Tianjin

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Tianjin
Climate chart (explanation)
	Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
	Precipitation+Snow totals in mm
	Humidity is highly seasonal; only summer is consistently humid
Imperial conversion
	Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
	Precipitation+Snow totals in inches

Tianjin is a huge city with several district articles that contain information about specific sights, restaurants, and accommodation.

Tianjin (天津 Tiānjīn) is one of the largest cities in China, boasting a population of 14.5 million (2024). It neighbors Beijing, with the province of Hebei situated between them. Tianjin is divided into the old city and the Binhai New Area.

Tianjin was home to concessions of numerous Western powers and Japan in the late Qing Dynasty and Republic of China era, and an abundance of colonial architecture can still be found in the city today. The Italian concession is particularly famous, and has today been renovated into a lifestyle and dining destination.

Districts

39°7′59″N 117°10′59″E

Map of Tianjin

Central Districts (Hebei, Hedong, Heping, Hexi, Hongqiao, Nankai)

Suburban and Rural Districts (Baodi, Beichen, Dongli, Jinghai, Jinnan, Ninghe, Wuqing, Xiqing)

Jizhou (Jizhou District)
Northernmost district, a rural area with the Great Wall zigzagging through from Beijing.

Binhai (Binhai New Area)
Special zone for advanced industry, financial reform, and innovation, where many international companies have established branches offices.

Understand

Tianjin is one of four municipalities in China; cities that are not part of any province, and whose governments instead report directly to the central government in Beijing. It borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea.

In terms of urban population, it is the sixth-largest city of the People's Republic of China. 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 era.

Tianjin's climate is similar to, though slightly warmer than, its neighbour Beijing. Overall it can be described as continental; winters are cold and dry, as nights below −10 °C are not uncommon, and summers are hot and humid, with days reaching above the upper 30s °C not out of the question. The best time to visit is autumn, though if you do not mind dust storms, spring would also be an excellent choice.

History

Tianjin has been trading port since historic times and used to be called "Zhigu" (直沽), or "Straight Port". In 1404, the Yongle Emperor renamed the city Tianjin, meaning "the Heavenly Ford", to indicate that the Emperor forded the river at that point.

Due to its proximity to Beijing, Tianjin was involved significantly during the Opium Wars. Many concession areas in the city were run by the European powers as well as the United States and Japan, leaving many foreign architectural reminders of their rule, notably including churches and thousands of villas.

On August 12, 2015, Tianjin was rocked by a devastating series of chemical explosions at the Port of Tianjin in the Binhai New Area. 173 people died as a result with 797 receiving non-fatal injuries.

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, the official spoken language of the People's Republic of China.

Tianjin is a respected home base of Beijing opera, one of the most prestigious forms of Chinese opera.

Tianjin is famous for its Xiangsheng (相声) stand-up comic crosstalk and comedians including Guo Degang and Ma Sanli. Ma Sanli (马三立) (1914–2003), an ethnic Hui and longtime resident of Tianjin, is renowned for his xiangsheng, a hugely popular form of Chinese entertainment similar to comedy. Ma Sanli delivered some of his xiangsheng in the Tianjin dialect. Tianjin, along with Beijing, is a center for the art of xiangsheng.

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, Yangliuqing colourful wash paintings (杨柳青年画). Tianjin is also famous for Zhang's clay figurines (泥人张) which are a type of colourful figurine depicting a variety of vivid characters, and Tianjin's Wei's kites (风筝魏), which can be folded to a fraction of their full sizes, are noted for portability.

Get in

39°7′59″N 117°10′59″E

Map of Tianjin

By plane

39.13016117.354271 ^{[dead link]} Tianjin Binhai International Airport (天津滨海国际机场; TSN ^IATA) (is located in the east of the urban area, in Dongli District, which is 15 km (9 miles) to the east of the urban area). An alternative to the high-speed train, especially if wanting to reduce the added travel time and cost that comes associated with flying into Beijing -- about 120 km (75 miles) from Tianjin. The home base of Tianjin Airlines and the delightfully humble Okay Airways, domestic routes include most major Chinese cities. A few international routes are available, including destinations in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Mongolia. Metro Line 2 connects the airport directly to Tianjin station, with a fare of just ¥3.

Flying to Beijing is another option. Beijing Daxing International Airport is an airport with more international and domestic destinations. To get to Tianjin, you can take an intercity train from the Daxing Airport station, which is directly under the ground at the airport, to the city centre in Tianjin in under 75 minutes, with a fare from ¥34 to ¥60.

Beijing Capital International Airport is an another good alternative for getting to Tianjin, especially for long-distance flights from Europe or the Americas. To get to Tianjin, take the Airport Express train into Beijing and then take the subway to Beijing South Station and the bullet train to Tianjin (see below). Total travel time will be at least 3½ hours.

By train

39.13552117.203632 Tianjin Railway Station, sometimes known locally as the 'East Station', is the main station in Tianjin.

It serves the bullet train to Beijing South train station. One-way tickets are ¥55 for Economy, ¥66 for Business, or ¥94 for VIP. The bullet train designation is a 'C' and takes about 33 minutes, traveling up to 300 km/h.

Metro Line 2 directly connects Tianjin Railway Station and Tianjin Airport.

There are shuttle buses between Tianjin railway station and Tianjin airport. A ticket costs ¥15 per trip. The bus stops about 200 m from the train station northern gate (back gate). When you get off the shuttle bus, walk along the pavement to reach the train station.

By taxi, the fare from Tianjin railway station to Tianjin airport is about ¥50-65. Use the official taxi stand (just follow the signage)- it is advised not to use any of the touts that offer taxi services.

If leaving the station by taxi, be prepared for a production-line approach to getting the punters into taxis. Marshals keep the queue moving so have baggage ready to stow and a destination in mind or possibly be forced to go to the back of the line and wait your turn again.

39.0561117.05433 Tianjin South Railway Station serves as an intermediate station for bullet trains between Beijing South and Shanghai Hongqiao. It is far from the city center, but Metro Line 3 connects the station to the city center. Taxis here are mostly of the illegal variety, so plan accordingly.

39.1571117.15644 Tianjin West Station is the terminus for trains between Tianjin West and Shanghai Hongqiao. It can be reached by Metro Line 1 and 6.

Binhai Station (滨海站) (formerly Yujiapu) is in the middle of the new financial district in the Binhai New Area, and just a few kilometers from the Binhai Library.

Tanggu Station (塘沽站) serves the seaside district of the same name.

The inter-city trains between Beijing and Tianjin have a number range between C2001 and C2298:

C2001—C2198: From Beijing South Station to Tianjin, non-stop. C2201—C2268: From Beijing South Station to Tianjin, with stops at Wuqing Station (武清站) or Yizhuang Station (亦庄站); C2271—C2298: From Beijing South Station to Tanggu Station of Tianjin.

By car

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). Names harkening back to the era of the Republic of China on the mainland also appear (e.g. Beiyang Road). Many roads in Tianjin are named after a Chinese province or city. Also, Tianjin is unlike Beijing, in that very few roads run parallel to the major four compass directions.

Tianjin has three ring roads. Unlike Beijing, the Inner and Middle Ring Roads are not closed, traffic-controlled roadways and some often have traffic light intersections. The Outer Ring Road is the closest thing to a highway-level ring road, although traffic is often chaotic and sometimes more than chaotic.

By bus

Tianjin is well connected with other cities via bus. The price from Beijing is about ¥30.

There are also two school bus lines linking Nankai and Tianjin Universities and Tsinghua University. They depart daily at 15:45 and 16:45 from Tsinghua's North-West Gate.

By boat

Tianjin is connected by passenger boat to Dalian and Incheon, South Korea.

Get around

Founded in 1904, the Tianjin bus system was the first in China, and the metro was second in the nation (1970) and today the city is well served by its public transportation. Within the city, traveling on a bus line that is less than 12 km (7 km) will cost ¥1.5, while ¥1 will cover a journey on any line over 12 k, even if you travel less than 12 km (7 mi) but on a line that is over this distance, the cost is still ¥1. It's well worth your time to look up popular bus routes. Buses are comfortable and clean.

A light-rail line runs between Tianjin Railway Station to the seaside area Donghailu in TEDA.

By taxi

Taxis are abundant. The minimum cost for 3 km is ¥8, (¥1.7 per km thereafter). Taxis also charge for the time while the vehicle is stationary at ¥1.7 for every five minutes (cost is exempt for less than five minutes). Avoid taxis from near the railway station. See note in the Get in-By train section above about how to avoid train station taxis. The same advice applies at tourist stops, it is best to walk a few blocks to a regular street to catch a metered taxi. Ride with illegal taxis at your own risk.

There are Tianjin tourist maps with destinations written in Chinese characters and English. Pointing at where you want to go will get you a long way with taxi drivers. It might be a good idea to take a magnifying glass along as many of the drivers have trouble with the small font.

You can rent a taxi driver for the day or even for just a few hours. The drivers are happy to wait, and the cost for two hours would be less than ¥100.

Another caution about taxis is that there are toll roads in some parts of China. In a taxi, you will be expected to pay the base fare plus the toll fee. The driver pays the toll and receives a receipt at the toll booth. At your destination, you ask for the receipt and pay that amount plus the base fare. If you are going a long way, you may also be asked to pay for the return toll fee. That is a legitimate request, although you could argue that the driver will pick up another fare to pay for the toll anyway. You may or may not succeed with the driver.

Tipping isn't common practice, as in most Chinese cities.

By metro

The Tianjin Metro is extensive with about 300km system length and 10 lines with a flurry of lines opening in 2024 and 2025, expanding the system to over 500km (London Underground for comparison is about 400km in system length).

Number & Name		Terminals	Interchange
1	Line 1	Shuanglin – Liuyuan	Lines 2, 3, 5
2	Line 2	Caozhuang – Tianjin Railway Station - Tianjin Binhai Airport	Lines 1, 3, 5, 9
3	Line 3	High-tech Zone – Xiaodian	Lines 1, 2, 5, 9
5	Line 5	North Warehouse – Dasizhen	Lines 1, 2, 3, 6, 9
6	Line 6	Dabizhuang – Liqizhuang (only Northern and Western section)	Lines 1, 2, 3, 5
9	Line 9	Tianjin Railway Station – Donghai Road	Lines 2, 3, 5, and TEDA MGRT
T	TEDA Modern Guided Rail Tram	TEDA – North of College District	Line 9