Tianjin Museum
Its most celebrated treasures include the Taibao Ding of the Western Zhou dynasty, Northern Song painter Fan Kuan's "Snowy Cold Forest Landscape", the Qing dynasty jadeite cabbage with a katydid, and "Myriad Tablets Facing Heaven"; painting, calligraphy and artifact collections are all comprehensive
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 09:00-16:30 · Closed Mondays
- Ticket
- Free (reservation required)
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
Its most celebrated treasures include the Taibao Ding (tripod) of the Western Zhou dynasty, Northern Song painter Fan Kuan's "Snowy Cold Forest Landscape" (Xuejing Hanlin Tu), the Qing dynasty jadeite cabbage with a katydid, and "Myriad Tablets Facing Heaven" (Wanhu Chaotian Tu); its painting, calligraphy and applied-arts collections are comprehensive. The exhibition on Tianjin's urban history starts from its canal-transport wharf days and moves through the concession era to its rise as a modern industrial hub, systematically presenting the city's trajectory behind the saying "to see modern China, look to Tianjin". The museum sits in the Cultural Center next to the Natural History Museum, and the two can be visited together; lovers of painting and calligraphy should allow at least half a day.
Getting there: Metro Lines 5/6, Cultural Center Station
Photos
More in Tianjin
- Wudadao (Five Great Avenues)
A quarter of celebrity mansions in Tianjin's former concession areas; over 2,000 buildings in British, French, Italian, German and Spanish styles have earned it the title "Exhibition of World Architecture".
- Tianjin Eye (Yongle Bridge Ferris Wheel)
A giant Ferris wheel mounted on Yongle Bridge over the Hai River, 120 m in diameter; the world's only observation wheel built on a bridge, it stands astride the river as a Tianjin landmark.
- Ancient Culture Street (Gongnan-Gongbei Streets)
An old street of Tianjin folk flavor lined with buildings in Qing-dynasty folk style; beneath the "Jinmen Guli" archway stands Tianhou Palace — imperially commissioned in 1326 during the Yuan dynasty's Taiding reign. As the saying goes, "first there was Tianhou Palace, then Tianjin"; it was the northern center of Mazu worship in the grain-transport era, and its halls still burn incense today.
- Italian Style Town (Former Italian Concession)
Asia's only fully preserved Italian concession (opened in 1902), with Italian villas, columns and round arches forming contiguous streets
- Haihe River Cruise
The classic way to tour the Haihe at night; round trips of about 1h depart from Tianjin Railway Station Pier or Ancient Culture Street Pier, linking landmarks on both banks such as Jiefang Bridge, Jinwan Plaza, the Jinmen and Jinta towers, and Dagu Bridge
- Jinwan Plaza
A French-style architectural complex on a bend of the Haihe River, where red-roofed, cream-walled European buildings enclose a theater-like plaza facing the modern skyline across the water — Tianjin's most photogenic urban pairing