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Tianjin (City)

Introduction

NanKai University, Main building

Tianjin (天津) is the sixth largest city in China by population. It is one of only four directly controlled municipalities enjoying provincial-like status as Special Economic Zone (SEZ). (The other three are Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing). It is a large modern city with the outskirts dominated by industry. It is also a port city and in 2005, a section of Tianjin was awarded Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status.

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Neighbourhoods

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Sights and Activities

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Events and Festivals

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Weather

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Getting There

By Plane

Tianjin Binhai International Airport (TSN) flies to many destinations in China and some around East Asia, although most international flights are to Japan and South Korea. For longer distance international travel, it is probably easier to fly to/from Beijing. Many budget airlines have started flying into Tianjin because it is cheaper then Beijing this includes the Air Asia, which has a daily flight connecting Tianjin with Kuala Lumpur (6 hours). Sometimes these flights will say they are flying directly to Beijing but then land in Tianjin and you get loaded on a bus to the Beijing airport.

Buses operate between the train station and the airport and should take around 30 minutes.

Buses directly to the Beijing airport, costing RMB70, leave from the Air China building near Nanjing Lu and Shanxi Lu, which near the earthquake memorial. These buses leave every 30 minutes starting at 6:00am till 5:30pm. They starting going from Beijing to Tianjin at 9:00am till 10:00pm. The bus ride is suppose to take 2 and half hours but can take up 4 hours. There are no stops for the bathroom.

By Train

There are 5 train stations in Tianjin, however the main railway station (天津火车站) is your best bet for long distance travel. You can travel to all major cities in China.

A Z-Train, which is the fastest train on this line, operates between the main station and Beijing south station. This is the easiest and quickest way to travel to/from Beijing. It takes about 30 minutes and costs around RMB60 for a one-way ticket. There are also overnight Z-Trains that go to Shanghai.

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

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Getting Around

By Car

Tianjin has many names such as Beijing's little Brother, the biggest small town in China or the pollution capital. What this all means is this is a very Chinese city. Bikes, motorbikes, cars, trucks, tri-bikes and donkey's in certain areas all compete for the road. Pretty much from sunrise to about 9pm the roads are packed with every form of transport going every which way. In the concession area the twisting oneway streets even confuse veteran taxi drivers, and it doesn't help they are trying to avoid bikes going the wrong way and the right way constantly. In general it would be better not to drive your own car in Tianjin.

By Public Transport

Travel around Tianjin by public transport is easy with efficient and well connected transport links.

Currently, Tianjin has 2 metro line, with 7 more planning to be completed by 2013. A modern bus system and tramway operates throught the city. It is clean and some newer buses are air-conditioned. Costs start at RMB1.

Taxi's are prolific and a convenient way to travel around the city.

By Foot

Walking tours of the concession area can be very nice. All the streets have sidewalks and looking at European 19th century buildings in china can be interesting. Unlike Shanghai most concession homes are still lived in by the same residents since 1949.

By Bike

Biking is a great way to get around Tianjin. Bike's still rule the road and all the major road ways have concreted bike lanes, although sometimes cars will still go down them. Remember that during rush hours the number of bikes and cars can be a bit daunting but if you go slow and pick your way you should be fine.

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Eat

Due to its proximity to sea, seafood features heavily in the local diet. Being in the north of China, steamed buns and noodles are also common.

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Drink

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Sleep

Budget

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
Tianjin City Youth Hostel	Tianguili, Hebeidajie Street Hongqiao District	Hostel	47
Nanyuan Inn Zhongshan Branch	No. 196, Zhongshan Road He Bei District	Hotel	48
The Starway Champagne Town Hotel	No. 82, Yingkou Road He Pin District	Hotel	96

Mid-Range

Upscale

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Work

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Learn

Nankai University was the first western style university founded in China and is considered a top 10 school in China. The large campus has several green spaces, which are pretty. The school also has an excellent teaching Chinese to foreigners program.
Tianjin University is located just north of Nankai and is a very pretty campus with several restaurants on it. This school also has an excellent teaching Chinese to foreigners program.
Tianjin University of Technology

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Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

Post

China Post (中国邮政) is the official postal service of the People's Republic of China, operated by the State Postal Bureau of the People's Republic of China (website in Chinese only), and has more details about price to send letters, postcards and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally. The Chinese postal service is very good. Remember that in more remote places usually only one post office in a city can handle sending international boxes or letters. Also many times it might be worth having the name of the country you are trying to send to in Chinese characters. Post offices have a striking green logo and can easily be found everywhere in the cities. They are mostly open every day (including weekends!) from 8:00am to 6:00pm, though small offices might have shorter opening times, while the bigger ones in central and touristic areas are sometimes open during evenings as well.