Tianjin （Jin for short） is a municipality direct under the Central Government, as well as an opening city. It's situated in the eastern part of the North China Plain, covering an area of 11,300 square km. and with a population of six million.
It has a semi-humid continental climate in the warm Temperate Zone. With an annual average temperature of 12 degrees centigrade, and rainfall of 590 millimeters, it has 220 frost-free days per year. It's rich in petroleum, natural gas and sea salt along the coastal area.
As one of China's biggest industrial centers, Tianjin has built up an all-round industrial system with machinery, electronics, textiles, chemicals, metallurgy, foodstuff etc. as its mainstays. The production on a fairly large scale, of arts and crafts like hand-made carpets, Yangliuqing's New Year Pictures printed from an engraved wood plate, Zhang's painted clay figurines, kites etc. holds an important position in the country. Tianjin has already achieved successes in the operation of its Economic and Technological Development Zone in the northeastern part of Tanggu District, covering an area of 33 square km.
Tianjin is one of the most prosperous business areas as well as a distribution center for goods and materials in North China.
It's also a key hub of land and sea communications. Its port consisting of Tianjin, Tanggu and Xingang Harbours is an important Chinese Sea port, serving as the most convenient sea outlet for Beijing, North China and Northwest. The port accessible to ocean freighters of ten thousand tons class has opened more than 20 ocean shipping routes. Tianjin has a well-developed road transport network, regular air-service to over 30 cities throughout the country, and inland water shipping, in addition to the pipelines for oil transport.
Tianjin is a famous historical city. The best known scenic spots and historical sites include Ning Garden, Tianhou Temple （Temple of Heavenly Empress）, Dule Temple in Ji county, The Great Wall at the Huangya Pass, the Panshan scenery area etc.
Efforts are being made to develop Tianjin primarily into a financial center in North China, an international commercial city and a free port.
Ancient Cultural Street(古文化街)
Tianjin Ancient Cultural Street is located in the Nankai District of the Tianjin Municipality and was formally opened in 1986. It is located on the west bank of the Haihe River, with Tianhou Palace as its geographical center. Tianjin Ancient Cultural Street begins at Gongbei Avenue in the north, and ends at Gongnan Avenue in the south, being 0.36 miles long and 16 feet wide. Although essentially a business street, Tianjin Ancient Cultural Street attracts tourists who come to see its special architectural styles, admire its classic cultural features, buy various folk crafts, and sample the delicious local Tianjin snacks. Above all, as visitors walk along the street, they will be particularly impressed by the splendid replica classical architecture in the folk style of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
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Standing at the center of Tianjin Ancient Cultural Street, Tianhou Palace, originally built in 1326, is one of only three Mazu Temples in the world (the other two are Fujian Mazu Temple and Beigang Chaotian Temple on Taiwan Island). Tianhou Palace is now the Folk-custom Museum of Tianjin and displays many folk crafts and cultural relics of ancient times. Yuhuang Cabinet (Yuhuang Ge) is the only building that was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in Tianjin, and is the oldest structure in the street. From the top of the two-floor Cabinet, visitors have a bird's-eye view of the whole street. Another building, Tong Qingli (ancient residential houses), built in 1913 and lying to the east of the cultural street, is the largest architectural edifice that combines both eastern and western architectural elements.
Looking closely, visitors will note that buildings along the street are all built with 'blue bricks', and that the doors and windows have colorful paintings drawn upon them. These paintings range from stories of legendary and historical figures to flowers and birds. Some retell stories contained in Chinese classical novels, such as The Dream of a Red Mansion (one the four Chinese classical novels) and Song of Eternal Sorrow, which is a story about the Empress Yang Kwei Fei in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
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Visitors who are interested in Chinese traditional handicrafts will also appreciate another Tianjin Ancient Cultural Street attraction - the hundreds of stores selling a wide variety of folk handicrafts. These include the famous Yang Liuqing New Year Paintings and Niren Zhang Painted Sculptures. Visitors who are fond of Chinese curios, such as jade items, cloisonné and potteries, will also be able to find many examples of these for sale here. The street is also a favorite place to sample the delicious Tianjin local snacks. The local delicacies include Goubuli Steamed Dumplings, Erduoyan (the Ear-hole Lane) Fried Glutinous Cakes and tea soup.
Tianjin Ancient Cultural Street is designed as a place for tourists to experience Chinese folk custom, and as such, contains examples of nearly all the Tianjin local culture in one place. For an added experience, when visiting the street on March 23rd (lunar calendar), visitors will be lucky enough to find the Huanghui Fair, which is held annually on this date. During the Fair you will see performances of stilt walking, dragon lantern, land boat and lion dances.
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Ni Ren (Clay Figurine) Zhang
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Jinmen GuliJinmen Guli means old place in Tianjin for the reason that Jinmen is another name for Tianjin and Guli implies old place. Actually Jinmen Guli is a street, Ancient Cultural Street (Gu Wenhua Jie). There are many stores along this street dealing in jade articles, antiques, traditional handicrafts, especially famous Niren Zhang painted sculptures and Weiji kites. What makes Gu Wenhua Jie so amazing is that buildings on both sides of this street imitate the architectural style of those in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
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Courtyard of the Shi Family
石家大院
With a reputation of China s modern-time folk house museum, the Courtyard of the Shi Family is located on the north bank of Yu river in Yangliuqing. The courtyard used to belong to Shi Yuanshi and the Shi Family, one of the eight eminent families in Tianjin in the old days. Shi Yuanshi came from the fourth generation of the family, who was a successful businessman and a good household manager, and the residence was thus enlarged for several times until it acquired the present scale. Also known as the Shi Family Courtyard, it is a unique and well-preserved large folk residence of Qing Dynasty in north China. Its playhouse is one of the best preserved playhouse in China. In 1991, the Shi Family courtyard was named Tianjin Yangliuqing Museum.
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