ABSTRACT
Location: Just inland from the Yellow Sea's Bohai Bay in northern China, approximately sixty-five miles southeast of Beijing.
Description: Tianjin was the site of an important grain storage area as far back as the Yuan Dynasty (1234-1368). Owing to its strategic location on both inland waterways and ocean shipping lanes, Tianjin grew rapidly to become an important commercial center. In the mid-nineteenth century, Tianjin was frequented by numerous foreign powers seeking a foothold in the growing China market. Today Tianjin is China's third largest city; like Beijing and Shanghai, it has been designated a municipality and is centrally governed from Beijing.
