Tianjin (天津 previously spelled Tientsin) is an important harbour city in China on the Hai He river (from Beijing) and Bo Hai bay of the Yellow Sea (Pacific Ocean).
Tianjin is one of four independent municipalities in China and as such does not belong to any province. Historically, the city was the capital of the Zhili province.
The city was opened to foreign trade in June 1858, at the end of the first part of the Second Opium War, when the Treaty of NanjingTreaty of NanjingTreaties of Tianjin where signed.