Meaning of the name
"Heaven's Ferry Landing", so called because it was the landing place for visitors coming to Beijing from overseas.

Geographical location:
Tianjin is located in the northeast of the North China Plain, facing the Bohai Sea in the east, and seated against Mt. Yanshan in the north, lying between 38033'-400 15' N, and 116042' 118003'E. It adjoins Beijing in the north and borders on Tangshan, Chengde, Langfang and Cangzhou of Hebei Province in the east, west and south respectively. Its coastal line stretches about 133 km long. It covers an area of 11,305 square kilometers. The name of Tianjin first appeared in the early years of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, meaning the ferry port used by an emperor. In 1404, it became a military position of strategic importance, and construction of city walls and garrison installations began. The city was eventually called Tianjin Fort.

Neighboring Areas: Hebei province, Beijing municipality

Attractions in Tianjin

Population:
The city has 9.5664 million permanent residents at the end of 1998 and the number of registered permanent residents was 9.0509 million, 52,900 more than that of the preceding year.

Population growth rate:
The birth rate of the year was 0.989 percent, a drop of 0.09 per thousand on the preceding year. The death rate was 0.649 percent. And the natural growth rate of population was 0.34 per thousand, an increase of 0.37 per thousand on the preceding year.

Area: 11,919 sq km

Culture
Some of the noted handicrafts produced in Tianjin are: Tianjin carpets, Yangliuqing New Year's pictures, painted clay figurines by Master Zhang, and Tianjin kites.

Famous people born in Tianjin include:

• Eric Liddell (1902-1945), British runner who won a gold medal in the 400-metre run and a bronze in the 200 metres at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris
• John Hersey (1914-1993), American novelist and journalist
  Food

Tianjin favors northern-style cuisine like nearby Beijing. Two famous local specialties are Goubuli (steamed meat dumplings) and Shibajie (deep fried dough twists).

Ethnicity:
There are 41 minority ethnical groups in the city with a total population of 220,000.

Administrative divisions:
The municipality has 13 districts: Heping, Hedong, Nankai, Hexi, Hebei, Hongqiao, Tanggu, Hangu, Dagang, Dongli, Xiqing, Jinnan and Beichen; its five counties include: Wuqing, Jinghai, Ninghe, Baodi and Jixian.

Literacy:
Tianjin has 20 higher learning institutions, constituting 230 departments and sections, with a total of 70,000 undergraduates and 5,800 graduate students, including 1,500 doctorate candidates. A comprehensive higher learning system has been formed with various disciplines including sciences, engineering, agriculture, medical science, teaching, finance and economics, liberal arts, foreign languages, arts and physical culture, and various grades of students including that of community colleges, undergraduates and graduates. There are 732 middle schools, with more than 500,000 students. Vocational education has made much headway in recent years. There are now 64 secondary specialized schools, 140 vocational schools and 120 technical schools in the city, the total number of students enrolled is 80,000. The adult educational system has been set up, with 532 higher learning institutions for continuous education and more than 50,000 students. The city has 150 research institutions of various sciences and over 300,000 professionals specializing in different areas of science and technology, including many world-famous outstanding scholars and experts.

History:
established early in Sui dynasty when the Grand Cannel was under construction; an important port in Tang dynasty; later renamed Haijin County in Yuan dynasty; since 16 century; gradually grown into a metropolis; now the direct municipality of the P.C.R.

Topography:
Tianjin is located at the lower reaches of the Haihe River, its territory lying on both sides of the river. Besides Haihe, several other rivers also run into the sea through the area, such as the New Ziya River, the Duliujian River, the New Yongding River, the New Chaobai River and Canal Ji. The distance from the city proper to the sea coast is 50 km and that to Beijing is 120 km. It is an important passage by sea to Beijing, having served as an important fort and doorway to Beijing since ancient times. It is also a communication hub linking North China, Northeast China and Northwest China. The direct distance from Tianjin to Shenyang in Northeast China, to Baotou in Northwest China and to Xuzhou and Zhengzhou in the south is less than 600 km. The city boasts the largest man-made harbor in the north; its Tianjin Port is an important passage linking a dozen of provinces and cities in the north with the sea. With more than 30 navigation routes leading to more than 300 international ports, it serves as a major channel linking the continents of Asia and Europe by sea. Tianjin¡¯s geological position and strategic importance is unmatchable.

Rivers: Daqing River, Yongding River, Nanyun River, Beiyun River, Ziya River

Climate:
The city is located in the middle latitudes on the east bank of the European-Asian continent, facing the Pacific. The monsoon circulating winds bring a sharp impact on the city. In winter, wind often blows from the north because of the cold high pressure from Mongolia. In summer, affected by the subtropical high pressure from the western Pacific, the city sees much south wind. It has a semi-moist warm temperate continental monsoon climate, with an apparent feature of transit from continental climate to marine climate: there are four clearly divided seasons, but the duration of each is different; precipitation is not high, with uneven distribution over the year. Monsoon wind is high and sunshine is adequate. Located near the seacoast, the city has a strong continental climate. The annual average temperature is 12.3 ¡ãC. The hottest month is July, during which the average temperature can reach 26 ¡ãC. January is the coldest month, its average temperatures being -4 ¡ãC. The yearly average rainfall is 550-680 mm, 80 percent of which is concentrated in summer.

Rainfall: average annual of 550-600mm

Land:
Jixian County in the north of Tianjin has mountain soil, composed of the surface layer of weathered rocks. In other areas, the soil is developed from the sediments of the Fourth Age with a higher degree of fertility. Farmland covers 671,700 hectares. And non-farming land covers 459,000 hectares. At the lower reaches of Haihe River and along the coastal area, there are 120 square kilometers of low beach for reclamation.

Natural resources:
More than 20 varieties of minerals worthy of excavation have been discovered. These include manganese, manganese-boron stone, gold, tungsten, molybdenum, copper, aluminum, zinc, limestone, marble, medical stone, barite, and natural oilstone. Petroleum and natural gas are reserved underground in the plain and the continental framework of the Bohai Sea.

The city is located across the River Haihe, the largest river in North China, which has at its upper reaches more than 300 tributaries of more than 10 km or longer. These tributaries converge into the North Canal, Yongdin River, Daqing River, Ziya River, and South Canal, which, further converge themselves into the Haihe River at Sanchakou near the Jin¡¯gang Bridge of Tianjin. The Haihe, which flows into the Bohai Sea at Dagukou, runs 72 km long with an average width of 100 meter and a depth of 3-5 meter. It used to have 3,000-ton ships navigating on it. Since the project of diverting the water from the Luanhe River to Tianjin was finished in the 1980s, a billion cubic meters of water has been sent to the city every year. The city also has a rich deposit of underground water. In the mountainous area, quality mineral water with low mineral contents oozes from cracks of rocks at a rate of 7.2-14.6 tons per hour, and the flow can reach 720-800 tons per hour during the rainfall reason. There are three large reservoirs with a total capacity of 340 million cubic meters.

In the coastal area, there are a lot of salt- and alkali-resistant plants, such as Chinese ash, Chinese scholar tree, Chinese toon, willow, poplar, and phoenix tree. In recent years, orchards of pear, Chinese date, apricot, peach, grape, and apple have been developed. In the wetlands, there are reeds, calamus, and cultivated water chestnut and lotus root. In the northern mountainous area, there grow Chinese pine, Chinese walnut, walnut, haw, and persimmon. The wild animals are mostly herbivores, such as wild goat, river deer, hedgehog, squirrel and birds. There are about 30 varieties of freshwater fish in ponds and reservoirs, most of which being common carp, snail carp, grass carp, silver carp, and mullet.

In the period from 2002 to 2004, the city will launch a series of eco-environmental programs, including the Blue Sky Project, Clear Water Project and Noise-free Project and Ecological Project.