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Tianjin

Tianjin is a municipality and metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. As such, it is not part of a province of China. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the 2020 Chinese census. Its metropolitan area, which is made up of 12 central districts (other than Baodi, Jizhou, Jinghai and Ninghe), was home to 11,165,706 inhabitants and is also the world's 29th-largest agglomeration (between Chengdu and Rio de Janeiro) and 11th-most populous city proper.

Tianjin is governed as one of the four municipalities (alongside Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing) under the direct administration of the State Council of China. The city borders Hebei Province and Beijing Municipality, bounded to the east by the Bohai Gulf portion of the Yellow Sea. Part of the Bohai Economic Rim, it is the largest coastal city in Northern China and part of the Jing-Jin-Ji megapolis.

In terms of urban population, Tianjin is the seventh largest city in China. In terms of administrative area population, Tianjin ranks fifth in mainland China. The walled city of Tianjin was built in 1404. As a treaty port since 1860, Tianjin has been a seaport and gateway to Beijing. During the Boxer Rebellion, the city was the seat of the Tianjin Provisional Government. Under the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China, Tianjin became one of the largest cities in the region. At that time, European-style buildings and mansions were constructed in concessions, some of which are preserved today. The present day form of Tianjin municipality was founded on 2 January 1967 when it was detached from Hebei, though the city had suffered a depression due to the policy of the central government and the 1976 Tangshan earthquake; however, it has been recovering since the 1990s. Tianjin is classified as the largest type of port city, a Large-Port Megacity, due to its large urban population and port traffic volume.

Tianjin is currently a dual-core city, with its main urban area (including the older part of the city) located along the Hai River, which connects to the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers via the Grand Canal; and Binhai, an adjacent New Area urban core located east of the older part of the city on the coast of the Bohai. As of the end of 2010, approximately 285 Fortune 500 companies have operated in buildings located in Binhai. Since 2010, Tianjin's Yujiapu Financial District has become known as China's Manhattan and the city is considered to be one of the world's top 100 cities,[ clarification needed] including in the Global Financial Centres Index. Tianjin is ranked as a Beta (global second tier) city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

Tianjin is one of the 20 cities in the world with the highest scientific research outputs, as tracked by the Nature Index. The city is also home to multiple institutes of higher education in Northern China, including Tianjin University, Nankai University, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin Foreign Studies University, Tiangong University, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin University of Technology, and Hebei University of Technology.

Name
The name Tianjin is the pinyin romanization of the Chinese characters ; the city's name means "The port of emperor".

The origin of the name is disputed. One traditional theory says that it was an homage to the Chu poet Qu Yuan, whose "Li Sao" includes the verse "... departing from the Ford of Heaven at dawn ..." . Another says that it honors the former name of the Girl, a Chinese constellation recorded under the name Tianjin in the Astronomical Record section of the Book of Sui. A third says that it derives from a place name noted in the River Record of the History of Jin. The most common theory says that it was bestowed by the Yongle Emperor of the Ming, who crossed Tianjin's Gu River on his way south to overthrow his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor.

Prior to the introduction of pinyin, the city's name was historically romanized as in the Chinese postal romanization. The current English spelling of Tianjin was adopted in 1958, after pinyin was introduced by the PRC government. Several countries, international organizations and media outlets have adopted the pinyin name since in 1979. The Government of the Republic of China (ROC) has continued to use the postal and Wade–Giles spelling since the adoption of pinyin by the ROC government in 2009.

Early history
The land where Tianjin is now located was created in between 900 and 1300 CE by the sediments of rivers entering the sea at the Bohai Gulf, including the Yellow River, which entered the open sea in the area at one time. The construction of the Grand Canal under the Sui dynasty helped the future development of Tianjin, as the canal ran from Hangzhou to the Beijing and Tianjin region by 609 CE. Grain from southern China was regularly transported to the north through the canal and was used during the subsequent dynasties. Tianjin began to be increasingly mentioned in records during the Song dynasty and gained importance during the Yuan dynasty. Tianjin experienced development under the Yuan and became a location for the storage of goods and grains. Tianjin became a garrison town and shipping station during the Ming dynasty; it was a center of commerce by the 17th century.

Qing dynasty
During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), the Tianjin Prefecture, or Zhou, was established in 1725, and Tianjin County was established within the prefecture in 1731. Later, it became an urban prefecture or Fu, before becoming a relay station under the command of the Viceroy of Zhili.

Opening up as a treaty port
In 1856, Chinese soldiers boarded The Arrow, a Chinese-owned ship registered in Hong Kong that flew the British flag and which was suspected of piracy, smuggling, and involvement in the opium trade. The soldiers captured twelve men and imprisoned them. In response, the British and French sent gunboats under the command of Admiral Sir Michael Seymour to capture the Taku forts near Tianjin in May 1858. At the end of the first part of the Second Opium War in June of the same year, the British and French prevailed, and the Treaty of Tientsin was signed, which opened Tianjin (Tientsin) to foreign trade. The treaties were ratified by the Xianfeng Emperor in 1860, so Tianjin was formally opened to Great Britain and France and thus to the outside world. Between 1895 and 1900, Britain and France were joined by Japan, Germany and Russia, and some countries without Chinese concessions, such as Austria-Hungary, Italy and Belgium, in establishing self-contained concessions in Tianjin, each with its own prisons, schools, barracks and hospitals. These nations left architectural reminders of their rule, which include churches and thousands of villas.

The presence of foreign influence in Tianjin was not always peaceful; one violent incident was that of the Tianjin Church Massacre. In June 1870, the orphanage held by the Wanghailou Church (translated as Church Our Lady's Victories) in Tianjin, which built by French Roman Catholic missionaries, was accused of kidnapping and brainwashing Chinese children. On June 21, the magistrate of Tianjin County initiated a conflict at the church that developed into violent clashes between the church's Christian supporters and some non-Christian Tianjin residents. The protesters eventually burned down Wanghailou Church and the nearby French consulate, killing eighteen foreigners, including ten French nuns, the French consul, and merchants. France and six other Western nations complained to the Qing government, which was forced to pay compensation for the incident. In 1885, Li Hongzhang founded the Tianjin Military Academy for Chinese army officers with German advisors as a part of his military reforms. The academy's founding was supported by the Anhui Army commander Zhou Shengchuan. The academy was to serve the Anhui Army and the Green Standard Army officers. The instructors were German officers. In 1887, the academy started a program to train teenagers to become army officers; the program continued for five years. Practical and technical subjects including sciences, foreign languages, Chinese literature, mathematics, and history were taught at the school and exams were administered to students. The lessons taught at the Tianjin Military Academy were copied for the Weihaiwei and Shanhaiguan military schools. A maritime defense fund supplied the budget for the Tianjin Military Academy, which was located in the same area as the Tianjin Naval Academy. In 1886, the Tianjin Military Academy adopted Romance of the Three Kingdoms as part of its curriculum. Among its alumni were Wang Yingkai and Duan Qirui; its staff included Yinchang.

In June 1900, the Boxers were able to seize control of parts of Tianjin. On June 26, European defense forces heading towards Beijing were stopped by Boxers at nearby Langfang; they were defeated and forced to turn back to Tianjin. The foreign concessions were also under siege for several weeks.

In July 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance recaptured Tianjin. This alliance soon established the Tianjin Provisional Government, which was composed of representatives from each of the occupying forces (Russia, Britain, Japan, Germany, France, America, Austro-Hungary, and Italy). The city was governed by this council until August 15, 1902, when the city was returned to Qing control. Qing General Yuan Shikai led efforts to transform Tianjin into a modern city, establishing the first modern Chinese police force. In 1907, Yuan supervised China's first modern democratic elections for a county council.

Western nations were permitted to garrison the area to ensure open access to Beijing. The British maintained a brigade of two battalions in Tianjin, and the Italians, French, Japanese, Germans, Russians, and Austro-Hungarians maintained their forces using strength regiments; the United States did not initially participate. During World War I, the German and Austro-Hungarian garrisons were captured as prisoners of war by Allied Forces; meanwhile, in 1918, the Bolshevik government withdrew the Russian garrison. In 1920, the remaining participating nations asked the United States to join them, and the US then sent the 15th Infantry Regiment, minus one battalion, to Tianjin from the Philippines.

Because of the development of industry, commerce and finance in the city, Tianjin was established as a municipality of China in 1927. From 1930 to 1935, Tianjin was the provincial capital of Hebei; afterwards, it was reestablished as an independent municipality.

Garrison duty was highly regarded by the troops. General George C. Marshall, the "architect of victory" in World War II, during which he was the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, served in Tianjin in the 1920s as the Executive Officer of the 15th Infantry. The US withdrew the infantry unit in 1938, but the nation's presence was maintained by the dispatch of a small US Marine Corps unit from the Embassy Guard at Beijing.

Second Sino-Japanese War
On July 30, 1937, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Tianjin fell to Japan, but was not entirely occupied, as the Japanese generally respected foreign concessions until 1941, when American and British concessions were occupied. In the summer of 1939, the Tientsin Incident damaged Anglo-Japanese relations. On June 14, 1939, the Imperial Japanese Army surrounded and blockaded a British concession due to the refusal of British authorities to transfer six Chinese people, who had assassinated a Japanese collaborator and taken refuge in the British concession, to be under Japan's authority. For a time, the events of 1939 appeared likely to cause an Anglo-Japanese war, especially when reports of the Japanese Army mistreating British subjects wishing to leave or enter the concession appeared in British newspapers. The situation ended when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was advised by the Royal Navy and the Foreign Office that the only way to force the Japanese to lift the blockade was to send the main British battle fleet to Far Eastern waters, and that given the situation in Europe, it would be inappropriate to send the British fleet out of European waters, thus leading the British to finally turn over the six Chinese people, who were then executed by the Japanese. During the Japanese occupation, Tianjin was ruled by the North China Executive Committee, a puppet state based in Beijing.

On August 9, 1940, all of the British troops in Tianjin were ordered to withdraw. On November 14, 1941, the American Marine unit stationed in Tianjin was ordered to leave, but before it left, the Japanese attacked the United States. The American Marine detachment surrendered to the Japanese on December 8, 1941. Only the Italian and French concessions (the local French officials were loyal to Vichy) were allowed by the Japanese to remain. When Italy signed an armistice with the Allies in September 1943, Japanese troops took the Italian concession, following a battle with its garrison, and the Italian Social Republic formally ceded the concession to Wang Jingwei's Japan-controlled puppet state. Japanese occupation of the city lasted until August 15, 1945, with the surrender of Japan marking the end of World War II.

After World War II
In the Pingjin Campaign of the Chinese Civil War, the city was captured after 29 hours of fighting. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took Tianjin on January 15, 1949.

From 1949 to February 1958, Tianjin was a municipality directly under the control of the central government. In October 1952, Tanggu New Port officially opened its doors, and the first 10,000-ton ferry arrived at Newport Pier. In February 1958, due to the "Great Leap Forward" and the city's industrial foundation, Tianjin was incorporated into Hebei Province, which was relocated to Tianjin for eight years. During the period, under the coordination of the State Council, the city of Tianjin implemented a separate policy for central planning, which was independent of Hebei Province. However, a number of factories and colleges in Tianjin moved to Hebei, hindering Tianjin's economic development. In January 1967, due to preparation and concerns that Tianjin would become a battlefield, Hebei Province repatriated its provincial capital to Baoding, and the CCP Central Committee decided that Tianjin should be restored to the central municipality and remain so. In April 1970, since the central government had applied for funding for the construction of the subway, the Tianjin Municipal Government decided to raise funds on its own to establish the project using the name of the channel and by build it on the basis of the old walled river. In July 1973, five counties, including Jixian, Baodi, Wuqing, Jinghai, and Ninghe, were formally placed under the jurisdiction of Tianjin.

On July 28, 1976, during the 7.6 magnitude Tangshan Earthquake, Tianjin was affected by shock waves and experienced a loss of life. In the city, 24,345 people died and 21,497 were seriously injured. 60% of the city's buildings were destroyed and more than 30% of the enterprises and Peking Port Reservoir and Yuqiao Reservoir were seriously damaged. Nearly 700,000 people were left homeless. On October 10 of the same year, the Tianjin Underground Railway was opened to traffic. In 1981, Miyun Reservoir was built on the upper reaches of the Hai River; it is now used to supply water for Beijing; however; the reservoir stopped the river from supplying water to Tianjin, resulting in difficulty with water usage in the city. As a result, during 1976, the State Council of the People's Republic of China decided to initiate a project to solve the problem of water usage in Tianjin by attracting individuals to the city's academic centers.

In 1984, during the beginning of the Chinese government's economic reforms, Tianjin was listed as one of the 14 coastal open cities by the State Council and the Tianjin Development Zone's economy began to develop. However, the overall speed of development in Tianjin is still slower than that of special economic zones and that of other southeast coastal areas. In 1994, Tianjin began its industrial shift towards the east and developed the Binhai New Area, with the Tianjin Port as its core. In October 2005, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 16th CCP Central Committee convened; its meeting decided to incorporate the development and opening of the Binhai New Area into its Eleventh Five-Year Plan and the national development strategy. In March 2006, the State Council executive meeting positioned Tianjin as an "international port city, a northern economic center, and an ecological city." Since then, the dispute between the Beijing-Tianjin economic center at the policy level has come to an end. In May 2006, the State Council approved the Binhai New Area as a national integrated reform pilot area. In June of the same year, the State Council's Opinions on Promoting the Development and Opening of the Tianjin Binhai New Area were announced; they stated the following: "In financial enterprises, financial services, financial markets, and finance Major reforms such as opening up can, in principle, be scheduled to precede the Tianjin Binhai New Area."

In August 2008, China's first high-speed railway, the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway, which has a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, was opened. In August 2008, Tianjin was the co-host city of the 29th Olympic Games. In September 2008, the Annual Meeting of the New Champions of World Economic Forum (also called Summer Davos) began to be established in Tianjin; it is now held every two years. In October 2010, the UN Climate Change Conference convened in Tianjin. In 2012, the Tianjin Metro Lines 2, 3, and 9 were completed and open to traffic, and Tianjin Rail Transit was formally networked.

In October 2013, Tianjin hosted an international comprehensive event for the first time by hosting the East Asian Games. In 2014, the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei was officially incorporated into the national strategy; Tianjin was positioned as the National Advanced Manufacturing R&D Base, Northern International Shipping Core Area, Financial Innovation Operation Demonstration Area, and Reform and Opening-up Preceding Area. In the same year, the first phase of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project was completed, so water availability in Tianjin increased. On February 26, 2015, the Tianjin National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone was formally established. On April 21, the China (Tianjin) Free Trade Pilot Zone was also formally established. On April 27, Jincheng Bank, the first private bank in northern China, officially opened its doors.

2015 Tianjin explosion
On August 12, 2015, a fire and explosion occurred in a chemical warehouse in Tianjin Port, causing 173 deaths, hundreds of injuries, and property losses. The first two explosions at the facility, which is located in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin, happened within 30 seconds of each other; the second explosion was larger and involved the detonation of approximately 800 tons of ammonium nitrate (equivalent to about 256 tons of TNT). Fires caused by the initial explosions continued to burn uncontrollably throughout the weekend, resulting in eight additional explosions on August 15. The buildings of seven more surrounding logistics companies were destroyed. The cost to businesses caused by the explosion was estimated to be $9 billion, making it the most expensive supply chain disruption of 2015.

Geography

Tianjin is located on the west coast of the Bohai Gulf; the provinces of Shandong and Liaoning are located across those waters. The city is bordered by Beijing, which is 120 km to the northwest. Tianjin is surrounded on all sides by Hebei, with the exception of its eastern border, which is the Bohai Sea. With a latitude ranging from 38° 34' to 40° 15' N and a longitude ranging from 116° 43' to 118° 04' E, the total area of the city is 11,860.63 km2.

The city has 153 km of coastline and 1,137.48 km of land border. It is located at the northern end of the Grand Canal of China, which connects with the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. The municipality is generally flat and is swampy near the coast; however, it has hills in the north, where the Yan Mountains enter Tianjin. Tidal flats occur on the coastal plain adjacent to the city. The highest point in the municipality is Jiuding Peak (九顶山) in Ji County on the northern border with Hebei; the mountain has an altitude of 1078.5 m.

In the Tianjin Municipality, the Hai River forms at the confluence of the Ziya River (子牙河), Daqing River (大清河), Yongding River, North Grand Canal, and South Grand Canal; it enters the Pacific Ocean within the municipality as well as in Tanggu District. Reservoirs include the Beidagang Reservoir in the south (in Dagang District) and the Yuqiao Reservoir in the north in Ji County.

Climate
Tianjin has a semi-arid climate (using the Köppen system, the city has a BSk climate bordering on Dwa). As in other areas of East Asia, the city has a four-season, monsoon-influenced climate; it also has cold, windy, and dry winters due to the Siberian anticyclone and hot, humid summers due to the monsoon season. Spring in the city is dry and windy; the season sometimes consists of sandstorms blowing in from the Gobi Desert, which are capable of lasting for several days. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −2.8 °C in January to 27.2 °C in July, with an annual mean of 13.3 °C. Extreme temperatures in the city have ranged from −22.9 °C to 40.5 °C. With the monthly percentage of the possible amount of sunshine ranging from 45% in July to 61% in March and April, the city receives 2,460 hours of sunshine annually. Having an annual total precipitation of 521 mm, with nearly three-fifths of it occurring in July and August alone, the city lies within the semi-arid climate zone, although parts of the municipality are humid continental (Köppen BSk/Dwa, respectively).

Measures to improve air quality
In May 2014, the city's administration enacted new laws in an attempt to lower the city's pollution levels. These measures included several methods to restrict pollution on days when is severe, such as by halving the number of vehicles allowed on roads, halting construction and manufacturing activity, closing schools, and halting large-scale outdoor activities.

In the past, flights have also been grounded and highways have been closed.

Foreign-born professional sportsmen have made statements regarding Tianjin's air quality, citing it as an impediment to athletic activity and being thick enough to "taste."

Administrative divisions
Tianjin is divided into 16 county-level divisions, which are all districts.

The Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Area (TEDA) is not a formal level of administration, but has rights similar to those of a regular district. At the end of 2017, the total population of Tianjin was 15.57 million.

As of December 31, 2004, these districts and counties have been further subdivided into 240 township-level divisions, including 120 towns, 18 townships, 2 ethnic townships and 100 subdistricts.

Politics
As in all other governing institutions in mainland China, the politics of Tianjin is structured in a dual party-government system.

The mayor of Tianjin is the highest-ranking official in the People's Government of Tianjin. Since Tianjin is a municipality, the CCP Municipal Committee Secretary is colloquially known as the "Tianjin CCP Party chief."

Economy
Tianjin's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 1.572 trillion yuan in 2014, an increase of 10.0 percent over its GDP in 2013. The city of Tianjin had China's highest per-capita GDP of $17,126, followed by Beijing with $16,278 and Shanghai with $15,847.

Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area
As one of the first state-level economic and technological development zones, the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA) was founded on December 6, 1984, with the approval of the State Council. It is given state preferential policies with the task of attracting domestic and foreign investment to develop new technology-oriented modern industries. As an affiliated organization of the Tianjin Municipal Government, the Administrative Commission of Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area exercises unified administration of TEDA on behalf of the Tianjin Municipal Government and has provincial-level administrative and economic management rights.

Tianjin Export Processing Zone
The Tianjin Export Processing Zone is one of the first 15 export processing zones approved by the State Council, having been approved on April 27, 2000. This area is a special enclosed zone. where Customs officials conduct constant administration for commodities transported into and out of the zone. The central government granted the special economic zone preferential policies to attract enterprises in the business of processing and trade to invest in the zone. The Tianjin Export Processing Zone is located to the northeast of TEDA and has a planned area of 2.54 km2. The area developed in the first phase is 1 m2 wide. A permanent wall is built to separate the export processing and non-export processing zones.

Tianjin Airport Economic Area
The Tianjin Airport International Logistics Zone is jointly invested by the Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone and Tianjin Binhai International Airport. It is located inside the airfreight area of Tianjin Binhai International Airport. It has domestic and foreign airfreight logistics enterprises engaged in sorting, warehousing, distribution, processing, and exhibition. It is in the process of constructing the largest airfreight base in northern China.

Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone
The Tianjin Port Free Trade Zone is the only free trade zone in northern China. The zone was approved for establishment in 1991 by State Council. It is 30 km from Tianjin city proper, less than 1 km away from the wharf, and 38 km away from Tianjin Binhai International Airport.

Tianjin Tanggu National Marine High-Tech Development Area
The Tianjin Tanggu Marine High-Tech Development Area was established in 1992 and was upgraded to the national-level high-tech development area by the State Council in 1995. It is the only national-level high-tech development area specializing in developing the marine technology industry. By the end of 2008, the zone had 2,068 corporations and 5 industries there, including those for new materials, oil manufacturing, modern machinery manufacturing, and electronic information.

Tianjin Nangang Industrial Zone
The Tianjin Nangang Industrial Zone is a heavy and chemical industry base and harbor, a part of the"dual-city, dual-harbor" space development strategy of Tianjin, and a zone with a circular economy. The total planned area of Nangang Industrial Zone is 200 km2, of which the terrestrial area is 162 km2.

Agriculture
Farmland takes up about 40% of Tianjin Municipality's total area. Wheat, rice, and maize are the most economically important crops.

Resources
Geothermal energy is another resource of Tianjin. Deposits of manganese and boron under Tianjin were the first to be found in China.

Utilities and services
Tianjin Electric Power Utility constructs, delivers and maintains electrical power services.

Binhai New Area
The Tianjin Binhai New Area (TBNA) is located at the juncture of the Beijing-Tianjin City Belt and the Circum-Bohai City Belt. It is the gateway to North China, Northeast China, and Northwest China. Lying in the center of Northeast Asia, it is the nearest point of departure of the Eurasian Continental Bridge.

Demographics
At the end of 2009, the population of Tianjin Municipality was 12.28 million, of which 9.8 million owned and lived in Tianjin hukou (permanent residences). Among permanent residents of Tianjin, 5.99 million lived in urban areas, while 3.81 million lived in rural ones. Tianjin has recently shifted to population growth; its population had reached 14.72 million as of the end of 2013.

The encompassing metropolitan area was estimated by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) to have,, a population of 15.4 million.

The majority of Tianjin residents are Han Chinese. People from 51 out of the 55 minor Chinese ethnic groups live in Tianjin. Minorities with higher populations in the city include Hui, Korean, Manchu, and Mongol people.

The graph above excludes members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.

Media
Tianjin People's Broadcasting Station is a radio station in Tianjin. Broadcasting for nine channels, it serves most of North China, as well as a part of East and Northeast China, reaching an audience of over 100 million. Tianjin Television, the local television station, broadcasts on nine channels. It also has a paid digital channel, which features home improvement programs. Both the radio and television stations are now branches of the Tianjin Film, Radio and Television Group, which was established in October 2002.

Local newspapers include the Tianjin Daily and Jin Wan Bao, which are the flagship papers of Tianjin Daily Newspaper Group and Jinwan Mass Media Group, respectively. There are also three English-language magazines: Jin, Tianjin Plus  and Business Tianjin,  which are mainly directed at expats resident in the city.

Previous newspapers
The first German newspaper in northern China, Tageblatt für Nordchina (also spelled as Tageblatt für Nord China), was published in Tianjin, which was known as Tientsin at the time.

In 1912, Tianjin had 17 Chinese-language newspapers and five daily newspapers in other languages. None of the newspapers in the Tianjin district were trade papers. Of the foreign language newspapers, three were in English; the other two were in French and German, respectively. Newspapers from Tianjin published in the city included China Critic, Peking and Tientsin Times, The China Times, Tageblatt für Nordchina, L'Écho de Tientsin, China Tribune, Ta Kung Pao (L'Impartial), Min Hsing Pao, and Jih Jih Shin Wen Pao (Tsientsin Daily News). Newspapers from Beijing published in Tianjin included Pei Ching Jih Pao, Peking Daily News, and Le Journal de Peking.

In 1930, the newspaper Deutsch-Mandschurische Nachrichten moved from Harbin to Tianjin and changed its name to the Deutsch-Chinesische Nachrichten.

Censorship capital
China's leading Internet information providers (which are usually located in Beijing), including social networks Sina Weibo and Douban, as well as the online video website Sohu, have been increasingly relocating their censorship departments to Tianjin, where labor costs are cheaper than in Beijing, as censorship is a type of labor-intensive work. In fact, Tianjin is considered to have become the censorship capitol for Chinese Internet.

Tourism
The city's streetscapes incorporate nineteenth and early twentieth-century European architecture, juxtaposed with the concrete and glass monoliths of contemporary China. Though areas of the city are being redeveloped, much of the colonial architecture has been placed under protection.

In the nineteenth century, the port city caught the attention of the seafaring Western powers, who used the boarding of a British ship by Chinese troops as an excuse to declare war. Using armed gunboats, they were victorious; the Treaty of Tianjin, signed in 1856, gave the Europeans the right to establish nine concessionary bases on the mainland, from which they could conduct trade and sell opium. These concessions, which were along the banks of the Hai River, were self-contained European communities; the French built châteaux and towers, while the Germans constructed red-tiled Bavarian villas. Tensions between the indigenous population and the foreigners were noticeable in the Tianjin Incident of 1870, which occurred when a Chinese mob attacked a French-run orphanage, and again during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, after which foreigners leveled the walls surrounding the old Chinese city to enable them to watch its residents.

The old city was razed entirely during 2000 and 2001 to make way for new developments. Only several old buildings, such as the Tianjin Temple of Confucius, remain.

The network of ex-concession streets south and west of the central train station and south of the Hai River now constitute the areas of most interest to visitors. The châteaux of the French concession now make up the downtown district just south of the river and mansions that the British built are east of the area. Farther east and south of the river, the architecture has a slight German construction.

Landmarks and attractions

 * Astor Hotel
 * Binjiang Avenue shopping street
 * Dabei Monastery
 * Drum Tower
 * Five Main Avenues
 * Former Concessions in Tianjin
 * Tianjin Italian Style Town
 * Goldin Finance 117
 * Hai River Park
 * Luzutang Boxer Rebellion Museum
 * Memorial Hall dedicated to Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao
 * Nanshi Cuisine Street
 * People's Park
 * St. Joseph's Cathedral of Tianjin
 * Temple of Confucius Wen Miao
 * Temple of Great Compassion
 * Century Clock
 * Tianjin Ancient Culture Street
 * Yuhuangge Taoist Temple
 * Tianjin Eye
 * Tianjin Museum
 * Tianjin Library
 * Tianjin Binhai Library
 * Tianjin Art Gallery
 * Tianjin Natural History Museum
 * Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium (also known as "The Water Drop")
 * Tianjin Radio and Television Tower
 * Tianjin Water Park
 * Tianjin World Financial Center
 * Tianjin Zoo
 * Yangliuqing (including Shi Family Grand Courtyard)
 * Porcelain House
 * Nankai University
 * Nankai Middle School
 * Tianjin University

Sights outside the old city urban core area, but within the municipality (including Binhai/TEDA), consist of the following:
 * Huangya Pass, a section of the Great Wall of China
 * Mount Panshan
 * Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city
 * Soviet Aircraft Carrier Kiev
 * Taku Forts
 * TEDA Football Stadium, home stadium of Chinese Super League team Tianjin Jinmen Tiger

Culture
People from Tianjin speak the Tianjin dialect of Mandarin, from which it is derived. Despite its proximity to Beijing, the Tianjin dialect sounds different from the Beijing dialect, which provides the basis for Putonghua (Standard Chinese).

Tianjin is considered to be a "home base" of Beijing opera, which is a form of Chinese opera. Tianjin is known for its stand-up comedy and comedians, including Guo Degang and Ma Sanli. Ma Sanli (1914–2003), an ethnic Hui person and longtime resident of Tianjin, was known for his xiangsheng, a form of Chinese entertainment akin to stand-up comedy. Ma Sanli delivered some of his xiangsheng in the Tianjin dialect. Tianjin, along with Beijing, is a center for the art of xiangsheng. Tianjin's general style of stand-up also includes the use of rhythmic bamboo clappers (kuaiban).

Yangliuqing, a town about 15 km west of Tianjin's urban area and the seat of Xiqing District, is known for its Chinese New Year-themed, traditional, and colorful wash paintings (杨柳青年画). Tianjin is also known for the Zhang clay figurine, a type of colorful figurine depicting a variety of characters, and Tianjin's Wei's kites, which can be folded to a fraction of their full sizes and are noted for portability.

On September 28, 2015, the Juilliard School in Manhattan, New York City announced an expansion into Tianjin during a visit by China's first lady, Peng Liyuan. At the time, the school had plans to offer a master's degree program. The visit was the institution's first full-scale foray outside the United States.

Cuisine
Tianjin cuisine places a focus on seafood, due to Tianjin's proximity to the sea. It can be further classified into several varieties, including rough, smooth , and high cuisine. Menu options include the Eight Great Bowls, a combination of eight main meat dishes, and the Four Great Stews , which actually refers to a large number of stews, which may include chicken, duck, seafood, beef, and mutton.

The four foods that are considered to be delicacies of Tianjin include Goubuli baozi, Guifaxiang Shibajie Mahua, Erduoyan Zhagao and Maobuwen Jiaozi. Known foods include Caoji donkey meat, Bazhen sheep-leg mutton of Guanshengyuan, Luji Tangmian Zhagao, Baiji Shuijiao, Gaogan of Zhilanzhai, Guobacai of Dafulai, Subao of Shitoumenkan and Xiaobao chestnut. These snacks are available in Nanshi Food Street, which has food from Tianjin.

Transport
The transportation system in Tianjin is considered to be relatively effective, inclusive and sustainable. The city received the Sustainable Transport Award for 2024 due to its efforts to improve and expand non motorized and public transport, as well as to make it accessible. The policy of the city had an impact on policies at the regional and country level and received support from the World Bank (transportation in Tianjin is its biggest investment in this domain). According to a statement of the Institute for Transportation & Development about policy that resulted in the award, "Thus, the city’s recent investments into sustainable mobility policy and infrastructure have the potential to serve as a model for the rest of China, as the nation works towards achieving carbon neutrality before 2060."

Airport
Tianjin Binhai International Airport is located in Dongli District and is roughly 13 km away from the city's downtown area. Tianjin is also served by the new Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing.

Tianjin Binhai International Airport now has a terminal building, which covers an area of 25000 m2, a merchandise warehouse, which covers an area of 29500 m2, and runways with a total length of 3.6 km. It also has a grade 4E airstrip, which all types of large aircraft can take off from and land safely on. Tianjin Binhai International Airport has 59 flight routes, connecting 48 cities, including 30 domestic cities and 17 foreign cities. Airline companies such as Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Singapore Airlines Cargo and Martinair Holland all have routes to Tianjin Binhai International Airport.

Port of Tianjin
The Port of Tianjin is China's largest artificial deep water harbor; its throughput capacity is the fifth largest in the world. Located in the Binhai Economic Zone, a national new economic zone of China, Tianjin Harbor is a port for international cruises visiting the wider area, including Beijing.

Trams

Tianjin's harbor area of Binhai/TEDA has a modern, high-speed rubber-tired tram system; it is the first of its kind in China and Asia. Constructed in 2006, the system marked a return of the tram to Tianjin, which once had a standard steel-wheeled tramway network. The original Tianjin tram network was constructed by a Belgian company in 1904 and opened in 1906. It was the first citywide tramway system in China. It closed in 1972.

Metro
The Tianjin Metro was formerly operated by two companies, Tianjin Metro General Corporation and Tianjin Binhai Mass Transit Development Company. However, in 2017, the two companies merged to form the Tianjin Rail Transit Group Corporation. It is currently under expansion to create five to nine lines. A total of six lines are currently operating in the city and the Binhai area. As of April 2019, the entire network of Tianjin Metro has 155 stations and 6 lines.

Construction work on the Tianjin Metro started on July 4, 1970. It was the second metro to be built in China and commenced service in 1984. The total length of track was 7.4 km. The metro service was suspended on October 9, 2001, for reconstruction. The original line is now part of Line 1 of the new metro system. It was reopened to the public in June 2006. The track was extended to 26.2 km; there is now a total of 22 stations. Construction work on Line 2 and Line 3 was completed in 2012; the two lines are now in operation. Several new metro lines have been planned.

The two rapid transit operators in Tianjin are responsible for the service as follows:

 * Tianjin Metro General Corporation operates Lines 1, 2, 3 and 6.
 * Tianjin Binhai Mass Transit Development Company. operates Lines 5 and 9

Rail
There are several railway stations in the city, Tianjin railway station being one of them. It was built in 1888. The station was initially located at Wangdaozhuang. The station was later moved to Laolongtou on the banks of the Hai He River in 1892; as a result, the station was renamed as Laolongtou Railway Station. The station was completely rebuilt in 1988. The rebuilding work began on April 15, 1987, and was finished on October 1, 1988. The Tianjin Railway Station is also locally known as the 'East Station', due to its geographic position. In January 2007, the station began another long-term restructuring project to modernize the facility as part of the larger Tianjin transport hub project, which involves Tianjin Metro lines 2, 3, and 9, as well as the Tianjin-Beijing High-Speed Rail.

Tianjin West railway station and Tianjin North railway station are also railway stations in Tianjin. Tanggu railway station is located in the port area of Tanggu District; Binhai railway station and Binhai North railway station are located to the north of Tanggu in TEDA. There are several other railway stations in the city that do not handle passenger traffic. Construction on a Beijing-Tianjin high-speed railway began on July 4, 2005, and was completed during August 2008.

The following rail lines go through Tianjin:

 * Jingshan Railway (travels from Beijing to Shanhai Pass)
 * Jinpu Railway (travels from Tianjin to Pukou District, Nanjing)
 * Jinji Railway (travels from the urban area of Tianjin to Ji County, Tianjin)
 * Jinba Railway (travels from Tianjin to Bazhou, Hebei)

The inter-city trains between Beijing and Tianjin will adopt a new numbering system using the letter C (C stands for InterCity) followed by four numbers. The train numbers range between C2001 and C2298. The number ranges are divided into three different groups, which provide information about where a train will go:

 * C2001–C2198: Directly from Beijing South Station to Tianjin
 * C2201–C2268: From Beijing South Station to Tianjin, with stops at Wuqing Station (武清站)
 * C2271–C2298: From Beijing South Station to Yujiapu Railway Station in Tianjin

The new C trains take 30 minutes to travel between Beijing and Tianjin; the trains make the journey with half the time used by the previous D trains. The ticket price, as of Aug 15, 2008, is 69 RMB for first-class seating and 58 RMB for second-class seating.

Bus
There were over 900 bus lines in the city.

Roads and expressways
Some roads and bridges, such as Minquan Gate and Beiyang Road, have retained names given to them while the Republic of China (1912–1949) was in power. As in other cities in China, some roads in Tianjin are named after Chinese provinces and cities. Unlike Beijing, Tianjin has few roads that run parallel to the four cardinal directions.

Tianjin has three ring roads. The Inner and Middle Ring Roads are not closed, traffic-controlled roadways and some often have traffic light intersections. The Outer Ring Road is similar to a highway-level ring road. The road experiences traffic.

 * Inner Ring Road (neihuan)
 * Middle Ring Road (zhonghuan)
 * Outer Ring Road (waihuan)

Tianjin's roads often finish in dao and xian. These suffixes are most often used for highways and through routes. The terms lu and jie  are not generally used. As Tianjin's roads are tend to not be in cardinal directions, jing roads and wei  roads appear; these roads attempt to run more directly north–south and east–west, respectively.

The following seven expressways of China run in or through Tianjin:

 * Jingjintang Expressway (travels from Beijing, through Tianjin's urban area, to Tanggu District / TEDA)
 * Jinghu Expressway (travels from Jinjing Gonglu Bridge to Shanghai; similarly to Jingjintang Expressway, this expressway travels from Beijing to Shanghai)
 * Jingshen Expressway (travels through Baodi District on its way from Beijing to Shenyang)
 * Tangjin Expressway (travels from Tanggu District, Tianjin, to Tangshan, Hebei—known as the Jintang Expressway in Tianjin)
 * Baojin Expressway (travels from Beichen District, Tianjin, to Baoding, Hebei—known as the Jinbao Expressway in Tianjin)
 * Jinbin Expressway (travels from Zhangguizhuang Bridge to Hujiayuan Bridge; both bridges are in Tianjin)
 * Jinji Expressway (travels from central Tianjin to Jixian County)

The following six China National Highways pass through Tianjin:

 * China National Highway 102 (travels through Ji County, Tianjin on its way from Beijing to Harbin
 * China National Highway 103 (travels from Beijing, through Tianjin's urban area, to Tanggu District)
 * China National Highway 104 (travels from Beijing, through Tianjin Municipality, to Fuzhou)
 * China National Highway 105 (travels from Beijing, through Tianjin Municipality, to Macau)
 * China National Highway 112 (a circular highway around Beijing; passes through Tianjin Municipality)
 * China National Highway 205 (travels from Shanhaiguan, Hebei, through Tianjin Municipality, to Guangzhou)

Religion
Some residents of Tianjin participate in indigenous religious practices, such as the worship of Mazu, a sea goddess. Tianjin also contains the Temple of Great Compassion (a Buddhist temple), St. Joseph's Cathedral (a Catholic cathedral also known as Laoxikai Church), and Our Lady of Victory Church (a Catholic church also known as Wanghailou Church). A Roman Catholic Diocese of Tianjin exists. According to the Chinese General Social Survey of 2009, Christians constitute 1.51% of the city's population. Tianjin has been described as a historically "strong center" of Islam in China. Northwestern Tianjin has traditionally been the location of the Muslim quarter of the city, where Muslims have lived for centuries; the area is near the city's Great Mosque, Qingzhen si, which was founded in 1703. The city also contains the Dahuoxiang Mosque.

Sports
Sports teams based in Tianjin include the following:

 * Tianjin Jinmen Tiger FC (in the Chinese Super League of professional football)
 * Tianjin Lions (in the China Baseball League)
 * Tianjin Pioneers (in the Chinese Basketball Association)
 * Tianjin Bohai Bank women's volleyball team (in the Chinese Volleyball League)

The 1995 World Table Tennis Championships, the 2013 East Asian Games, and the 2017 National Games of China were hosted by the city. Tianjin was scheduled to be one of the host cities for the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in 2021 before its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also scheduled to be one of the host cities for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup before China's withdrawal as the host.

Since 2014, a WTA international tennis tournament has taken place in Tianjin every year at the Tuanbo International Tennis Center.

Martial arts
For some centuries, Tianjin and Beijing had been considered centers for traditional Chinese martial arts. Formerly and currently practiced martial arts including bajiquan, piguazhang, xingyiquan, and baguazhang have been practiced in the city. The martial arts that the city is known most for are Hong Qiao and Nankai. Martial artists practice in public green spaces such as Xigu Park and the Tianjin Water Park.

Colleges and universities
The following universities are under the jurisdiction of the national Ministry of Education:

 * Tianjin University (founded in 1895; the first modern university in China)
 * Nankai University (founded in 1919)

The following are under the jurisdiction of the municipal government:

 * Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts
 * Tianjin Agricultural College
 * Tianjin Chengjian University
 * Tianjin Conservatory of Music
 * Tianjin Foreign Studies University
 * Tianjin Institute of Physical Education
 * Tianjin Medical University
 * Tianjin Normal University
 * Tianjin Polytechnic University
 * Tianjin University of Commerce
 * Tianjin University of Finance & Economics
 * Tianjin University of Science & Technology
 * Tianjin University of Technology
 * Tianjin University of Technology and Education
 * Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The following are under the jurisdiction of the national Civil Aviation Authority of China:

 * Civil Aviation University of China

The following are under the Hebei Provincial People's Government:

 * Hebei University of Technology (founded 1903, the earliest institute of technology in China)

The following are foreign institutions:

 * The Florida International University Tianjin Center (opened in 2006 as a cooperative venture between the municipal government and the Miami-based university)
 * The Great Wall MBA Program of the Oklahoma City University's Meinders School of Business (established in 1986 on the campus of the Tianjin University of Finance & Economics)
 * Raffles Design Institute Tianjin is a joint-project between the Tianjin University of Commerce, Boustead College and the Raffles Design Institute in Singapore.
 * The Tianjin Juilliard School is a branch of the Juilliard School located in Binhai, Tianjin, China.

The following is a private institution:

 * Boustead College

Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed above.

High schools

 * Tianjin Nankai High School (天津市南开中学)
 * Tianjin No. 1 High School (天津市第一中学)
 * Tianjin Yaohua Middle School (天津市耀华中学) was founded in 1927. It was previously known as Tianjin Gongxue by Lefeng Zhuang; it was renamed as Tianjin Yaohua Middle School in 1934.
 * Tianjin Xinhua High School (天津市新华中学)
 * Tianjin Experimental High School (天津市实验中学)
 * Tianjin No. 21 High School (天津第二十一中學) (formerly Fahan College—), was founded in 1895. The French ambassador to China and consul general in Tianjin called it the French academy. It was renamed "工部局學校" in 1902, before moving to its current address in 1916, when it was renamed Fahan College (法漢學堂); in French, it is still known as "Ecole Municipale Francaise". The school is located in an area with political and cultural education in Heping district and is adjacent to the largest Catholic church in northern China; thus, the main building of the school has retained its church-like appearance. The school covers an area of 10.1 mu (6.7 km2); the building's floor has an area of 10,300 square meters.
 * Tianjin Tianjin High School (天津市天津中学)
 * Tianjin Fuxing High School (天津市复兴中学)
 * Tianjin Ruijing High School (天津市瑞景中学)
 * The Foreign Languages School Affiliated with the Tianjin Foreign Studies University (TFLS; 天津外国语学院附属外国语学校)
 * Tianjin No. 20 High School (天津市第二十中学)
 * Tianjin No. 4 High School (天津市第四中学)
 * Tianjin Yangcun No. 1 High School (天津市杨村第一中学)
 * Tianjin Ji No. 1 High School (天津市蓟县第一中学)
 * Tianjin Dagang No. 1 High School (天津市大港第一中学)
 * Tianjin Second Nankai High School (天津市第二南开中学)
 * Tianjin Tanggu No. 1 High School (天津市塘沽第一中学)
 * Tianjin No. 42 High School (天津市第四十二中学)
 * Tianjin Baodi No. 1 High School (天津市宝坻第一中学)
 * Tianjin Dagang Oilfield Experimental High School (天津市大港油田实验中学)
 * Tianjin No. 47 High School (天津市第四十七中学)
 * Tianjin No. 7 High School (天津市第七中学)
 * Tianjin Jinghai No. 1 High School (天津市静海第一中学)
 * Tianjin Haihe High School (天津市海河中学)
 * Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area No. 1 High School (天津经济技术开发区第一中学)
 * Tianjin No. 55 High School (天津市第五十五中学)
 * Tianjin High School Affiliated with Beijing Normal University (北京师范大学天津附属中学)
 * Tianjin No. 21 High School (天津市第二十一中学)
 * Tianjin Xianshuigu No. 1 High School (天津市咸水沽第一中学)
 * The High School Affiliated with Nankai University (南开大学附属中学)
 * Tianjin No. 41 High School (天津市第四十一中学)
 * Tianjin Lutai No. 1 High School (天津市芦台第一中学)
 * Tianjin No. 2 High School (天津市第二中学)
 * Tianjin No. 3 High School (天津市第三中学)
 * Tianjin Huiwen High School (天津市汇文中学)
 * Tianjin Chonghua High School (天津市崇化中学)
 * Tianjin No. 100 High School (天津市第一〇〇中学)
 * Tianjin Hangu No. 1 High School (天津市汉沽第一中学)
 * Tianjin Ziyun High School (天津市紫云中学)
 * Tianjin No. 102 High School (天津市第一〇二中学)
 * Tianjin No. 45 High School (天津市第四十五中学)
 * Tianjin No. 25 High School (天津市第二十五中学)
 * The High School Affiliated with Tianjin University (天津大学附属中学)
 * Tianjin No. 5 High School (天津市第五中学)
 * Tianjin Yangliuqing No. 1 High School (天津市杨柳青第一中学)
 * Tianjin No. 14 High School (天津市第十四中学)
 * Tianjin National High School (天津市民族中学)
 * Tianjin No. 54 High School (天津市第五十四中学)
 * Tianjin No. 43 High School (天津市第四十三中学)
 * Tianjin Ironworks No. 2 High School (天津铁厂第二中学)
 * Tianjin No. 9 High School (天津市第九中学)
 * Tianjin No. 57 High School (天津市第五十七中学)
 * Tianjin No. 51 High School (天津市第五十一中学)
 * Tianjin Fulun High School (天津市扶轮中学)
 * Tianjin Bohai Petroleum No. 1 High School (天津市渤海石油第一中学)

Middle schools

 * Tianjin No. 7 Middle School

Notable people from Tianjin

 * Hou Baolin (1917–1993; xiangsheng performer)
 * Xia Baolong (1952–; Chinese politician and member of the National People's Congress Environment Protection and Resources Conservation Committee)
 * Zhang Boli (1948–; traditional Chinese medicine practitioner)
 * Qin Gang (1966–; former Chinese Ambassador to the United States and current Chinese foreign minister)
 * Yu Genwei (1974–; professional football midfielder; manager)
 * Wang Hao (1992–; diver who is a world champion)
 * Liu Huan (1963–; modern singer and songwriter; professor of western music at the Beijing University of International Business and Economics)
 * Li Ruihuan (1934–; Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1993 to 2003)
 * Wen Jiabao (1942–; premier of China from 2003 to 2013)
 * Hao Jingfang (1987–; science-fiction writer)
 * Harry Kingman (1892–1982; the only major league baseball player born in China)
 * Robert Ya Fu Lee (1913–1986; actor)
 * Eric Liddell (1902–1945; Olympic gold medalist)
 * Gao Lingwei (1870–1940; former premier of the Republic of China 1923–1924)
 * Gao Lingwen (1862–1945; founder of Tianjin's first public school)
 * Adeline Yen Mah (1937–; Chinese-born American author of Falling Leaves and Chinese Cinderella: The Secret Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
 * Zhang Meng (1988–; actress)
 * Yu Min (1926–2019; nuclear physicist who is referred to as "the father of Chinese Hydrogen Bomb")
 * Zhang Pengxiang (1980–; chess grandmaster)
 * Liu Ping (1984–; Paralympic gold medalist sprinter)
 * Chang Po-ling (1876–1951; founder of Nankai University)
 * Wang Qiang (1992–; Chinese professional female tennis player)
 * Zhou Ruchang (1918–2012; Chinese Redologist and calligrapher)
 * Shao Fang Sheng (1917–2009; Chinese artist)
 * Peng Shuai (1986–; Chinese professional female tennis player)
 * Zhang Shuai (1989–; Chinese professional female tennis player)
 * Lubert Stryer (1938–; American professor of biochemistry)
 * Lam Suet (1964–; actor from Hong Kong)
 * Hu Xianxu (2000–; Chinese actor)
 * Fung Wang-yuen (Wu Ma) (1942–2014; actor, director, producer, and writer for movies)
 * Tan Xue (1984–; Olympic and world champion fencer)
 * Zhao Yanming (1981–; professional football goalkeeper)
 * Sun Yaoting (1902–1992; last surviving imperial eunuch from China)
 * Shang Yi (1979–; professional football midfielder and sports commentator)
 * Yang Yi (1919–2023; translated Wuthering Heights into Chinese)
 * Chen Yibing (1984–; world champion and Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast)
 * Xu Yifan (1988–; professional tennis player)
 * Yu Ying-shih (1930–2021; historian and Sinologist)
 * Duan Yingying (1989–; Chinese professional female tennis player)
 * Cui Yongyuan (1963–; television personality)
 * Ed Tse-chun Young (1931–2023; award-winning Chinese-American children's book writer and illustrator)
 * Huo Yuanjia (1868–1910; Chinese martial artist and co-founder of the Chin Woo Athletic Association)
 * Zhang Yuxuan (1994–; professional female tennis player)
 * An Zhongxin (1971–; Olympic silver medalist for softball)
 * Juliana Young Koo (1905–2017; Chinese-American diplomat worked in the UN Protocol Department, widow of Wellington Koo)

Twin towns and sister cities

 * 🇯🇵 Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan
 * 🇯🇵 Chiba, Chiba Prefecture, Japan
 * Incheon, South Korea
 * 🇺🇸 Mobile, Alabama, United States
 * 🇺🇸 Fitchburg, Massachusetts, United States
 * 🇺🇸 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
 * 🇦🇺 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
 * 🇹🇭 Bangkok, Thailand
 * Phnom Penh, Cambodia
 * Pyongyang, North Korea
 * 🇧🇦 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
 * 🇨🇮 Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
 * Groningen, the Netherlands (since 1985)
 * 🇮🇱 Rishon LeZion, Israel
 * 🇹🇷 İzmir, Turkey
 * 🇻🇳 Haiphong, Vietnam (since 1997)
 * 🇦🇷 Mar del Plata, Argentina (since 2001)
 * 🇨🇾 Larnaca, Republic of Cyprus (since 2007)
 * 🇸🇪 Jönköping, Sweden (since 1993)
 * Thessaloniki, Greece (since 2002)
 * 🇨🇴 Cali, Colombia (since 2022)
 * 🇨🇴 Cali, Colombia (since 2022)

title: Tianjin


text:
Hai River

The Hai River (海河, lit. "Sea River"), also known as the Peiho, Pei Ho ("White River"), or Hai Ho, is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea.

During the Song dynasty, the main stream of the Hai River was called the lower section of the Jie River. In the Jin and Yuan dynasties, it was renamed as Zhígǔ River (直沽河, lit. “Straight Gu River") and Dàgǚ River (大沽河, lit. “Great Gu River") respectively. The name Hai River first appeared towards the end of the Ming dynasty.

The Hai River at Tianjin is formed by the confluence of five watercourses: the Southern Canal, Ziya River, Daqing River, Yongding River, and the Northern Canal. The southern and northern canals are parts of the Grand Canal. The Southern Canal is joined by the Wei River at Linqing. The Northern Canal joins with the Bai He (or Chaobai River) at Tongzhou. The Northern Canal (sharing a channel with Bai He) is also the only waterway from the sea to Beijing. Therefore, early Westerners also called the Hai He the Bai He.

At Tianjin, through the Grand Canal, the Hai connects with the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. The construction of the Grand Canal greatly altered the rivers of the Hai He basin. Previously, the Wei, Ziya Yongding and Bai Rivers flowed separately to the sea. The Grand Canal cut through the lower reaches of these rivers and fused them into one outlet to the sea, in the form of the current Hai He.

The Hai River is 1,329 km long measured from the longest tributary. However, the Hai River is only around 70 km from Tianjin to its estuary. Its basin has an area of approximately 319,000 km2.

History
On 20 May 1858, the Pei-ho, as it was then known, was the scene of an invasion by Anglo-French forces during the Second Opium War whereby the Taku Forts were captured. In 1863 seagoing ships could reach the head of navigation at Tongzhou, but the crooked river was difficult for large vessels. During the Boxer Rebellion, Imperial Chinese forces deployed a weapon called "electric mines" on June 15, at the Baihe river before the Battle of Taku Forts (1900), to prevent the western Eight-Nation Alliance from sending ships to attack. This was reported by American military intelligence in the United States. War Dept. by the United States. Adjutant-General's Office. Military Information Division.

Like the Yellow River, the Hai is exceedingly muddy because of the powdery soil through which it flows. The silt carried by the water deposits in the lower reaches, sometimes causing flooding. The waters from the five major tributaries only have one shallow outlet to the sea, which makes such floods stronger. Because China's capital (and second largest city), Beijing, and the third largest city, Tianjin, both lie in the Hai He Basin, Hai He floods cause a significant loss. To alleviate flooding, reservoirs have been built and artificial channels dug to divert excess water directly into the sea. For example, the Chaobai River is diverted to the Chaobai Xin River and no longer joins with the Northern Canal.

Due to industrial and urban development in the Hai He Basin, the volume of water flow has greatly decreased. Many smaller tributaries and some of the major tributaries are dry for most of the year. With reduced water flow, water pollution worsens. The water shortage in the Hai He basin is expected to be alleviated by the South-North Water Transfer Project.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Hai River


text:
George Farquhar

George Farquhar (1677 – 29 April 1707) was an Irish dramatist. He is noted for his contributions to late Restoration comedy, particularly for his plays The Constant Couple (1699), The Recruiting Officer (1706) and The Beaux' Stratagem (1707).

Early life
Born in Derry, Farquhar was one of seven children born to William Farquhar, a clergyman of modest means. The author of Memoirs of Mr. George Farquhar, a biographical sketch prefixed to certain 18th-century editions of his works, claims that Farquhar

discovered a Genius early devoted to the Muses. When he was very young, he gave Specimens of his Poetry; and discovered a Force of Thinking, and Turn of Expression, much beyond his years.

He was educated at Foyle College and later entered Trinity College Dublin at age 17 as a sizar under the patronage of the Bishop of Dromore, who may have been related to Farquhar's mother. Farquhar may have initially intended to follow his father's profession and become a clergyman, but was "unhappy and rebellious as a student" and left college after two years to become an actor. His 18th-century biographer claims that the departure was because "his gay and volatile Disposition could not long relish the Gravity and Retirement of a College-life," but another story of uncertain veracity has him being expelled from Trinity College due to a "profane jest." The two accounts are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

Acting career
Farquhar joined a company performing on the Dublin stage, probably through his acquaintance with the well-known actor Robert Wilks. However, Farquhar was reportedly not that impressive as an actor. We are told that "his Voice was somewhat weak" and that "his movements [were] stiff and ungraceful." But he was well received by audiences and thought to continue in this career "till something better should offer." Some of the roles reportedly played by Farquhar were Lennox in Shakespeare's Macbeth, Young Bellair in The Man of Mode by George Etherege, Lord Dion in Philaster by Beaumont and Fletcher, and Guyomar in The Indian Emperor by John Dryden.

But while he was performing in the Dryden play, an accident on stage put an end to Farquhar's acting career. As Guyomar, Farquhar was supposed to "kill" Vasquez, one of the Spanish generals in the drama. Forgetting to exchange his sword for a foil before enacting this scene, Farquhar severely wounded Price, the actor playing Vasquez. Although Price recovered, Farquhar resolved after this mishap to give up acting for good.

Writing career
Farquhar then left for London, "possibly with a draft of his first play in his portmanteau." Some writers tie his move to that of his friend Wilks, who had received an offer from the manager of Drury Lane to come to London and join that theatre, and Wilks is also credited with encouraging Farquhar's efforts at writing plays.

Farquhar's first comedy, Love and a Bottle, was premiered in 1698; "for its sprightly Dialogue and busy Scenes," it is said to have been "well received by the Audience." Called a "licentious piece" by one scholar, and cited as proof that Farquhar had "absorbed the stock topics, character-types, and situations of Restoration comedy" by another, the play deals with Roebuck, "An Irish Gentleman of a wild roving Temper" who is "newly come to London." The general character of the play can be evaluated by considering that in the opening scene, Roebuck tells his friend Lovewell that he has left Ireland due to getting a woman pregnant with twins (a boy and a girl) and to Roebuck's father trying to force Roebuck to marry the woman; however, Roebuck remarks, "Heav'n was pleas'd to lessen my Affliction, by taking away the She-brat."

After the favourable reception of Love and a Bottle, Farquhar decided to devote himself to playwriting. He also at this point received a commission in the regiment of the Earl of Orrery, so his time for the next few years was divided between the vocations of soldier and dramatist. It was also at about this time that Farquhar discovered Anne Oldfield, who was reading aloud a scene from The Scornful Lady at her aunt's tavern. Impressed, he brought her to the notice of Sir John Vanbrugh, and this led to her theatrical career, during which she was the first performer of major female roles in Farquhar's last comedies.

In 1700, Farquhar's The Constant Couple was acted at Drury Lane and proved a great success, helped considerably by his friend Wilks' portrayal of the character of Sir Henry Wildair (a performance that Farquhar himself praised generously in his "Preface to the Reader" when the play was published). The playwright followed up with a sequel, Sir Harry Wildair, the following year, and in 1702 wrote the comedies The Inconstant and The Twin Rivals. Also in 1702, Farquhar published Love and Business, a collection that included letters, verse, and A Discourse Upon Comedy.

The next year, he married Margaret Pemell, "a widow with three children, ten years his senior," who reportedly tricked him into the marriage by pretending to have a great fortune. His 18th century biographer records that "though he found himself deceived, his Circumstances embarrassed, and his Family increasing, he never upbraided her for the Cheat, but behaved to her with all the Delicacy and Tenderness of an indulgent Husband." He was engaged in recruiting for the army, due to the War of the Spanish Succession, for the next three years, writing little except The Stage Coach in collaboration with Peter Motteux; this was an adaptation of a French play. He drew on his recruiting experience for his next comedy, The Recruiting Officer (1706). However, Farquhar had to sell his army commission to pay debts, reportedly after the Duke of Ormonde advised him to do so, promising him another but failing to keep his promise.

Early in 1707, Farquhar's friend Wilks visited him; Farquhar was ill and in distress, and Wilks is said to have "cheered him with a substantial present, and urged him to write another comedy." This comedy, The Beaux' Stratagem, was given its première on 8 March 1707; we know from Farquhar's own statement prefacing the published version of the play that he wrote it during his sickness:

The reader may find some faults in this play, which my illness prevented the amending of; but there is great amends made in the representation, which cannot be match'd, no more than the friendly and indefatigable care of Mr. Wilks, to whom I chiefly owe the success of the play.

Farquhar died on 29 April 1707, not quite two months after the opening of this last play. He was buried in the Church of St. Martin in the Fields, London, on 3 May.

Works referencing Farquhar

 * The 1987 play, Our Country's Good by Timberlake Wertenbaker, revolves around the story of 18th-century Australian convicts attempting to put on Farquhar's The Recruiting Officer. Wertenbaker's play is based on a novel by Thomas Keneally.
 * Bertolt Brecht set his adaptation of The Recruiting Officer, called Pauken und Trompeten, in America during the Civil War.
 * In Act III of She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, Kate Hardcastle asks her maid, "Tell me, Pimple, how do you like my present dress? Don't you think I look something like Cherry in the Beaux Stratagem?" A theatrical notice in the New York Times for 7 February 1885 remarked that at that date Goldsmith's allusion was "all that the stage [had] known of George Farquhar for many a year."
 * Alexander Pope famously refers to the playwright in "The First Epistle of the Second Book of Horace, Imitated," where he comments (line 288), "What pert low Dialogue has Farqu'ar writ!" (It has been argued that this is not an attack by Pope on Farquhar, but an illustration of "how seldom ev'n the best succeed" two lines earlier.)
 * In his essay "On Actors and Acting," essayist William Hazlitt praises the reformative power of the last act of Farquar's play The Inconstant, calling it "[t]he most striking lesson ever read to levity and licentiousness...where young Mirabel is preserved by the fidelity of his mistress, Orinda, in the disguise of a page, from the hands of assassins, into whose power he has been allured by the temptations of vice and beauty. There never was a rake who did not become in imagination a reformed man during the representation of the last trying scenes of this admirable comedy."

title: George Farquhar


text:
Talk:Age of Earth

Surprising assertion about convection and temperature decrease
In the “Early calculations” section it says that Lord Kelvin's calculations were wrong because he didn't know about radioactive decay, but mostly (“more significantly”) because he didn't take into account the convection in the mantle. I'm no geologist, but physical logic would imply the opposite: convection accelerates cooling, rather than delaying it. True, it transfers heat from the core to the base of the crust, increasing the gradient in the crust, but this is only temporary, and if it weren't for radioactivity the Earth would have cooled long ago. David Olivier (talk) 08:29, 7 March 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Age of Earth


text:
Talk:Mesosphere

Important Books
The following are important books on the mesosphere: 217.86.155.149 07:49, Apr 29 2002 (UTC)
 * wilfried schröder, developmental phases of noctilucent cloud research, berlin, akademie verlag, 1976-
 * michael gadsden and wilfried schröder, noctilucent clouds, heidelberg, springer 1989
 * wilfried schröder, noctilucent clouds, bremen, science edition, 1998

Coldest Temperature
I noticed that the "coldest temperature" is listed as 200 K, but in fact the temperature in the summer mesopause gets much colder, down to about 100 K. The temperature at the summer mesopause is thought to be a sensitive indicator of global change, and greater thermal energy in the lower atmosphere. -90 c — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.118.28.146 (talk) 01:14, 7 April 2013 (UTC)

Temperature Range
Does anyone know what the temperature RANGE of the mesosphere is in Celsius?
 * The temperature in the mesosphere is -100C

English system
Is 80-90 km about 50 miles? Which is closer to 50? Tailsfan2 (talk) 00:33, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

 * 50 miles = 80.467 kilometers. (1 mile = 1.609344 kilometers) Therefore, 80 kilometers better represents 50 miles. DAK4Blizzard (talk) 02:19, 4 June 2009 (UTC)

Stopping Meteors
How does the mesosphere stop meteors? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.244.20.149 (talk) 23:14, 8 May 2008 (UTC)

The friction forces rise with the density of air. So the meteorites melt due frictional heating and desintegrate into smaller parts and atoms and molecules. These small particles are much slower, than a massive particle, and more or less float. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.102.186.40 (talk) 11:28, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

Particles in Mesosphere
Can anyone tell me what particles are in abundance at this layer of the earths atmosphere? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dankelly83 (talk • contribs) 16:10, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

Where in the Atmosphere Does the Sky Turn Black?
Does anyone know at what altitude the sky turns from blue to black? Then again, the altitude probably varies with latitude (because the altitude of the layers of the atmosphere vary with latitude), so perhaps a better question is in what layer of the atmosphere does the sky turn from blue to black? DAK4Blizzard (talk) 23:54, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

 * In 2004, a pilot set an altitude record for a private spaceship. He reached a maximum altitude of 212,000 feet (64.62 km), which is in the mesosphere. The sky turned from blue to black for him somewhere during his flight (the article fails to specify where). He took off from the Mojave Desert, so he was presumably in a mid-latitude area of the atmosphere. From experience of flying up to 40,000 feet in mid-latitudes, I know the sky is obviously still blue in the lower part of the stratosphere. Therefore, it seems that the sky turns from blue to black somewhere between the lower stratosphere (40,000 feet) and middle mesosphere (212,000 feet). So now the question is, where in that range does the sky turn from blue to black? DAK4Blizzard (talk) 00:10, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

 * I'll answer my own question from a year ago. The sky turns black at around 60,000 feet (~11.5 miles or ~18.5 km) altitude, which is in the lower to middle stratosphere. This makes sense, because there really isn't much air (which causes the sky to appear blue) above where commercial planes fly at ~35,000 feet. (See the video, Ride on a U2 spy plane and this website.) DAK4Blizzard (talk) 22:32, 20 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Confirmed. It's about 60k feet. I searched all over the net for an answer to this question and was faced with a lot of unhelpful know-it-alls who failed to answer the question. At 60,000 feet 99% of the atmosphere is below you...and the sky is black. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.193.21.1 (talk) 05:31, 8 July 2012 (UTC)

1. Black is not a color. 2. The blue color of the sky comes from the frequency dependence f^4 in the dominant scattering process (Rayleigh-scattering). When the air gets thinner, there is less scattered solar radiation, therefore the the sky becomes darker. This of course also depends on the day/night conditions as well as the angle the light is scattered into your field of view. Your question is maybe, at which altitude Rayleigh scattering gets that low, that you would consider it as black, which is dependant of the individual properties of your eyes, e.g. the treshold you set for no signal. There is no sharp transition from blue to black. The sky can actually have many other different color, like red and green lights from oxygen transitions in the aurora, polar light, etc.. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.102.186.40 (talk) 11:20, 11 February 2013 (UTC)

"the coldest naturally occurring place on Earth"
I'm no scientist, but isn't this statement erroneous, given that the mesosphere isn't "on Earth"? --Dweller (talk) 15:48, 8 February 2013 (UTC)

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added content from Near Space
I added to this article the content from the "Near Space" article, which is now a redirect to this page.

(Still need to merge the content into a single narrative and delete duplications). Guy who reads a lot (talk) 20:37, 3 January 2018 (UTC)

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other sites to look at
there is another link you should look at and i have placed it here — Preceding unsigned comment added by Metameteor (talk • contribs) 14:10, 6 July 2020 (UTC)

"Near space" listed at Redirects for discussion
A discussion is taking place to address the redirect Near space. The discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2020 October 6 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Soumya-8974 talk contribs subpages 07:36, 6 October 2020 (UTC)

Edit war on the airliners and satellites.
It's the second time I restore the sequence:

 * [ mesosphere ] [typically refers ] to the range of altitudes below which commercial airliners fly but above which satellites orbit the Earth.

It's the second time someone flipped the "below" and "above", leading to airliners flying above mezosphere and satellites orbiting below. Sharpfang (talk) 15:11, 15 November 2021 (UTC)

 * It's poorly worded, sounding confusing. The edit warriors probably weren't ill-intended. A better expression would be "refers to the space between the altitude commercial airliners fly at and the lowest altitude satellites (are able to) orbit at". 2001:4BC9:A43:39DB:FC2A:92F5:D58E:B48E (talk) 11:58, 29 August 2022 (UTC)

Composition?
Composition? 2601:542:C002:52F0:19B5:BE6D:4429:5D7C (talk) 23:17, 8 February 2023 (UTC)

Layers of atmosphere
Gsjsnsjnssjzjznznkz send 103.26.224.40 (talk) 14:44, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Mesosphere


text:
Talk:Zircon

Annum
What does "an age of 4.404 Ga" mean?

this should be: "an age of 4.404 x 109years, this age is interpreted as crystallisation age " --Chd

Space group
What does "(crystal class: 4/m 2/m 2/m)" mean? Could someone explain it or link to a new page for whatever this system is? -- Tarquin 20:36 Dec 29, 2002 (UTC)

 * 4/m 2/m 2/m is a tetragonal space group. It basically tells what symmetry elements can you expect in the zircon crystal structure. Some info is available at:

http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/SYMMETRY/symmetry.htm http://www-structure.llnl.gov/xray/tutorial/spcgrp_tut.htm http://euch3i.chem.emory.edu/proposal/1b_space_groups.htm

Age incorrect?
The Narryer Gneiss Terrane says the Jack Hills zircons are 4.4 billion years old but this article says the oldest are 4.04. Isn't the older date correct? Badagnani 06:57, 24 July 2006 (UTC)
 * Er... I see 4.404 here not 4.04? Vsmith 11:35, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

Oh, good--I must have misread it! Thanks for the "second pair of eyes." Badagnani 05:45, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Merge

 * Oppose- These are articlale on to differet substances and so should not be merged. I may not seem thus looking the Zirconium(IV) silicate article due the extreem stub status.  Zirconium(IV) silicate is the article for the Human made chemical substance with the formula ZrSiO4.  The Zircon article is about the naturally occuring mineral with the formula ZrSiO4. Zircon is considered a seperate substance from the human made chemical by the International Mineralogical Association, the governing body that oversees minerology and mineral nomenclature. --Kevmin 15:33, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

 * Reverted merge as there was no consensus for it. Vsmith 17:44, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

 * Vsmith's reversion of my merge also included a removal of the merge header, which I concede to. Based on the precedent of the aluminum oxide / corundum and silica / quartz pages, the wikipedia precedent appears to distinguish between chemistry and phase, not between manmade and natural  as suggested by Kevmin.  I'd like a clarification on this.    Eassin 19:24, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

 * Not sure what you are asking for as your examples clearly show a separation of chemical compound usage versus mineralogical usage. Other examples would be calcium carbonate vs calcite and calcium sulfate vs gypsum. Although there may be some overlap in coverage between the articles (they are written and maintained by different users in general) the separation of chemical versus mineral is quite clear and the precedent for the separation of zircon as a mineral from the chemical compound is well established. Vsmith 22:40, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

 * I agree. I also oppose the merge. Overlap: chemical composition. Difference: focus of article (for example chemical reaction, manufacturing as well as industrial applications as opposed to geology, mineralogy, gemstone/jewelry applications, history etc. I would argue that a small paragraph about the chemical compound, within the mineral/gemstone article can often be appropriate (if relevance requires this). Compare diamond and synthetic diamond. I wouldn't know why this would suddenly be different for Zircon. Gem-fanat 08:32, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

 * As I stated in my original oppose, as Eassin pointed out in the comment re the revert, and as elaborated on by both Vsmith and Gem-fanat, Wikipedia policy until now has been to keep the chemistry/artificial articles separate from the Mineralogy/natural articles separated. Yes there is occasional overlap and some minerals tat need to have stub created from redirects to chem pages. --Kevmin 10:39, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Photo of faceted stone?
This article could use a good photo of a faceted gem zircon. There's a photo at the bottom that has some stones in it, but its taken at a distance. Zircon is a very bright gem and a good photo would be a plus for the article. --24.21.148.212 (talk) 06:27, 7 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Done A loose necktie (talk) 14:53, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Worth
What is a zircon worth in US dollars? Jeremy (talk) 13:11, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Apologies
I erroreously removed the symmetery data while showing a student how wikipedia works. The data was replaced! Many apologies! FVhernly Vince
 * Well, you showed and learned more by removing it :-) (that it is important to preview edits before saving them, that saved edits remain in the history, etc., etc.) Though a usual advice is to practice in a sandbox, e.g. WP:Sandbox. Materialscientist (talk) 00:08, 15 April 2011 (UTC)

Lunar Zircons
I cam here looking for info on lunar zircons. Admittedly because of an xkcd comic.

http://m.xkcd.com/1194/ (check the alt text)

"All we have are these stupid tantalizing zircons and the scars on the face of the Moon"

Mathiastck (talk) 17:12, 3 April 2013 (UTC)

Mineral weathering
I was reading a review article in Science (magazine) years ago and recall being startled by the expert's statement that only two minerals are stable on Earth's surface (of course, anything will dissolve with enough time at STP). Years later, I looked in wikipedia to find that information - and it wasn't there. More years later I think I found it: it seems as if the two are quartz and zircon. (According to the guy at salemstate.edu (sorry I lost the link)). If true, it seems as if it is noteworthy enough to include here. Anyone up to consider adding it? I guess for quartz, too - if its not there (that one I remembered from the Science article, so haven't checked the wikipedia entry.72.172.10.20 (talk) 23:48, 6 May 2015 (UTC)

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semiprecious?
81.11.222.84 (talk) 20:32, 29 August 2016 (UTC)

Synthetic zircon as jewellery
I have a question abut the text "Synthetic zircons have been created in laboratories[28] but they are only of scientific interest and are never encountered in the jewellery trade." I have some earrings and it says they are made of synthetic zircon, so I wonder of this text should be deleted. Any thoughts? BrightOrion (talk) 12:36, 7 October 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Zircon


text:
Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (Chinese)/Transcription of Chinese

The major discussion on Pinyin vs Wade-Giles is currently held at Use pinyin not Wade-Giles.
It seems to me that this article increases rather than solves the confusion in this matter. The contents should probably be integrated with those about pinyin, the increasingly more accepted way of romanizing Chinese. The point raised by the article's author in "How should these names and words from Chinese language properly be represented in written English?" misses the entire point. Romanization is not anglicization. Pinyin is a system for the transliteration of Chinese into the roman alphabet that can be applied in a context of any language that uses that alphabet. If the letters chosen have phonetic values contrary to their English values, that's the way it is. Representing Chinese in written English is terribly ethnocentric. It should also be noted that at the time of the 1911 encyclopaedia, even the Wade-Giles system did not exist as the most common method of representing Chinese in English contexts. This simply means that the usages in that work are a generation further removed from current usage. One also needs to ask whether the old transcription was based on Cantonese, Mandarin or some other pronunciation. A cookie-cutter approach is not reliable. Eclecticology, Monday, April 29, 2002

 * Agreed. I've replaced the content with links to Pinyin and Use pinyin not Wade-Giles, though perhaps it should be a simple #redirect to Pinyin. (In any case, it'll be an orphan soon enough.) Brion VIBBER, Monday, April 29, 2002

If someone wants to integrate the old content, here it is:

Is it Peking or Beijing, Tientsin or Tianjin? How should these names and words from Chinese language properly be represented in written English? That depends on the transcription system used, and several incompatible systems have been used throughout the years. Some articles copied to Wikipedia from an old encyclopedia published in 1911 have names that cannot be found in modern sources.

''I created this page not because I'm an expert, but because I want to learn more. I can describe the problem, but not all of the solutions. Please add details. Some examples follow.''--user:LA2

The spelling currently in use contains a lot of G, J, X, Z, and less K, T.

Old spelling	- Spelling used now Canton		- Guangzhou (city) Chekiang	- Zhejiang (province) Chengtu	- Chengdu (city) Fukien		- Fujian (province) ho		- he ("river") Honan		- Henan (province) Huang Ho	- Huang He (river) Hupe		- Hubei (province) Kansu		- Gansu (province) kiang		- jiang ("river") Kiangsi	- Jiangxi (province) Kiangsu	- Jiangsu (province) Kuangsi	- Guangxi (province) Kuang Tung	- Guangdong (province) Kueitsjeu	- Guizhou (province) Nanking	- Nanjing (city) Nganhoei	- Anhui (province) Peiho		- Hai He (river) Peking		- Beijing (city) Sechuan	- Sichuan (province) Sjangtung	- Shandong (province) Tientsin	- Tianjin (city)

Library of Congress Guidelines
The page "Library of Congress Pinyin Conversion Project: New Chinese Romanization Guidelines" might be helpful in standardizing Chinese transcription in the 'pedia. It also features a useful table of Wade-Giles-pinyin equivalency. Not all points on the pages are applicable to the 'pedia; the following is a summary of those that may be:

 * Join, without hyphen or space, multi-character proper nouns, e.g.,
 * Person's name
 * Family/clan name
 * Given name
 * Style/Courtesy name (zi4)
 * Pseudonym
 * Buddhist name
 * Placename
 * But separate the following from the placename proper:
 * Jurisdictional name, e.g., shi4 "city"
 * Topographical name, e.g. shan1 "mountain"
 * Era name
 * Ethnic group name
 * Religion name
 * Language name
 * Capitalize as in English (Maybe this rule applies only to the English 'pedia, and not, for example, the German?)
 * Use apostrophe to separate otherwise ambiguous syllables, e.g., Xi'an

--Menchi 23:01 Feb 18, 2003 (UTC)