Tianjin travel guide

Tianjin (Chinese: ; pinyin: Tinjn) is a metropolis in northern China and Brooks Reed Kids Jersey one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government. Tianjin borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea.

As a dual core city, Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area. Binhai New Area is a new growth pole in Kareem Jackson Navy Jersey China, and it maintains an annual growth rate of nearly 30% of the GDP. As of the end of 2010, 285 Fortune Global 500 companies have established branch offices in Binhai. It is a base of China's advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation.

In urban population, the city ranks sixth in China and its urban land area (Binhai New Area is not included) is fifth after Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou. Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal in Tianjin. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era. The municipality incorporates the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the Tianjin Economic Technological Development Area (TEDA).

Tianjin's climate is similar to, though slightly warmer than, its neighbour Kareem Jackson Womens Jersey Beijing. Overall it can be described as continental; winters are cold and dry, as nights below 10 (14 (100 are not uncommon, and summers are hot and humid, with days reaching above the upper 30's not out of the question.

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" (), or "Straight Port". In that year, the Yongle Emperor renamed the city Tianjin, meaning "the Heavenly Ford", to indicate that the Emperor (Son of Heaven) forded the river at that point. This is because he had indeed forded the river in Tianjin when in contention for the throne with his nephew. Later, a fort was established in Tianjin, known as "Tianjin Wei" (), the Fort of Tianjin.

Tianjin was promoted to a prefecture in 1725. Tianjin County was established under the prefecture 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. At the end of the first part of the Second Opium War in June of the same year, the Treaties of Tianjin were signed, which opened Tianjin to foreign trade. The treaties were ratified by the Emperor of China in 1860, and Tianjin (known as Tientsin) was formally opened to Great Britain and France, and thus to the outside world. Between 1895 and 1900, Britain and France were joined by Japan, Germany and Russia, and even by countries without Chinese concessions such as Austria Hungary, Italy and Belgium, in establishing self contained concessions in Tianjin, each with its own prisons, schools, barracks and hospitals. These nations left many architectural reminders of their rule, notably churches and thousands of villas. Today those villas provide an exotic flavour to Tianjin.

The presence of foreign influence in Tianjin was not always peaceful; one of the most serious violent incidents to take place was the Tianjin Church Incident (). In June 1870, the orphanage held by the Wanghailou Church (), Our Lady of Victories, in Tianjin, built by French Roman Catholic missionaries, was accused of the kidnapping and brainwashing of Chinese children. On June 21, the magistrate of Tianjin County initiated a showdown at the church that developed into violent clashes between the church's Christian supporters and non Christian Tianjin residents. The furious protestors eventually burned down Wanghailou Church and the nearby French consulate and killed eighteen foreigners including ten French nuns, the French consul, and merchants. France and six other Western nations complained to the Qing government, which was forced to pay compensation for the incident.

In June 1900, the Boxers were able to seize control of much of Tianjin. On 26 June, European defense forces heading towards Beijing were stopped by Boxers at nearby Langfang, and were defeated and forced to turn back to Tianjin. The foreign concessions were also under siege for several weeks.

In July 1900, the Eight Nation Alliance recaptured Tianjin. This alliance soon established the Tianjin Provisional Government, composed of representatives from each of the occupying forces (Russian, British, Japanese, German, French, American, Austro Hungarian, and Italian). The city was governed by this council until 15 August 1902 when the city was returned to Qing control. Eminent Qing General Yuan Shikai led efforts to transform Tianjin into a modern city, establishing the first modern Chinese police force. In 1907, Yuan supervised China's first modern democratic elections for a county council.

Western nations were permitted to garrison the area to ensure open access to Bejing. The British maintained a brigade of two battalions in Tianjin, and the Italians, French, Japanese, Germans, Russians, and Austro Hungarians maintained understrength regiments; the United States did not initially participate. During World War I, the German and Austro Hungarian garrisons were captured and held as Prisoners of War by Allied Forces while the Bolshevik government withdrew the Russian garrison in 1918. then sent the 15th Infantry Regiment, less one battalion, to Tientsin from the Philippines.

Tianjin was established as a municipality of China () in 1927.

Garrison duty was highly regarded by the troops. Army Chief of Staff, served at Tientsin in the 1920s as Executive Officer of the 15th Infantry. Marine Corps contingent from the Embassy Guard at Bejing.

On 30 July 1937, Tianjin fell to Japan, as part of the Second Sino Japanese War, but was not entirely occupied, as the Japanese for the most part respected foreign concessions until 1941, when the American and British concessions were occupied. In the summer of 1939, there occurred a major crisis in Anglo Japanese relations with the Tientsin Incident. For a time, the 1939 crisis appeared likely to cause an Anglo Japanese war, especially when reports of the maltreatment by the Japanese Army of British subjects wishing to leave or enter the concession appeared in the British press. The crisis ended when the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was advised by the Royal Navy and the Foreign Office that the only way to force the Japanese to lift the blockade was to send the main British battle fleet to Far Eastern waters, and that given the current crisis in Europe that it would be inappropriate to send the British fleet out of European waters, thus leading the British to finally turn over the six Chinese, who were then executed by the Japanese. During the Japanese occupation, Tianjin was ruled by the North China Executive Committee, a puppet state based in Beijing.

On 9 August 1940, all of the British troops in Tianjin were ordered to withdraw. On 14 November 1941 the American Marine unit stationed in Tianjin was ordered to leave, but before this could be accomplished, the Japanese attacked the United States. The American Marine detachment surrendered to the Japanese on 8 December Brooks Reed Navy Jersey 1941. Only the Italian and French concessions (the local French officials were loyal to Vichy) were allowed to remain by the Japanese. Japanese occupation lasted until 15 August 1945, the surrender of Japan marking the end of World War II.

Tianjin holds the annual Meeting of the New Champions of World Economic Forum (also called Summer Davos) from 2008. Each district has a unique culture and could be a large city in its own right. Within each district individual neighborhoods, some only a few blocks in size, have personalities lauded in culture and cuisine.

The 7 districts in urban Tianjin are:

Hedong (Urban district)

As the district lies east of the Hai River, its name literally means "District east of the river". Parts of the district were once part of the Russian Concession during the colonial period in the early 20th Century. Hedong District hosts Tianjin Railway Station, Tianjin Customs House and General Mail Office of Tianjin. It also hosts Tianjin Conservatory of Music and Tianjin Polytechnic University (which used to be a branch of Tianjin University, the oldest university of China).

Nankai (Urban district) http://www.texansofficialproshop.com/Nike-Dj-Swearinger-Jersey.html

Nankai District borders the Hai River in the east and Chentangzhuang Railway in the west and south. A number of important Tianjin landmarks lie in the district including the Tianjin Museum, Tianjin Radio and Television Tower, Tianjin Water Park, Tianjin Zoo and Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium. Nankai is also home to the city's most prestigious educational institutions including Tianjin University and Nankai University. The Tianjin New Technology Industrial Area, a 12 precinct, is also located in Nankai.

Historically, northern parts of Nankai District were located inside ancient Tianjin. The Tianfei Palace or Palace of the Queen of Heaven of the Yuan Dynasty was built in north eastern Nankai in the year 1326. In the Ming Dynasty, the heart of the city of Tianjin was set up in Nankai. Nankai became part of the military garrisons during the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the city wall served as a major defense system against foreign invasion in the late 19th century.

Nankai District is located in the south west corner http://www.texansofficialproshop.com/Nike-Deandre-Hopkins-Jersey.html of the urban Tianjin, bordered by Hongqiao District to the north, Hebei and Heping Districts to the north east, Hexi District to the east and Xiqing District to the south west. It occupies an area of 40.64 The natural topography is characterised by higher elevation in the north of the district and a lower elevation in the south, with the average altitude being 3 metres.

Nankai District has been one of the fastest growing districts in Tianjin since the formation of the People's Republic of China. The population was 220,000 in 1949. In 2006, the population was 925,000 and the density was 19,621/km.