Being close to the Bohai Sea in the east and adjacent to Beijing, Tianjin, with an area of 11,000 square km and a population of 9.4 million, is one of the four municipalities in China directly under the central authorities.
Tianjin is not only an open port and port city with a fairly developed industry and commerce in north China, but also a famous historical and cultural city in China. The city is being turned into a key economic center and modern port city in north China. In 1998 the city was among the first group of cities to stride to the ranks of top tourist cities of China. The Tianjin municipal Party Committee and government have paid close attention to the development of the tourist industry and regarded the tourist industry as an important industry for priority development and as a new point of economic growth of its GDP. In recent years Tianjin has become one of the regions in China where the international tourist industry has developed apace. In 1998 the number of foreign tourists who visited the city topped 300,000 and international tourist receipt exceeded 200 million US dollars, registering and increase of 8.9 percent and 11.1 percent respectively.
The city received 23.88 million domestic tourists and its tourist income stood at 25.2 billion yuan, showing a growth of 8.9 percent as compared with that of the previous year. The number of the city dwellers who visited other parts of the country came to 5.48 million, million, registering a growth of 53.8 percent as compared with that of the year before. Tianjin has constantly beefed up its tourist construction, and the scale of the tourist industry and the comprehensive receiving capacity have enhanced year by year. Currently, Tianjin has 182 international and domestic travel agencies and 80 hotels with more than 10,000 guestrooms for foreign tourists.
With a complete array of tourist landscapes, Tianjin is blessed with mountain, river, lake and sea landscapes, as well as ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign human landscapes, and rich social tourist resources. The landscape paradigm with the Haihe River as the axis and with Tanggu and Jixian County as both flanks has taken shape in the main. Located in the city proper are the beautiful Haihe River landscape route, the Ancient Cultural Street, which is known in the world, the Food Street, Tianjin Broadcasting TV Tower, Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao Memorial Hall which is unique in the country, the Beiping-Tianjin Campaign Memorial Hall, the Science and Technology Hall and various professional museums with distinct features.
There are the Seaside Resort, which wins glory by subterranean heat and thermal spring and the Dagukou Fort Barbette, which is known both at home and abroad. In the outer suburbs of the city are the Huangyaguan Great Wall which has been given the title of the World Cultural Heritage by the United Nations, the National Natural Reserve with the ancient stratigraghic section of the Mesozoic and Palaeozoic eras which is most typical in the world, the Panshan national scenic resort which was visited by Emperor Qianlong for 28 times, the Dule Temple, an ancient temple of a long standing, and the "Scroll of 87 Supernatural Beings" with huge stone-engraving frescos which has been included in the Guinness. On the outskirts of Tianjin are the Shi Family Compound, known as the No.1 dwelling in north China, and the former home and mausoleum of Huo Yuanjia, a noted patriotic martial art master and the founder of the Jingwumen Martial Art School.
Located in the center of the region encircling the Bohai Sea, Tianjin is 120 km away form Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China. With the expressway, the modern international airport and the biggest man-made harbour in north China. Tianjin is also an important pivot of the Eurasian bridge. The geographical superiority and convenient sea, land and air networks have furnished convenient conditions for the development of the tourist industry.
The tourist industry of Tianjin is implementing the development strategy of a "big city with a prosperous tourist industry, a flourishing market and a complete array of industries", promoting tourist activities such as sightseeing city tours, specialized exchanges, business and trade conferences, recreational holidays and trips to the rural areas. Tianjin is being developed into an important tourist city in China.