Tianjin, referred to as "Jin" for short, is one of the four municipalities directly under the Central Government of China. Not only is it an international harbor and economic center in the north of China, but it is also well-known for its profound historical and cultural heritage.
Tianjin's urban area is located along the Hai He River. Its ports, some distance away, are located on Bohai Gulf in the Pacific Ocean. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican era. The municipality now incorporates the coastal region of Tanggu, home to the Binhai New Area and the TEDA economic development zone.Tianjin Municipality
borders Hebei province to the north, south, and west; Chinese capital Beijing is to the northwest, and Bohai Gulf to the east.People from urban Tianjin speak Tianjin dialect, which comes under the Mandarin subdivision of spoken Chinese. Despite its proximity to Beijing, Tianjin dialect sounds quite different from Beijing dialect, which provides the basis for Putonghua, official spoken language of the People's Republic of China.
Tianjin cuisine places a heavy focus on seafood, due to Tianjin's proximity to the sea. Prominent menus include the Eight Great Bowls, a combination of eight mainly meat dishes. It can be further classified into several varieties, including the rough, smooth, and high. The Four Great Stews refers actually to a very large number of stews, including chicken, duck, seafood, beef, and
mutton.Tianjin also has several famous snack items. Goubuli is a traditional brand of baozi (steamed buns with filling) that is famous throughout China. Guifaxiang is a traditional brand of mahua (twisted dough sticks). Erduoyan is a traditional brand of fried rice cakes.Tianjin is a respected home base of Beijing opera, one of the most prestigious forms of Chinese opera.
Ma Sanli(1914 - 2003), an ethnic Hui and longtime resident of Tianjin, is paramountly respected in China for his xiangsheng, a hugely popular form of Chinese entertainment similar to stand-up comedy. Ma Sanli delivered some of his xiangsheng in the Tianjin dialect.Yangliuqing (Green Willows), a town about 15 km west of Tianjin's urban area and the seat of Tianjin's Xiqing District, is famous for its popular Chinese New Year-themed, traditional-style, colourful wash paintings. Tianjin is also famous for Zhang's clay figurines which are a type of colourful figurine depicting a variety of vivid characters, and Tianjin's Wei's kites, which can be folded to a fraction of their full sizes, are noted for portability.
