Tianjin Railway Station (), also translated as Tianjin Station, is the principal railway station in

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, China. It was established in 1888, rebuilt in 1987–1988, and restructured in 2007–2008. Its Chinese big title was written by

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

in 1988, for celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding. Since 1 August 2008, it serves as the terminus for high-speed trains to the city, including the

Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway The Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway () is a high-speed rail in China, Chinese high-speed railway that runs line between Beijing and Tianjin. Designed for passenger traffic only, the Chinese government built the line to accommodate trains t ...

, which can reach speeds above 350 km/h.

Historical development

Qing Dynasty period

In 1888, the Kaiping Tramway and Imperial Railways of North China was extended to

and was subsequently renamed as the Jintang Railway (津唐铁路), becoming the first

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

completed in China at the time. Construction of the railroad had begun in 1886 and was situated near the

Hai River The Hai River (海河, lit. "Sea River"), also known as the Peiho, ("White River"), or Hai Ho, is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea. During the Song dynasty, the main stream of the Hai River was called the lowe ...

. In May 1891, a larger station was built to the west and a civil structure contained a three-storey building. Tienstin- PCard-1

During the

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, was an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious F ...

in June 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance besieged

and battled the Boxers in the black bamboo forest outside the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and French Concession. During the ten days of fighting, the "Old Dragon Head" railway station and other station buildings were also destroyed. By July 1900, the armies of the Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Tianjin and the east coast of the rail station became the occupied zone of the Russian army. By December that same year, the Russian Concession was opened and the rail station was now located within the boundaries of the concession. This was strongly opposed by the British and in the end, through the intermediation of Germany, the Russians eventually gave in.

Republic of China period

After the Jinghu railway and Tianjin West Station was constructed in 1911, the old Tianjin Station was renamed the Tianjin East Station, and the Tianjin Railway was categorised into the North, East and West Stations. The Tianjin East Station later became the Jingha railway and intersected the Jinpu railway line. On 10 October 1930, The Tianjin East Station was listed among the international train stations at the time. During the period from 1916 to 1946 the Tianjin East Station was approved by the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Ministry of Railways as a first-class station, and the principal station was upgraded in 1927.

People's Republic of China period

After the establishment of the People's Republic of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

throughout the country in 1949, the Tianjin East Station was renamed the Tianjin Station and since then, successive inspections by the Ministry of Railways have classified it as a top grade station. In 1950, the Tianjin Station waiting rooms were expanded by more than , and for thirty years there were no further large-scale expansion works undertaken. After the

Chinese economic reform Reform and opening-up ( zh, s=改革开放, p=Gǎigé kāifàng), also known as the Chinese economic reform or Chinese economic miracle, refers to a variety of economic reforms termed socialism with Chinese characteristics and socialist marke ...

, the burden of transportation on the Tianjin Station increasied due to the sharp increase in passenger traffic; the average daily number of passengers was 65,000. After receiving from the State Council and the Ministry of Railways, the

Municipal Government A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

decided to expand the "Tianjin Railway Improvement Project" and this item was also included among the key projects in the national " Seventh Five-Year Plan". Starting on 15 April 1987, thorough renovation work was conducted on Tianjin Railway Station. New roofing was constructed on the original site of the old station house and also on the cylindrical

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

, face

. The construction work was completed on 25 September 1988. On the eve 1 October of that same year, which was the centenary of the establishment of the Tianjin Station, the then Minister of Railways Li Senmao (李茂森) cut the

ribbon A ribbon or riband is a thin band of material, typically cloth but also plastic or sometimes metal, used primarily as decorative binding and tying. Cloth ribbons are made of natural materials such as silk, cotton, and jute and of synthetic mate ...

and officially opened the new station building of the Tianjin Station. The new renovations had increased the Tianijn Station's daily receiving passenger capacity from 46 pairs to 95 pairs and was one of the most advanced modern

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

s in China at the time. TianjinRailwayStation

As a co-host city of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, in order to coordinate the hosting of the Games along with the construction of the

and the Tianjin Underground Zhijing Line ( 天津地下直径线) as well as the introduction of the Jin-Qin Passenger Dedicated Line ( 津秦客运专线), Tianjin City launched the construction of the "Tianjin Station Traffic Junction". On 15 January, Tianjin Railway Station closed for the first time since its previous reconstruction in 1988. To ensure the project reconstruction could proceed smoothly, the Railway Station's passenger operations were temporarily halted and the

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

of Tianjin (known as the Tianjin Passenger Technology Station) was converted into the "Temporary Passenger Station in Tianjin Station" and was formally put into use as a temporary substitute for traffic. At the same time, the majority of Tianjin Railway Station's bus terminals were moved to the Yueya River train station ( 月牙河火车站).

Networks

Since 1 October 2012, the station has been connected to the Tianjin Metro network, with Line 2, Line 3, and Line 9 intersecting at the station.

Station house structure

At present, Tianjin Railway Station includes the

and the north station railway. The elevated waiting room, underground pit room, high platform canopy,

passenger A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

, and line package channels have a total construction area of , of which the newly built North station house comprises , the South Station house has and the canopy has . The elevated waiting room is and can accommodate 6,000 passengers. The office is located in the basement of the underground pit and has a construction area of .

Dome mural

In the spring of 1988, Li Ruihuan, then the Tianjin mayor, inspired by the

Sistine Chapel ceiling The Sistine Chapel ceiling (), painted in fresco by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance Renaissance art, art. The Sistine Chapel is the large papal chapel built within the Vatican City, Vatican betwee ...

during his visit to Italy, ordered to paint a similar dome mural for the entrance hall of the station. It took four months to complete the mural before 1 October, the National Day of 1988, by old painter Qin Zheng (秦征) and his students. The subject of the mural is " Jingwei Tries to Fill the Sea", in a Baroque style depiction of a figure in Chinese mythology. Jingwei was depicted as a naked woman with two wings and long hair, which broke the taboo concerning nudity for the first time after the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. It was once the biggest dome mural in China. In order to protect the oil painting, Tianjin Railway Station became China's first public place to forbid smoking.

Underground passageways

A network of underground passageways exist under the station, providing exit points for passengers from mainline platforms and connecting to the Tianjin Metro which has a transfer hub between its three lines below the station.

Station scenery

Image:建设中的津塔2.JPG, The Jin Tower situated across the

. Image:TianjinDongzhan.JPG, The Tianjin Century Clock in front of the Tianjin Railway Station Square. Image:21147-Tianjin (49063967052).jpg, St. Regis Tianjin

Layout of the ticket window

Inside the train station, there are 62 manual ticket

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent ma ...

s, including 23 ticket vending machines of the

and 65 sets of automatic entry and exit gates.Tianjin Tourism Bureau: An Introduction to visiting the Tianjin High Speed Rail Station (天津市旅游局：乘高铁·逛津城之天津站介绍)

Notes and references

External links

Tianjin Railway Station Official siteTianjin Train Schedule Time Table
{{Tianjin transit Railway stations in China opened in 1888 Railway stations in Tianjin Stations on the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway Stations on the Tianjin–Qinhuangdao High-Speed Railway Stations on the Beijing–Shanghai Railway