Tianjin
Tianjin (天津; pinyin: tiān jīn, Postal System Pinyin: Tientsin) is a harbour municipality in China on the Hai He River (from Beijing) and Bohai Gulf of the Yellow Sea (Pacific Ocean). The placename literally means "the Heavenly Port".
| 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 |
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2 Geography 3 Economy 4 Administrative divisions 5 Sports Teams 6 Colleges and Universities 7 High Schools 8 Transportation 9 See also 10 External link |
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.
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.
The GDP per capita was ¥20443 (ca. US$2470) in 2003, ranked no. 56 among 659 Chinese cities.
Six of the districts make up the "urban region" (市区: Shì Qū). These districts govern the urban area of Tianjin:
These districts and counties are further subdivided into 241 township-level divisions: 120 towns, 18 townships, 2 ethnic townships and 101 subdistricts.
Sports teams based in Tianjin include:
Chinese Football Association Super League
Under the national Ministry of Education:
Tianjin Airport (ZBTJ) is located on the east of the city.
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.
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 Jixian County, 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.
Noteworthy: Some spots in Tianjin, including roads and bridges, have names from Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Three Principles of the People (for example, Minquan Gate on Zhonghuan Road). Also, Tianjin is unlike Beijing; very few roads run parallel to the major four compass directions.
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.
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.History
Geography
Economy
Administrative divisions
Tianjin is divided into 18 county-level divisions: 15 districts and 3 counties.
Three of the districts make up the "seaside region" (滨海区: Bīn Hǎi Qū). These districts govern towns and harbours along the seacoast:
Six of the districts make up the "region around the city" (环城区: Huán Chéng Qū). These districts govern satellite towns and rural areas close to the urban center:
The three counties govern towns and rural areas further away from the urban center:
In addition, the Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area (TEDA) is not a formal level of administration, but nevertheless enjoys rights similar to a regular district.Sports Teams
Chinese Basketball Association
There are no teams based in Tianjin.Colleges and Universities
Under the national Civil Aviation Authority:
Under the municipal government:
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.High Schools
Transportation
Airplane
Train
Road
Bus
Metro
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