Tianjin?is located in the northeast of the North China Plain in the Bohai Sea area. With rivers traveling through the city, Tianjin has been a water resource since ancient times.

Tianjin has a history of more than 600 years since its establishment in 1404. In 1860, Tianjin was opened up as a trading port, and thereafter became a gateway to North China and the base of the "Westernization Movement.

Tianjin witnessed military modernization and other social developments in railway, telegraph, telephone, postal service, mining, modern education, and judicature sectors. Tianjin became the second largest industrial and commercial city in China and the biggest financial and commercial center of North China.

After the founding of modern China, Tianjin, as a central municipality, has made brilliant achievements in economic and social developments. Entering the 21st century, Tianjin Binhai New Area was incorporated into the national development strategy, leading the Bohai Sea coastal region as a new economic growth driver for China after the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta economic zones.

Tianjin aims to develop into an international port city, an ecological city, and the economic center of North China.

Tianjin History

Approximately 6,000 years ago, when the Tianjin plain was part?of the sea, ancestors of a primitive society lived in an area presently known as Jixian.

About 4,000 years ago, the urban land of Tianjin became exposed from the sea.

During the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 24), Tianjin began to build the city and grow its salt industry.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220), Tianjin preliminarily built the Haihe River water system and the city formed as a shipping hub in North China.

The construction of the Grand Canal began in the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), providing favorable conditions for further development for the city of Tianjin north of the canal.

In the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), Yuyang county (now Tianjin Jixian county) became a northern town with military importance. The Tianjin Junliangcheng Haikou, known in the Tang Dynasty as "three meeting Haikou", was located in the estuary of Yongji and two other drains. Yuyang was the earliest stage in the development of the Port of Tianjin.

The co-existing Song and Liao dynasties (960-1279 and 916-1125) witnessed the establishment of the Haihe River as the boundary between the two confronting countries.

Zhigu village was set up in Tianjin in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) as a strategic military town near the capital of Peking. The salt industry in Tianjin was becoming more prosperous and institutionalized.

In the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Zhigu became a grain transport and shipping hub. Haijin town was set up under the administration of Zhigu.

In the third year (1400) of the Jianwen Emperor period, Emperor Yongle led troops across the river via Zhigu all the way south to seize power.

In the second year of the Yongle Emperor's reign (1404), guards were set up and a city named "Tianjin" was built in Zhigu, literal meaning "the ferry where the emperor passes". The city consisted of two parts, Zuowei and Youwei.

In the year of 1652, under the rule of the Shunzhi Emperor in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Tianjin Zuowei and Youwei merged into Tianjin Wei.

In 1725 under the rule of the Yongzheng Emperor, Tianjin Wei became the state of Tianjin from its original designation as a military spot.

In 1731, during the Yongzheng Emperor period, the state of Tianjin was upgraded to Tianjin Fu, a regional administrative center of the Tianjin area.

In 1860, Tianjin became a trading port.

In 1928, the national government set up the special city of Tianjin.

In 1949, when modern China was founded, Tianjin became a municipality directly under the central government.

In 1951, the central government decided to build a new port of Tanggu in Tianjin.

In 1984, Tianjin became one of the 14 coastal cities first opened to the outside world.

In 2006, the development of the new coastal area of Tianjin was incorporated into the State's overall development layout.

In 2008, Tianjin became an association city hosting the Olympic Games with Beijing, serving as the location for 12 Olympic football?matches. In the same year, Tianjin hosted the Summer Davos Forum. From then on, the city has hosted the Summer Davos Forum every two years.

Administrative districts and counties in?Tianjin