ABSTRACT
Tianjin presents a paradox. It is the one province-level unit in China whose raison d'être is clear in historical terms, but is becoming increasingly less evident under present economic conditions. Tianjin (or ‘Tientsin’ in the old transcription) was the economic and commercial capital of northern China for nearly a hundred years until the middle of the twentieth century, most of the time next to an economically weak national capital in Beijing. Until war erupted in China, Tianjin was China's second largest modern cosmopolitan city behind Shanghai, divided into foreign concessions and home to a Chinese industrial bourgeoisie and a worker's movement. While the memories of its former glory remain strong, Tianjin's history during the People's Republic of China is mostly one of relative decline. Its population is the smallest of the three municipalities with provincial status and its role among them is diminishing. Tianjin has the lowest living standards and per capita consumption of the three big municipalities and has been overtaken by other smaller cities. Compared to Beijing or Shanghai, Tianjin seems to lack a specific identity and purpose. Its role in the Bohai Rim Region is shared with other port cities and, above all, with Beijing. Competition for its traditional markets is growing and large cities of sub-provincial status such as Dalian, Tangshan and Qingdao are increasingly catching up with Tianjin in terms of overall economic indicators. Surprisingly, it was foreign investors who realised the advantages and economic potential of the city and who have contributed most to its recent economic growth. Since the early 1990s, Tianjin has attracted huge foreign investment projects from multinational companies such as Motorola, Heinz and Toyota which have made it their production base in northern China and expanded its economic reach far beyond the borders of the city. Yet, notwithstanding the huge economic impact of foreign-funded enterprises in its satellite towns, a near-nostalgic, conservative atmosphere prevails in Tianjin. Compared with the affluence and conspicuous consumption one finds in many of China's booming cities, the prevalence of state enterprises and Tianjin's laidback, peaceful urban streetscape and its old-fashioned shops in the city centre are more reminiscent of the late 1970s and the pre-reform period.
