It is impossible to showcase the entire history of a city in an exhibition, but "Looking Through Tianjin in China's History" at the Tianjin Museum reflects vividly the important stages of the city through rich exhibits.

Opened on December 23, the 600th anniversary of the city's founding, the exhibition will be a regular feature.

With a large amount of cultural relics, historical documents and photographs, the exhibition highlights the importance of Tianjin in the modern history of China, and displays the collision and fusion of Chinese and Western civilizations.

On December 23, 1404, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) set up the military organization Tianjin Garrison (Tianjinwei).

Inscriptional Record on the Repair of the Sanguanmiao Temple was engraved in 1550 and is displayed at the exhibition. It explains that Tianjin means "the ferry-place where the heavenly son passed by." Emperor Yongle (1403-25) gave the name, after he crossed the river in Tianjin to seize power.

With the development of water transport of grain to the capital, the salt industry and commodity circulation, up to about 1850, Tianjin grew from a garrison town to the second largest city in north China, next only to the capital Beijing.

After the second Opium War (1856-60), Tianjin became the center of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) "Westernization Movement" (Yangwu Yundong) in northern China.

It was in Tianjin that China's first telegraph and telephone lines were put up, that China's first set of stamps were released, and that China's first land force military school was established.

An early telephone, a rifle made by Tianjin Machinery Factory, and a model of "Rocket of China," the first Chinese-made locomotive all show the crucial place of Tianjin in China's modernization.

After Tianjin was forced into a treaty port in 1860, altogether nine countries set up concessions in Tianjin. Colonial rule also brought in foreign culture, including Western architecture and music. At the same time, native culture like Peking Opera and quyi (various forms of folk performing arts) thrived in Tianjin. At the exhibition, people can sit in a model of an old tram and listen to Peking Opera, experiencing the co-existence of Western and Chinese culture.

The exhibition also records the wars that happened in Tianjin, from the invasion of the Eight-Power Allied Forces (1900), the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45) to China's War of Liberation (1945-49).

The Tianjin Museum is located at the intersection of Youyi Road and Pingjiang Road. It povides a comprehensive collection of history and arts. With some 200,000 exhibits, it presents a rich world of culture through its various exhibitions.

(China Daily January 5, 2005)