Transportation in Tianjin

Tianjin has an extensive network of roads and railways and a major airport. Bicycle is a major means of transportation used in daily life in the city.

Rail

There are several railway stations in the city, Tianjin Railway Station being the principal one. It was built in 1888, initially, the station was located at Wangdaozhuang (S: 旺道庄 / T: 旺道莊). The station was later moved to Laolongtou (S: 老龙头 / T: 老龍頭) on the banks of the Hai He River in 1892, so the station was renamed Laolongtou Railway Station. The station was rebuilt from scratch in 1988. The rebuilding work began on April 15, 1987 and was finished on October 1, 1988. The Tianjin Railway Station is also locally called the 'East Station', due to its geographical position.

Tianjin West Railway Station and Tianjin North Railway Station are also major railway stations in Tianjin. There is also Tanggu Railway Station is located in the important port area of Tanggu District, and TEDA Railway Station located in TEDA, to the north of Tanggu. There are several other railway stations in the city.

Construction on a Beijing-Tianjin high-speed rail began on July 4, 2005, and is scheduled to be completed in 2007.

The following rail lines go through Tianjin:

* Jinghu Railway, from Beijing to Shanghai
* Jingha Railway, from Beijing to Harbin
* Jingqin Railway, from Beijing to Qinhuangdao, Hebei
* Jinpu Railway, from Tianjin to Pukou District, Nanjing
* Jinji Railway, from Tianjin urban area to Ji County, Tianjin
* Jinba Railway, from Tianjin to Bazhou, Hebei

Roads and expressways

Some spots in Tianjin, including roads and bridges, have names from Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Three Principles of the People (for example, Minquan Gate on Zhonghuan Road). Names harkening back to the era of the Republic of China on the mainland also appear (e.g. Beiyang Road). Many roads in Tianjin are named after a Chinese province or city. Also, Tianjin is unlike Beijing, in that very few roads run parallel to the major four compass directions.

Tianjin has three ring roads. Unlike Beijing, the Inner and Middle Ring Roads are not closed, traffic-controlled roadways and some often have traffic light intersections. The Outer Ring Road is the closest thing to a highway-level ring road, although traffic is often chaotic and sometimes more than chaotic.

* Inner Ring Road "(neihuan)"
* Middle Ring Road "(zhonghuan)"
* Outer Ring Road "(waihuan)"

Tianjin's roads often finish in "dao" (道 avenue), "xian" (S: 线 / T: 線 line, more used for highways and through routes) and "lu" (路 road). "Jie" (街 street) is rare. As Tianjin's roads are rarely in a cardinal compass direction, "jing" (S: 经 / T: 經) roads and "wei" (S: 纬 / T: 緯) roads often appear, which attempt to run more directly north-south and east-west, respectively.

The following seven expressways of China run in or through Tianjin:

* Jingjintang Expressway, from Beijing, through Tianjin's urban area, to Tanggu District / TEDA
* Jinghu Expressway, from Jinjing Gonglu Bridge to Shanghai (together with Jingjintang Expressway, this is the expressway from Beijing to Shanghai)
* Jingshen Expressway, through Baodi District on its way from Beijing to Shenyang
* Tangjin Expressway, from Tanggu District, Tianjin, to Tangshan, Hebei "-- known in Tianjin as the Jintang Expressway"
* Baojin Expressway, from Beichen District, Tianjin, to Baoding, Hebei "-- known in Tianjin as the Jinbao Expressway"
* Jinbin Expressway, from Zhangguizhuang Bridge to Hujiayuan Bridge, both within Tianjin
* Jinji Expressway, from central Tianjin to Jixian County

The following six China National Highways pass through Tianjin:

* China National Highway 102, through Ji County, Tianjin on its way from Beijing to Harbin
* China National Highway 103, from Beijing, through Tianjin's urban area, to Tanggu District
* China National Highway 104, from Beijing, through Tianjin Municipality, to Fuzhou
* China National Highway 105, from Beijing, through Tianjin Municipality, to Macau
* China National Highway 112, circular highway around Beijing, passes through Tianjin Municipality
* China National Highway 205, from Shanhaiguan, Hebei, through Tianjin Municipality, to Guangzhou

Air

Tianjin Binhai International Airport (ZBTJ) is located to the east of the urban area, in Dongli District, Tianjin.

Public transit

The Tianjin tramway network was built by Belgian interests. The concession was given by the occupying powers in 1901 and recognized by the Chinese authorities in 1904. Tram services began in 1906. Tianjin was the first city to have its own city-wide tram system in China. Buses were introduced by the municipality in 1932. Tramway swere withdrawn around 1972. There were 402 bus lines in the city as of 2004.

Construction work on the Tianjin Metro started on July 4, 1970. It was the second metro to be built in China and commenced service in 1984. The total length of track is 7.4 kilometers. The metro service was suspended on October 9, 2001 and is currently being rebuilt. This new metro will be called "Tianjin Metro Line 1". It is scheduled to be finished in the later half of 2005. The track will be extended to 26.188 kilometers and there will be a total of 22 stations. Previously, there were 8 stations. Several new metro lines are planned. Construction work on Line 2 and Line 3 will begin in late 2004.

There is also a light railway line in the city, the LRT Binhai Line. The line runs between downtown Tianjin and TEDA (Tianjin Economic Development Area) in the seaside region. The eastern part of the line began service on March 28, 2004. The western part of the line is scheduled to be completed in 2006.