Tianjin Things to Do

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Located at one end of a pedestrianised shopping street, this Romanesque styled catholic cathedral was built by French missionaries in 1917. It has a length of 60 metres and a width of 30 metres. The twin bell towers on its facade rise 47 metres into the air. The cathedral was badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution and then again by the Tang Shan earthquake in 1976. It was then extensively restored in 1979 and was officially re-opened on the Feast of Our Lady's Assumption on August 15th 1980.

The British merchants Butterfield & Swire was founded in 1866 with its headquarters in Shanghai. The Tianjin branch opened in 1881 and specialised in the import and export trade. This building was constructed in 1895.

Jardine Matheson & Co Ltd was the first British firm that sold opium to China and had its headquarters on The Bund in Shanghai. The Tianjin branch opened in 1867 as the largest foreign company in Tianjin. This building was built in 1921 with a huge Corinthian column at each side.

In order to fight against the foreign savings banks, Salt Industry Bank, Kinchen Bank, China & South Sea Bank Ltd and Continental Bank co-operated together to establish this bank in 1923 with its headquarters in Shanghai. The building was constructed in 1923.

The China & South Sea Bank was founded in Shanghai in 1921. The Tianjin branch was founded in 1922 and was the only bank to be authorised by the Beijing government to issue bills. In 1953 the bank was transformed to a joint operated organisation. The building was built in the early 20th century and was later expanded in 1938.

The Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank Corporation was founded in Hong Kong in 1864. As the first foreign-invested bank in Tianjin, HSBC Tianjin branch was set up in 1881. The bank was then cleared in 1954. The building was built in 1925 by designers Atkinson & Dallas with twelve distinctive Ionic columns at the front. It now houses the Bank of China.

The Yokohama Specie Bank Ltd was founded in 1880 with its headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. The Tianjin branch was founded in 1899 and specialised in foreign exchange, deposition and loans in order to back up the merchandise input from Japan to North China. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, it was taken over by the Bank of China. The buildings was built in 1926, designed by Atkinson & Dallas.

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In 1856, Chinese soldiers boarded The Arrow, a Chinese-owned ship registered in Hong Kong flying the British flag and suspected of piracy, smuggling and of being engaged in the opium trade. They captured 12 men and imprisoned them. In response, the British and French sent gunboats under the command of Admiral Sir Michael Seymour to capture the Dagu 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 Treaties of Tianjin were signed, which opened Tianjin to foreign trade. The treaties were ratified by the Emperor of China in 1860, and Tianjin was formally opened to the outside world. Between 1895 and 1900, Britain and France were joined by Japan, Germany and Russia, and even by countries without other 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.

The concession areas were to the south of the main train station along Jiefang Beilu and either side of the Hai River and west of the train station up to the old town area. Here you'll find some wonderful buildings such as banks, warehouses, consulates, churches and public buildings.