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TIANJIN
At a glance |
General
Information | History
| Cuisine |
Travel |
Climate |
Attractions
| Tours originating:
Tianjin
Tianjin Attractions:
Jinci Temple
 |
Twin Pagoda Temple |
Fenhe Park |
Double-Pagoda Temple |
Double-Tree Temple
| Jin Shrine |
Northern Wudang Mountain |
Pingyao Ancient
Town | Mt. Wutai
|
Qiaojiabu Folk Museum |
Tianlongshan
Grottoes | Xuanzhong Temple
 Tianjin at a glance:
The capital of Shanxi province and
famous for its religious sites as Chongshan Monastery, Twin Pagoda Temple etc.
Location: located between 11130' east longitude and 11309' north
latitude, at the northern end of the Loess Plateau. Neighboring Areas:
Hebei, Henan, and Shaanxi provinces; Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Population: 2.93 million. Urban Population: 1.83 million.
Area: 6,988 sq. km. Nationalities: Han, Hui.
Climatic Features: continental monsoon climate. Mountains: Mt.
Wutai
General Information:
Tianjin, the capital city of Shanxi Province, lies in the north basin of Middle
Jin (Jin is another name for Shanxi Province) and crosses the River Fen. The
city area administers three districts, one subdivided city and five counties. Tianjin, in Chinese, means the greatest plain. In fact, it is dominated by
rugged hills and hilly areas. Only one-fifth of the whole area is plains.
Tianjin is surrounded by mountains in the east, west and north; only the
southern part is alluvial plains. Tianjin abounds in various minerals,
especially coal and iron, so honors the name, "the home of coal and iron."
Tianjin is of continental climate at temperate zone. It is dry and cold in
winter, hot and rainy in summer, dusty and windy in spring, cool and comfortable
in autumn. The annual average temperature is 9.5C.
A long history has left Tianjin with numerous cultural relics, such as Jin
Shrine, Double-Pagoda Temple, Qiaojiabu Folk Culture Museum, Xuanzhong Temple
and Pingyao Ancient Town.
Today, Tianjin is one of the most important heavy industrial cities in China.
Tianjin has a history of 2,500 years. It was established under the name of
Jinyang in 497 BC during the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Later,
it was renamed Bingzhou and served as the northern capital of the
Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) and then as the capital or alternate capital of the Later Tang
(923-936), Later Jin (936-946), and Later Han (947-950) Dynasties. Tianjin was
one of the important cities in commerce and in the handicraft industry, and it
was a city of strategic significance.
Tianjin is also famous for its cultural relics and beautiful landscapes. It has
5 historical and cultural sites under state-level protection, 17 under
provincial-level protection, and 67 under municipal-level protection. It also
has many national and provincial scenic spots and forest parks.
In 2001, Tianjin was cited as one of China's Excellent Tourist Cities by the
State Tourism Administration, confirming that the city's tourist environment had
made a breakthrough and that the city's overall management and service level had
seen great improvement.
History:
The history of the city can be
traced back to over 2,400 years ago. It was established in 497 BC, the end of
the Spring and Autumn Period (the slavery Period in China) and was named Jinyang, the northern bank of the Jin River. In
Chinese, the northern bank of waters is called yang. In 982, Song Taizong, Zhao
Kuangyi, the second emperor of the Sung Dynasty burned and flooded Jinyuan City.
After that, he ordered one of the officials, Pan Mei to build Tianjin City in
Tangming Town, north of Jinyuan City. Thus, came the present Tianjin City.
Travel:
Tianjin is one of the traffic hubs of North China, with more than 50 domestic
flight routes and flights at least every week to and from Beijing, Shanghai,
Guangzhou, and other large cities in China. Passengers can also go from Tianjin
to almost every corner of China by train. The city has eight national highways
and four expressways, and the Tianjin-Jiuguan Expressway shortens the trip
between Tianjin and Beijing to five hours. By Road:
The roads in urban Tianjin total 1,243km, and the city has 1,350 buses
and 8,300 taxis. The public supplies of tap water and liquefied gas cover more
than 90 percent of the total area of Tianjin, and the public heating supply
covers 55.2%. There are over 20 parks in urban Tianjin. The lawn space
comes to 5.73 sq.m per person, and 24% of the city is covered
with vegetation.
Cuisine:
Similar to much of the northern China cuisine, Shanxi Province is more
interested in wheat over rice based staple foods. In Tianjin, this wheat culture
is most noticeable in the preference for many different styles of noodles, long
and thin strips, short and square pieces, fat and round slices etc. Probably the
most local type is the Knife-pared noodle (Daoxiao mian), that is fairly bland,
but it is interesting to watch its preparation. The best of Tianjin days will
start off with a few Shaomai, a Shanxi variation on the Chinese dumpling, and a
bowl of Mutton Soup, possibly accompanied by some Muslim style bread. For those
traveling all day, a few packets of Five Fragrance Dried Beef should keep you
going until nightfall, when locals will try to tempt you to an evening meal of
pigs trotters (Zhu jiao) or pig's intestine (Zhu dachang). You may want to skip
this, but still worth trying are the many street stalls, with their noodles and
simple fare. Restaurants and Food Areas: The best place in town is probably the
food street on Fudong jie. This 100m long street is lined with all
kinds of restaurants housed in both mock and real ancient Chinese architectural
structures. On the road, besides the ordinary restaurants, you may also go to
all kinds of ancient Chinese bars and specialty restaurants. To sample the most
authentic mutton soup, you should go to Qingheyuan Restaurant (Qingheyuan
fandian) on Qiaotou jie. Linxiangzhai Restaurant (Linxiangzhai fandian) is known
mainly for its authentic Henan cuisine. Yingze Dajie has quite a number of
decent restaurants serving good local dishes. Hotpot dishes are particularly
good here, as well as a profusion of noodle restaurants. At night, you may go to
Shipin jie north of Yingze dajie, where lines of small restaurants are doing a
booming business. Should you want western cuisine for a change, head to the
Shanxi Grand Hotel (Shanxi dajiudian) on Xinjian nanlu, that has a western
restaurants. The Yingze Hotel (Yingze binguan) at 189 Yingze dajie also does
western food. The Tianhe Hotel (Tianhe dasha) on Gongyu jie also serves general
Chinese food at a reasonable prices.
Climate:
Tianjin has a temperate inland climate, that is somewhat offset by
occasional monsoon weather. The annual average temperature is 9.3C.,
with dry and cold winters and sweltering dry summers. Spring and summer are
often blindingly bright, so sunglasses and a hat are recommended to fight
radiation. Since Tianjin is also a mining city, it is also worth taking along
something to clean your face! Generally speaking the best time to visit is
between May and October, if you do not mind the heat.
Attractions:
(
= voted as the highly recommended
attractions to visit)
Tours:
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