Tianjin Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

History

Located on China's northeast coast, Tianjin sits 35 mi/55 km upriver from the Bohai Sea, an inlet of the Yellow Sea, at the confluence of two rivers and the Grand Canal. This strategic, waterborne geography sparked the city's rapid late-19th-century development.

Tianjin first came to prominence as a shipping hub in the Yuan Dynasty. Four centuries later, its destiny changed forever. After the second Opium War in 1859, the Treaties of Tientsin (the former spelling of the city's name) awarded France and Britain the right to establish extraterritorial concessions south of the Hai River. Between 1895 and 1902, six more foreign concessions were created—by Japan, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Belgium—raising Tianjin's total to eight, more than any other Chinese treaty port, including Shanghai.

A surge of trade and investment from these overseas nations sparked a building boom that endowed Tianjin with some of the finest foreign architecture in China. Today, the best place to view this rich legacy is by crossing the Hai River and heading for Jiefang Bei Lu.

Location

Tianjin replaced Xingang as the main port for Beijing when it opened a ship terminal in 2010. Almost all major cruise ships dock at Tianjin International Cruise Home Port, though it is occasionally still called the Xingang Port because of Xingang's past popularity. The older Xingang terminal is used for domestic cruise ships; be sure you go to the right terminal.

The port is designed to accommodate six large international cruise ships, with an anticipated capacity of 500,000 passengers.

From the port, it is a 20-minute drive to the city of Tanggu, where bullet trains take passengers to Beijing, a 93 mi/150 km trip that takes only 30 minutes. Some cruise ships offer shuttles to transport passengers from Tianjin to Tanggu, though it is also possible to take a taxi, train or public bus. Be aware that because many Chinese commuters use the Tanggu train station, railway tickets frequently sell out, and many workers do not speak English.

Travelers that are wary about navigating the train station can hire a taxi to drive them into Beijing, which takes approximately three hours. Taxi drivers wait at the terminal, but they speak little to no English. Make sure you have your destinations written in Chinese characters beforehand, and be sure the driver turns on the meter.