- Ancient sights of Tianjin and the surrounding area
- Achievements of modern civilization
- Religious buildings
- Tianjin museums
- Tianjin Water Park
The third largest urban area in the Middle Kingdom, Tianjin is located southeast of Beijing and is connected to the capital by a high-speed train that covers a hundred kilometers in a matter of minutes.
The history of the city, unlike many other Chinese cities, begins quite late - in the Middle Ages. In the XII century, many warehouses were built here for storing grain, which was sent from Tianjin to the northern provinces of the Middle Kingdom. The townspeople also worked in the salt pans, supplying an important food product to northern China. In the second half of the XIV century. the settlement acquired an important strategic meaning: the capital was moved to Beijing and the former town of salt workers became, in fact, its gate.
Are you planning an excursion route and looking for where to go in Tianjin? Pay attention not only to historical monuments, but also to modern buildings: the city is dynamically developing and is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the northeastern part of the People's Republic of China.
Ancient sights of Tianjin and the surrounding area
The last Chinese imperial Qing dynasty ruled the country from the second half of the 17th century. until the beginning of the twentieth century. Numerous architectural monuments of the city belong to this era.
For example, the complex of tombs of the Qing dynasty emperor in Tsunhua near Tianjin. You can go there as part of an organized excursion, or on your own. The tombs are the best-preserved burial complex in the Middle Kingdom. Five emperors, 15 empresses and more than 130 concubines are buried in the tombs. The complex covers an area of 80 sq. km. In the very center is the burial place of Emperor Shunzhi - the first representative of the ruling Qing dynasty. He died in 1661 and his mausoleum is called Xiaolin. It contains several stone structures: arches, east and west steles, great palace gates, a dressing room, a pavilion of divine merit, several arched bridges. The palace part of the mausoleum is a huge complex of premises. The burial place of Emperor Kangxi, on the other hand, looks very modest and ascetic, despite the fact that he was one of the greatest people of his time.
The first Dagu fortress in the Tangu urban area is much older. It was built in the Jiajing era in the middle of the 16th century. The representative of the then ruling Ming Dynasty Zhu Houtsong was worried about security - foreign invaders appeared on the borders of Tianjin more than once and it became more and more difficult to defend the city. Later, during the Opium Wars, which shook the Celestial Empire in the 19th century, five more large forts and two dozen small forts were built. In 1900, after the end of the Battle of Dagu, the international coalition entered China. At this time, almost all fortifications were dismantled, and today you can see only the two remaining fortresses. The one on the southern bank of the Haihe River is accessible to tourists.
Achievements of modern civilization
The inexorably expanding Tianjin boasts many modern structures that have already entered the lists of the most unique not only in China, but throughout Southeast Asia:
- The Ferris wheel on the Yongle Bridge over the Haihe River is traditionally called the “eye”. The Tianjin Eye is the only attraction of this kind in the world, installed at the crossing, and its size inspires respect. The height of the structure reaches 120 meters, and the diameter of the "eye" itself is more than 110 meters. At the time of construction in 2007the Tianjin attraction ranked fourth in the ranking in terms of height among similar ones on the planet. The 48 capsules of the Ferris wheel can simultaneously accommodate more than 380 people, and the attraction makes a full turn in an hour and a half - an event not for the faint of heart!
- The TV Tower appeared in Tianjin in 1991 and immediately won the love of the townspeople for its revolving restaurant. Its tables "hover" at a height of 257 m. However, a gastronomic establishment, traditional for buildings of this kind, is not the only thing that is of interest to tourists on the tower. There is also an observation deck upstairs, which functions, however, in a limited mode.
- Another miracle of modern Chinese architecture is an ultra-tall skyscraper that is ready to outshine all other high-rise buildings in the Middle Kingdom, except for the Shanghai Tower. The new building is called Goldin Finance 117, and, as you might guess, the building has 117 floors. The skyscraper is under construction, but the scale is already impressive. The height of Goldin Finance 117 upon completion of all works will be 597 m.
Travelers will be able to look at the city from a height of 308 meters by going up to the observation deck of another record holder - the Tianjin World Financial Center. Before the appearance in the city of Goldin Finance 117, the financial skyscraper was the first in the ranking of the tallest structures in the city. It differs from other buildings with a transparent facade. In the Jin Tower, as the locals call the skyscraper, for the first time in the city, two-story elevators were installed.
Religious buildings
There are several temples in Tianjin that are worth seeing on a sightseeing tour. Surprisingly, this list contains not only Buddhist religious buildings traditional for the Middle Kingdom:
- Cathedral of Saint Joseph, for example, a Catholic church. Its construction began in 1913 after the formation of the Apostolic Vicariate of Coastal Zhili. The temple was erected on the territory of the French concession, and after the completion of the work, the bishop's chair was transferred there. The cathedral suffered several times from the elements and barbarians, but was rebuilt again. Since the 90s. last century included in the list of protected architectural objects of the city.
- The Catholic Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary the Victorious is half a century older. It was first built in 1861 for the religious needs of the French living in Tianjin, but nine years later the church was burned down during the riots and persecution of Christians. The cathedral was rebuilt again at the end of the 19th century, but soon it was again destroyed by the participants in the Ikhetuan uprising. The church acquired its present appearance in 1904 and for another decade it was a cathedral.
- Among the typical Chinese temple buildings, Dabeyuan in Tianjin is one of the most revered. The Chan Buddhist monastery complex was founded in the middle of the 17th century. On the territory of the complex, you will find the Shakyamuni Temple, where the relics of Xuanzang, a translator, traveler and philosopher of the Tang Dynasty, were previously kept. Now, within the walls of the temple, several hundred sculptural images of the Buddha are exhibited. Dabeyuan is located near the main railway station of Tianjin and you can go there for an excursion, leaving your belongings in the storage room.
On Guwenhua Jie Street, which is called the historical landmark of the city, you will see the Palace of the Queen of Heaven. This temple is dedicated to the goddess of the sea Mazu. It was built in 1326, but subsequently reconstructed several times. In the temple, they prayed for safe sea travel and met the sailors who returned home. Flower exhibitions are being held today at the Palace of the Queen of Heaven on Mazu's birthday.
Useful information for shoppers: Guwenhua Jie Street is full of shops and souvenir shops where you can buy traditional goods and gifts for family and friends.
Tianjin museums
If you enjoy exploring the city through museum displays, head to the largest museum in Tianjin. It is in it that a collection of objects is collected that most fully illustrates the history of the city, the region, and the whole of the Middle Kingdom. The Tianjin Museum is located in a building whose architecture is very unusual: the building resembles a large bird spreading its wings. More than two hundred thousand exhibits dedicated to various historical periods are exhibited in the halls of the museum. Genuine documents and coins, old maps and jade products, bronze figurines and paintings, samples of calligraphy and embroidery on silk - all this perfectly creates an idea of Chinese culture for a European visitor.
The Porcelian House has a collection of both contemporary ceramics and porcelain antiques. It is known that the first hard porcelain appeared in the Middle Kingdom during the reign of the Yuan dynasty, which came from Mongolia at the end of the 13th century. For the first few centuries, China was the only country in the world that produced china and décor items and supplied them to Europe and the Middle East. In the House of Porcelain you can look at unique exhibits, but the building itself, within the walls of which the collection is exhibited, is of undoubted interest. The walls of the colonial mansion are inlaid with thousands of porcelain tiles and shards.
Tianjin Water Park
Tianjin Water Park in its present form was opened in the middle of the last century, although its history goes back much more time - almost two thousand years. For the first time, the Green Dragon Pond appears in historical documents in the 1st century. n. NS.
The water park consists of three lakes and nine islands. Numerous pagodas and pavilions have been built on the shores of reservoirs and on islands, hiking trails have been set up and hundreds of trees have been planted. The flower gardens of the park are worthy of a separate story. Gardeners organize the space so that flower beds delight visitors with flowering plants at any time of the year. Tianjin Water Park hosts chrysanthemum festivals in autumn and tulip exhibitions in early spring.
For active visitors, the park provides water entertainment. You can rent a boat or become a passenger on a high-speed water shuttle.
