Tianjin travel guide for foreign visitors

Best time to visit

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From the airport or station to the city

Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.

From Beijing South Railway Station (fast train)

北京南站

TrainTime30–40 minCost¥50–55
The Beijing–Tianjin intercity runs from early morning to late evening, often every 10–20 minutes. Most trains stop at Tianjin Station, right by the Haihe River and the Italian Style Street; some go to Tianjin West or Tianjin South. Book on 12306 or Trip.com with your passport, and bring the same passport to the gate. Easy as a day trip from Beijing.

From Tianjin Binhai Airport (TSN)

天津滨海国际机场

MetroTime30–40 minCost¥3–4
Metro Line 2 from Binhai International Airport station to Tianjin Railway Station (Tianjin Zhan). Trains run about 06:00–23:00.
TaxiTime30–45 minCost¥50–70
Official taxi rank outside arrivals; about 15 km to the city centre.

From Tianjin West Railway Station

天津西站

MetroTime15–25 minCost¥2–3
High-speed trains from Shanghai, Nanjing and Jinan often stop here. Metro Line 1 to Yingkou Dao for the Five Great Avenues, or Line 6 toward the Culture Center.

Getting around

The centre is compact and follows the Haihe River: Tianjin Station, the Italian Style Street, the Ancient Culture Street and the Tianjin Eye are all along the water, and the Five Great Avenues sit a short ride south. The metro (Lines 1, 2, 3 and 9 meet near the centre) and DiDi cover everything. Walking or a shared bike along the river is the nicest way between sights. One full day is enough for the highlights.

Book these before you fly

These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.

Top sights

Italianate villa with a tower in Tianjin’s Italian Style Town

意式风情区Italian Style StreetThe only Italian concession in Asia: early-1900s villas, piazzas and cafés a few minutes from Tianjin Station.1–2 hours

Old villa among trees on Tianjin’s Five Great Avenues

五大道Five Great AvenuesTree-lined streets in the former British concession with over 2,000 European-style villas from the 1920s and 1930s.2–3 hours

The Tianjin Eye Ferris wheel on Yongle Bridge over the Haihe

天津之眼Tianjin EyeA 120-metre Ferris wheel built on top of the Yongle Bridge over the Haihe River. One turn takes about 30 minutes.Booking recommended1–1.5 hours including the queue

Shops and the theatre stage gate on Tianjin Ancient Culture Street

古文化街Ancient Culture StreetA rebuilt Qing-style shopping street by the river, with the Tianhou (Mazu) Temple, clay figurines, kites and Tianjin snacks.1–2 hours

Facade of the Porcelain House covered in porcelain shards

瓷房子Porcelain HouseA century-old French-style mansion covered inside and out with millions of pieces of antique porcelain and shards.45 minutes

The Haihe River and skyline in central Tianjin

海河游船Haihe River CruiseA 50-minute boat ride between Liberation Bridge and the Tianjin Eye, past the old concession buildings. Best after dark.Booking recommended1–1.5 hours

Stone-clad entrance facade of the Tianjin Museum

天津博物馆Tianjin MuseumThe city’s main museum, in a swan-shaped building: Chinese bronzes, porcelain, paintings and the story of modern Tianjin.Booking required2 hours

Striped brick walls and green domes of St Joseph’s Cathedral (Xikai Church)

西开教堂St Joseph’s Cathedral (Xikai Church)A 1917 Romanesque cathedral with three green domes, at the end of the Binjiang Dao shopping street.30 minutes

Gate hall of the Tianjin Confucian Temple Museum

天津文庙博物馆Tianjin Confucian Temple MuseumThe largest and best-preserved group of old temple buildings in central Tianjin, founded in the Ming dynasty, with memorial arches, halls and exhibits on Confucian rites.Booking recommended1 hour

Main gate and forecourt of Dabei Monastery in Tianjin

大悲禅院Dabei Monastery (Dabeiyuan)Tianjin’s largest and best-known Buddhist monastery, a working temple with a 17th-century core and a hall dedicated to the monk Xuanzang.1 hour

The Yinbingshi, Liang Qichao’s Italian-style study villa in Tianjin

梁启超纪念馆Liang Qichao Memorial Hall (Yinbingshi)The home and Italian-style study of the reformer and writer Liang Qichao, with restored rooms and an exhibition on his life, on the edge of the old Italian concession.Booking recommended1 hour

Carved brick gateway with stone lions at the Shi Family Grand Courtyard

石家大院Shi Family Grand Courtyard (Yangliuqing)A late-Qing merchant mansion from 1875 with 18 courtyards, brick carvings and a museum of Yangliuqing New Year woodblock prints, in the canal town of Yangliuqing about 20 km west of the centre.Half a day with the old town

Wave-like terraced bookshelves around the spherical ‘Eye’ in Binhai Library

滨海新区图书馆（滨海之眼）Tianjin Binhai Library ("The Eye")A much-photographed library by MVRDV, with wave-shaped terraces of shelves rising around a huge luminous sphere, in the Binhai New Area about 45 km east of the centre.Booking required1 hour

Spanish-style villa and lawn of Jingyuan, the Garden of Serenity

静园Jingyuan (Garden of Serenity)A 1920s villa in the former Japanese concession where Puyi, the last emperor, lived from 1929 to 1931; restored rooms and exhibits tell his story.1 hour

Grey-brick Gothic facade and towers of Wanghailou Church

望海楼教堂Wanghailou Church (Notre-Dame des Victoires)Tianjin’s oldest Catholic church (1869), a Gothic-style grey-brick church on the Hai River, twice destroyed and rebuilt, remembered for the Tianjin Incident of 1870.30 minutes

Pleasure boats around a wooded island on the West Lake of Tianjin Water Park

天津水上公园Tianjin Water ParkTianjin’s largest park, three lakes and several islands with bridges, pavilions and a Japanese garden; locals come to row, stroll and dance in the evening.2–3 hours

Sail-like wings of the National Maritime Museum of China

国家海洋博物馆National Maritime Museum of ChinaChina’s national museum of the sea, a huge building shaped like fish or a fleet on the Bohai coast, with marine life, ancient seafaring, whale skeletons and ship models.Booking requiredHalf a day including travel

Domed glass building of the Tianjin Natural History Museum

天津自然博物馆Tianjin Natural History MuseumA big, family-friendly museum in the Culture Center with dinosaurs, fossils, marine life and a history going back to the Musée Hoangho Paiho founded by a French Jesuit in 1914.Booking required2–3 hours

Huangyaguan Great Wall climbing a ridge in autumn colours

黄崖关长城Huangyaguan Great WallTianjin’s section of the Great Wall, a restored Ming pass and wall climbing steep ridges in the Jizhou hills, with a walled fortress town at its foot.Booking recommendedFull day including travel

Map

Further out, not on this map: Huangyaguan Great Wall

What to eat here

煎饼果子Jianbing guozi (Tianjin crepe)The breakfast of Tianjin: a mung-bean crepe with egg, scallions, sauce and a crispy fried dough stick or cracker folded inside. Locals are strict: no ham, no lettuce.包子Goubuli steamed bunsTianjin’s famous pork buns with 18 folds on top. The Goubuli brand is pricey and touristy; neighbourhood bun shops are often just as good.

麻花Guifaxiang fried dough twists (mahua)Big, crunchy fried dough twists filled with nuts and candied fruit, from Guifaxiang on 18th Street. A classic gift to take home.

耳朵眼炸糕Erduoyan fried rice cakesGlutinous rice dough filled with sweet red-bean paste and fried golden. Crisp outside, chewy inside.

锅巴菜Guobacai (crepe strips in gravy)A local breakfast: strips of mung-bean crepe in a thick, savoury brown gravy with sesame paste, fermented tofu and coriander.

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