An Introduction to Tianjin Municipality 天 津 市 简 介

Abbreviation: Jin 津
Area: More than 11,000 square kilometers
Population: 9.27 million
Location: In the northeastern part of the North China Plain

Tianjin is one of China’s four municipalities under the direct jurisdiction of the Central Government and the fourth largest city in China. Tianjin is skirted by the Bohai Sea to the east and bounded by the Yanshan Mountains to the north. It lies 120 kilometers to the southeast of Beijing. Tianjin is an important industrial base and an economic center with the largest artificial seaport for foreign trade and cruise ships in North China.

Tianjin is a famous city with long history and abundant resources. With the policy of reform and opening-up to the outside world great achievements have been made on the urban construction and tourism. Tianjin has formed a scenery layout with the city proper as the center, Jixian County, and Tanggu District as the wings . Tianjin’s urban area has been expanded with Wuqing, a former county of the municipality, included to be one of the city’s districts. The adju8stment, approved by the State Council in June 2000, was made in order to promote further development of Tianjin. Located between Tianjin and Beijing, Wuqing encompasses 1,570 square kilometers and has a population of 820,000. The port of Tianjin is Beijing’s gateway to the sea.

Tianjin is also noted for its points of interest. In the suburban Jixian County is found the Temple of Solitary Joy. First built during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the temple is famous for its superb wooden structure, its gigantic clay figure of Buddha and its coloured frescoes. To the northwest of the county seat lies Mount Pan, a favourite mountain resort for many emperors over the ages. Mount Pan ranks with Mount Tai and Mount Lu among the fifteen mountains in China illustrious for their scenic beauty. Within the city itself the Water Park with its three lakes and nine islands, is a pretty scenic spot. The Garden of Tranquility, studded with pavilions and terraces and threaded with the Long Corridor, excels in its Chinese-style garden layout. The modern-style zoo houses rare birds and animals of various kinds. There are four famous handicrafts in Tianjin, such as Tianjin Carpet, Yangliuqing New Year Pictures, Clay Figurine Zhang, and Wei Kite.

Residents in Tianjin began to drink clean water diverted from the Yellow River on November 1, 2000. The water was diverted at Weishan Gate in Dong’e County, in East China’s Shandong Province, and flowed into Tianjin from a distance of 580 kilometers.

The Yangliuqing New Year Pictures杨柳青年画

Yangliuqing is a small town in the western suburbs of Tianjin. New year pictures workshops appeared there at the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), employing people to paint, cut wood, print and mount pictures. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), “Yangliuqing” became the country’s most famous kind of woodblock picture. At its heyday, most people living in the twon and in the surrounding 32 villages were engaged in the business. They produced more than 20 million pieces a year. As well as maintaining the sincerity of traditional folk paintings, the Yangliuqing pictures also absorbed the characteristics of traditional Chinese “realistic” painting and paid close attention to the details of the figures. The colouring used the different effects of “soft colours (gentle, clear and sometimes pinkish)” and “hard colours (strong, deep and pure).” Yangliuqing pictures use both process printing and hand drawing for colour. The themes range from the dignified door-god (whose pictures were often pasted on the front door of a house as a talisman in old China), chubby children and elegant ladies, to scenes from ancient novels and folk tales. The images are vivid and colourful. Larger sized woodblock pictures are a specialty of the Yangliuqing pictures.

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