天津市——中央直辖市，环渤海地区经济中心，中国北方最大的沿海开放城市。地处华北平原东北部，东临渤海，北依燕山，西靠首都北京。天津的形成始于隋朝大运河的开通。明朝永乐二年（1404年）设“天津卫”。同年12月又设天津左卫并筑城，至此，天津城初具规模。19世纪中叶被辟为通商口岸，逐步发展成为当时中国北方最大的金融商贸中心，在中国近代史上有着重要地位。 　　行政区划 　　天津市辖18个区、县，其中市辖区15个：市区有和平区、河东区、河西区、南开区、河北区、红桥区；滨海区有塘沽区、汉沽区、大港区；环城区有西青区、东丽区、津南区、北辰区、武清区、宝坻区。市辖县3个：静海县、宁河县、蓟县。到2003年底，全市常住人口为1011.3万人。 　　资源丰富 　　天津自然资源丰富。全市土地总面积为1.19万平方公里，其中耕地面积48.56万公顷，占全市土地面积的40.7%。在海河下游的滨海地区，有待开发的荒地、滩涂120多平方公里，是发展石油化工和海洋化工的理想场地。目前，已探明的金属矿、非金属矿资源和燃料、地热资源有30多种。其中锰、硼不仅为国内首次发现，也为世界所罕见。已探明的石油储量为10多亿吨，天然气储量100亿立方米。还发现10个有勘探和开发利用价值的地热异常区，热水总贮量1103.6亿立方米。 　　工业悠久 　　天津工业历史悠久。在全国工业城市中，天津工业的规模、总产值、经济效益等均居前列。天津已形成以汽车和机械装备为重点的机械工业，以微电子和通讯设备为重点的电子工业，以石油化工、海洋化工和精细化工为重点的化学工业，以优质钢管、钢材和高档金属制品为重点的冶金工业等四大支柱产业。天津的金融、商贸等第三产业日益发达。天津的科技力量雄厚，有南开大学、天津大学等高等学校37所，自然科学研究机构150多个，自然科学和社会科学各类专业技术人才近50万人，每年都有一批科研成果达到国内和国际的先进水平。 　旅游观光 天津旅游资源丰富，旅游活动丰富多彩。天津有以自然风景和名胜古迹为特点的蓟县旅游观光区，有海湾特色的塘沽滨海游乐区，已形成以海河为风景轴线，以津河、卫津河、月牙河、北运河，繁华金街，鼓楼商贸街，异国风貌五大道为辅的市中心旅游区。同时，每年还要举办具有民族色彩和天津特色的各种赛事及娱乐活动。天津传统的风味食品多种多样。有操作技艺精湛，风味香醇，营养丰富，深为广大群众和外宾称赞的“津门三绝”，即狗不理包子、十八街麻花和耳朵眼炸糕。 Tianjin is one of the four municipalities of the People’s Republic of China. As a municipality, Tianjin has provincial-level status and comes directly under the central government. Tianjin’s urban area is the third largest city in Mainland China behind Shanghai and Beijing. Tianjin’s urban area is located along the Hai He River. Its ports, some distance away, are located on Bohai Gulf in the Pacific Ocean. Tianjin Municipality borders Hebei province to the north, south, and west; the municipality of Beijing is to the northwest and Bohai Gulf to the east. Geography and climate Tianjin is at the northern end of the Grand Canal of China, which connects with the Huang He and Yangtze rivers (Changjiang River). Tianjin Municipality is generally flat, and swampy near the coast, but hilly in the far north, where the Yanshan Mountains pass through the tip of northern Tianjin. The highest point in Tianjin is Jiushanding Peak on the northern border with Hebei, at an altitude of 1078 m. The Hai He River forms within Tianjin Municipality at the confluence of the Ziya River, Daqing River, Yongding River, North Grand Canal, and South Grand Canal; and enters the Pacific Ocean at Tianjin Municipality as well, in Dagu District. Major reservoirs include the Beidagang Reservoir in the extreme south and the Yuqiao Reservoir in the extreme north. The urban area of Tianjin is found in the south-central part of the Municipality. In addition to the main urban area of Tianjin proper, the coast along the Bohai is lined with a series of port towns, including Tanggu and Hangu. Tianjin’s climate is characterized by hot, humid summers, due to the monsoon, and dry, cold winters, due to the Siberian anticyclone. Spring is windy but dry, and most of the precipitation takes place in July and August. Tianjin also experiences occasional sandstorms which blow in from the Gobi Desert and may last for several days. History The land where Tianjin lies today was created in historical times by sedimentation of various rivers entering the sea at Bohai Bay, including the Yellow River, which entered the sea in this area at one point. The opening of the Grand Canal of China during the Sui Dynasty prompted the development of Tianjin. It has been a major transportation and trading centre since the Yuan dynasty in the 13th century. Until 1404 Tianjin was called "Zhigu" or "Straight Port". 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. This is because he had indeed forded the river at Tianjin while on a campaign to wrest the throne from his nephew. A fort was established at Tianjin, known as "Tianjin Wei", meaning "Fort Tianjin". Strategically located on the overland route to Manchuria, Tianjin has been a frequent military objective since its rise to importance in the late 18th cent. The British and French occupied it during the Second Opium War (1856 – 60); a treaty signed there in 1858 opened 11 Chinese ports to foreign trade; A treaty signed in Beijing in 1860 opened Tianjin as a trading port. After that, it developed rapidly. Tianjin was the scene of heavy fighting during the Boxer Rebellion ,after which it was placed under an international commission. Britain and France were joined by the empires of Japan, Germany and Russia, and even by countries without other 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. On July 30, 1937, Tianjin fell to Japan, as part of the Second Sino-Japanese War. During the occupation, Tianjin was ruled by the North China Executive Committee, a puppet state based in Beijing. Japanese occupation lasted until August 15, 1945, the surrender of Japan marking the end of World War II. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army took Tianjin on January 15, 1949, following a 29-hour long battle. After that, Tianjin remained a municipality of China, except between 1958 and 1967, when it was reduced to be a part of and the capital of Hebei province. After China began to open up in the late 1970s, Tianjin has seen rapid development, though it is now lagging behind other important cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou. Subdivisions Tianjin is divided into 18 county-level divisions, including 15 districts and 3 counties. Six of the districts govern the urban area of Tianjin: Heping District, Hexi District,Hebei District Nankai District ,Hedong District and Hongqiao District. Three of the districts govern towns and harbours along the seacoast: Tanggu District, Hangu District and Dagang District. Four of the districts govern satellite towns and rural areas close to the urban center: Jinnan District, Dongli District, Xiqing District and Beichen District . Two of the districts as well as the three counties govern towns and rural areas further away from the urban center: Baodi District, Wuqing District, Ji County, Jinghai County and Ninghe County. 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. These districts and counties are further subdivided, as of December 31, 2004, into 240 township-level divisions, including 120 towns, 18 townships, 2 ethnic townships and 100 subdistricts. Economy Farmland takes up about 40% of Tianjin Municipality’s total area. Wheat, rice, and maize are the most important crops. Fishing is important along the coast. Tianjin is also an important industrial base. Major industries include petrochemical industries, textiles, car manufacturing, mechanical industries, and metalworking. Tianjin Municipality also has deposits of about 1 billion tonnes of petroleum, with Dagang District containing important oilfields. Salt production is also important, with Changlu Yanqu being one of China’s most important salt production areas. Geothermal energy is another resource of Tianjin. Deposits of manganese and boron under Tianjin were the first to be found in China. EADS Airbus will be opening an assembly plant for its A320 series airliners, to be operational in 2009. AVIC I and AVIC II will be EADS’ local partners for the site, to which subassemblies will be sent from plants around the world. Ethnic group The majority of Tianjin residents are Han Chinese. Minorities include Hui, Koreans, Manchus, and Mongols. Culture People from urban Tianjin speak Tianjin dialect, which comes under the Mandarin subdivision of spoken Chinese. Despite its proximity to Beijing, Tianjin dialect sounds quite different from Beijing dialect, which provides the basis for Putonghua, official spoken language of the People’s Republic of China. Tianjin cuisine places a heavy focus on seafood, due to Tianjin’s proximity to the sea. Prominent menus include the Eight Great Bowls, a combination of eight mainly meat dishes. It can be further classified into several varieties, including the rough, smooth, and high. The Four Great Stews refers actually to a very large number of stews, including chicken, duck, seafood, beef, and mutton. Tianjin also has several famous snack items. Goubuli is a traditional brand of baozi (steamed buns with filling) that is famous throughout China. Guifaxiang is a traditional brand of mahua (twisted dough sticks). Erduoyan is a traditional brand of fried rice cakes. Tianjin is a respected home base of Beijing opera, one of the most prestigious forms of Chinese opera. Yangliuqing (Green Willows), a town about 15 km west of Tianjin’s urban area and the seat of Tianjin’s Xiqing District, is famous for its popular Chinese New Year-themed, traditional-style, colourful wash paintings. Tianjin is also famous for Zhang’s clay figurines, which are a type of colourful figurine depicting a variety of vivid characters, and Tianjin’s Wei’s kites, which can be folded to a fraction of their full sizes, are noted for portability. Tourism Tourist destinations in Tianjin include: • Fort Dagukou, Qing Dynasty-era cannon battlement ; • Huangyaguan Great Wall ; • Luzutang (Boxer Rebellion Museum) ; • Guwan Shichang (Antique Market) ; • Guwenhua Jie (Ancient Culture Street); •Shijia Dayuan; • Wanghailou Church, site of the 1870 Tianjin Church Incident; • Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall ; Transportation Rail The railway stations in Tianjin are as follow: Tianjin Railway Station; Tianjin West Railway Station; Tianjin North Railway Station; Tanggu Railway Station; TEDA Railway Station. The following rail lines go through Tianjin: Jingshan Railway, from Beijing to Shanhai Pass ; Jinpu Railway, from Tianjin to Pukou District, Nanjing ; Jinji Railway, from Tianjin urban area to Ji County, Tianjin; Jinba Railway, from Tianjin to Bazhou, Hebei Beijing-Tianjin high-speed rail is scheduled to be completed in 2007. The railway is scheduled to begin operations on August 1, 2008, a week before Olympic Games. Roads and expressways Tianjin has three ring roads:Inner Ring Road, Middle Ring Road and Outer Ring Road . The following seven expressways of China run in or through Tianjin: •Jingjintang Expressway, from Beijing, through Tianjin’s urban area, to Tanggu District / TEDA ； •Jinghu Expressway, from Jinjing Gonglu Bridge to Shanghai ； •Jingshen Expressway, through Baodi District on its way from Beijing to Shenyang ； •Tangjin Expressway, from Tanggu Districtto Tangshan, Hebei ； •Baojin Expressway, from Beichen Districtto Baoding, Hebei ； •Jinbin Expressway, from Zhangguizhuang Bridge to Hujiayuan Bridge, both within Tianjin ； •Jinji Expressway, from central Tianjin to Jixian County . The following six China National Highways pass through Tianjin: • China National Highway 102, through Ji County, Tianjin on its way from Beijing to Harbin ; • China National Highway 103, from Beijing, through Tianjin’s urban area, to Tanggu District ; • China National Highway 104, from Beijing, through Tianjin Municipality, to Fuzhou ; • China National Highway 105, from Beijing, through Tianjin Municipality, to Macau ; • China National Highway 112, circular highway around Beijing, passes through Tianjin Municipality ; • China National Highway 205, from Shanhaiguan, Hebei, through Tianjin Municipality, to Guangzhou. The expressways are sometimes closed due to dense fog particularly in the Autumn and Spring. Air Tianjin Binhai International Airport (ZBTJ) is located to the east of the urban area, in Dongli District. 天津市——中央直辖市，环渤海地区经济中心，中国北方最大的沿海开放城市。地处华北平原东北部，东临渤海，北依燕山，西靠首都北京。天津的形成始于隋朝大运河的开通。明朝永乐二年（1404年）设“天津卫”。同年12月又设天津左卫并筑城，至此，天津城初具规模。19世纪中叶被辟为通商口岸，逐步发展成为当时中国北方最大的金融商贸中心，在中国近代史上有着重要地位。 　　行政区划 　　天津市辖18个区、县，其中市辖区15个：市区有和平区、河东区、河西区、南开区、河北区、红桥区；滨海区有塘沽区、汉沽区、大港区；环城区有西青区、东丽区、津南区、北辰区、武清区、宝坻区。市辖县3个：静海县、宁河县、蓟县。到2003年底，全市常住人口为1011.3万人。 　资源丰富 　　天津自然资源丰富。全市土地总面积为1.19万平方公里，其中耕地面积48.56万公顷，占全市土地面积的40.7%。在海河下游的滨海地区，有待开发的荒地、滩涂120多平方公里，是发展石油化工和海洋化工的理想场地。目前，已探明的金属矿、非金属矿资源和燃料、地热资源有30多种。其中锰、硼不仅为国内首次发现，也为世界所罕见。已探明的石油储量为10多亿吨，天然气储量100亿立方米。还发现10个有勘探和开发利用价值的地热异常区，热水总贮量1103.6亿立方米。 　　工业悠久 　　天津工业历史悠久。在全国工业城市中，天津工业的规模、总产值、经济效益等均居前列。天津已形成以汽车和机械装备为重点的机械工业，以微电子和通讯设备为重点的电子工业，以石油化工、海洋化工和精细化工为重点的化学工业，以优质钢管、钢材和高档金属制品为重点的冶金工业等四大支柱产业。天津的金融、商贸等第三产业日益发达。天津的科技力量雄厚，有南开大学、天津大学等高等学校37所，自然科学研究机构150多个，自然科学和社会科学各类专业技术人才近50万人，每年都有一批科研成果达到国内和国际的先进水平。 　 　旅游观光 天津旅游资源丰富，旅游活动丰富多彩。天津有以自然风景和名胜古迹为特点的蓟县旅游观光区，有海湾特色的塘沽滨海游乐区，已形成以海河为风景轴线，以津河、卫津河、月牙河、北运河，繁华金街，鼓楼商贸街，异国风貌五大道为辅的市中心旅游区。同时，每年还要举办具有民族色彩和天津特色的各种赛事及娱乐活动。天津传统的风味食品多种多样。有操作技艺精湛，风味香醇，营养丰富，深为广大群众和外宾称赞的“津门三绝”，即狗不理包子、十八街麻花和耳朵眼炸糕。