgǎng Qū)

• Jinnan District (津南区: Jīnnán Qū)
• Dongli District (东丽区: Dōnglí Qū)
• Xiqing District (西青区: Xīqīng Qū)
• Beichen District (北辰区: Běichén Qū)
• Baodi District (宝坻区: Bǎodǐ Qū, Baodi County before 2001)
• Wuqing District (武清区: Wǔqīng Qū, Wuqing County before 2000)

• Ji County (蓟县 Jì Xiàn)
• Jinghai County (静海县 Jìnghǎi Xiàn)
• Ninghe County (宁河县 Nínghé Xiàn)

Sports Teams

Sports teams based in Tianjin include:

Chinese Football Association Super League

• Tianjin Kangshifu

Colleges and Universities

[National]

• Tianjin University (天津大学) (founded 1895)
• Nankai University (南开大学) (founded 1919)

• Tianjin Polytechnic University (天津工业大学)
• Tianjin University of Science & Technology; (天津科技大学)
• Tianjin Medical University (天津医科大学)
• Tianjin Normal University (天津师范大学)
• Civil Aviation University of China (中国民用航空学院)
• Tianjin University of Technology (天津理工大学)
• Tianjin Urban Construction Institute (天津城市建设学院)
• Tianjin Agricultural College (天津农学院)
• Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (天津中医学院)
• [Tianjin University of Technology and Education] (天津职业技术师范学院)
• Tianjin Foreign Studies University (天津外国语学院)
• Tianjin University of Finance & Economics; (天津财经大学)
• Tianjin University of Commerce China (天津商学院)
• Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts (天津美术学院)

High Schools

• Yaohua High School (耀华中学)
• Nankai High School(南开中学)
• No. 1 High School (第一中学)
• Xinhua High School (新华中学)
• Shiyan High School (实验中学)

Airplane

Tianjin Airport (ZBTJ) is located on the east of the city.

Train

There are several railway stations in the city. Tianjin Railway Station being the principal one. It was built in 1888, initially, the station was located at "Wang Dao Zhuang (旺道庄)". The station was later moved to "Lao Long Tou (老龙头)" on the river side of the Haihe River in 1892, so the station renamed "Lao Long Tou Railway Station". The station was rebuilt from scatch in 1988. The rebuilding work began on April 15, 1987 and was finished on October 1, 1988.

Tianjin Xi (Tianjin West) Railway Station and Tianjin Bei (Tianjin North) Railway Station are also major railway stations in Tianjin.

Tanggu Railway Station is located in the port area of Tanggu.

Taida (TEDA) Railway Station is located in TEDA, to the north of Tanggu.

There are also several other railway stations in the city.

Road

The Jingjintang Expressway links Beijing to Tianjin. Tianjin also has its own version of ring roads; they are Waihuan (Outer Ring), Zhonghuan (Central Ring) and Neihuan (Inner Ring). Tianjin is a transit point for those driving to Shanghai on the Jinghu Expressway.

Running from north of the Jingshen Expressway to central Tianjin, the Jinji Expressway also links to Tianjin city.

China National Highways 102, 103, 104, 105, 112 and 205 pass through Tianjin.

Bus

The Tianjin bus network was created in 1904, and was the first city to have its own city-wide bus system in China.

There are hundreds of bus lines in the city.

Metro

Building work on the Tianjin Metro started on July 4, 1970. It was the second metro to be built in China and commencd service in 1984. The total length of track is 7.4 kilometers.

The metro service was suspended on October 9, 2001 and is currently being rebuilt. This new metro is called "Tianjin Metro Line 1". It is scheduled to be finished in the later half of 2005. The track will be extended to 26.188 kilometers and there will be a total of 22 stations. Previously, there were 8 stations.

There are also several metro lines scheduled to be built. Construction work on Line 2 and Line 3 will begin later this year(2004).

There is also a light railway line in the city. The line runs between Tianjin downtown and TEDA, 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.

See also

• Solar eclipses as seen from Tianjin

• Official site