Old Tientsin - Modern Tianjin

First uploaded 28 February 1999 - Revised and uploaded 21 March 2005. Copyright 1999, 2005 by Philip R. Abbey.
Permission to use for educational purposes granted provided credit is given and copyright holder notified by email of intended use and user. Comments to pr_abbey@hotmail.com.

The photographic images are provided by Mr. Edgar C. Smith and used with his permission.


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Much of the writing about treaty ports¹, concessions², and foreign settlements³ in China focuses on Shanghai, the Pearl of the Orient or the Sodom and Gomorrah of the China Coast depending on where you sit. Shanghai was by far the largest and best known city of this genre but it wasn't the only such city. To the north, near the boundary between the Gulf of Chihli (Bo Hao) and the North China Plain was old Tientsin, now Tianjin.
 

Loot under guard  following the riots in 1912.

Aftermath of the riots in 1912.  Note the burned out shophouse.

Following the Opium Wars during 1839-1842 China was forced to open five ports to foreign residence and commerce: Canton (Guangshou), Amoy (Xiamen), Foochow (Fuzhou), Ningbo, and Shanghai. Hong Kong was also granted to Great Britain as a colony at this time.
 

Gordon Hall - The Seat  of British Administration.

Street scene in the Russian Concession.

Street Scene in the French Concession.

Rue de Paris.

All was not peaceful during this time. In 1870 an anti-French riot turned violent and resulted in 21 foreigners and several Chinese being killed. The Qing Empire was disintegrating and anti-foreign feelings ran high. Disorder was always simmering under the surface.

Without going into detail the anti-foreign sentiment was understandable. China has a 5,000 year history and a rich culture. Most of the railroads and international shipping was in the hands of foreign companies. Many of the factories were controlled by foreign interests. By treaty imports were taxed by at only 5% of their assessed value and collected by a foreign administered customs service. Because of extraterritoriality most foreign residents were not subject to Chinese laws.

To protect its interests and the interests of other foreign nations American Marines and naval units were landed in concert with forces from other countries for a time in 1894-95 to protect the American Consulate at Tientsin and Legation at Peking. This was repeated from November 5, 1898 until March 15, 1899.

In late 1899 the Boxer Rebellion began in Shangtung Province and soon spread across North China. Foreigners: missionaries, business persons and travelers as well as Chinese Christians and Chinese merchants doing business with foreigners were attacked and murdered. Strong action by many provincial officials in the Yangtze Valley and South China largely confined the the worst disorders to North China. In June 1900 American and other international forces with a combined strength of approximately 400 marines and sailors were dispatched from ships standing off Taku to Peking to protect the Legation Quarter. Additional forces were put ashore to garrison the foreign concessions at Tientsin. Shortly after the guards arrived in Peking the German Minister was assasssinated on June 20, followed by the severing of rail and telegraph connections with Tientsin and the legations besieged.

The Boxer Rebellion and the siege focused international attention on the Taku-Tientsin-Peking axis. Allied forces from several nations protected the isolated foreign concessions at Tientsin. Additional land and naval forces arriving by sea from more distant locations attacked and destroyed the Chinese forts at Taku and fought their way to Tientsin. The enlarged international force then took the Chinese city. Finally this polyglot force fought its way across the steaming summer-heated plains to Peking and relieved the foreign legations after a 55 day siege.

The so-called Boxer Protocol that followed the hostilities allowed the permanent stationing of foreign forces in Peking, Tientsin, and at several other points to guard the lines of communication between the capital and the sea.
Between 1900 and 1907 Tientsin was administered by an international commission. Under this administration the city's walls were demolished and various public works projects completed. By the end of 1903, Russia, Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Belgium, Austria-Hungary, and Italy had formal concessions at Tientsin.
 

A languid scene at the French Barracks.  Note the tracks running through the garden.

Overview of the Chinese city from the  Bell Tower.

After the close of 1900 the United States kept only naval forces and a small legation guard at Peking in China. As a result of the revolution the State Department requested an enhanced military presence to protect American interests. The U.S. Army's 15th Infantry Regiment was dispatched to Tientsin to show the flag, provide additional security, and add weight to the other international forces in the region. The 15th began arriving in December 1911 and was fully on station by the end of January, 1912. It remained in garrison throughout China's interminable unrest and civil wars. Despite being often threatened by marauding bandit armies and nearly continual civil war, the international forces protecting Tientsin never fired a shot in anger.
 

The Chinese Bund

A street scene along the Chinese Bund

World War Two began in China July 7-8, 1937 with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident near Peking. As a result Japan invaded Northern China from its puppet state, Manchukou (Manchuria). Within a few short weeks Japan controlled most of Northern China. On July 29, Japanese air forces bombed and destroyed most of Nankai University to discourage anti-Japanese elements, the students. Japanese forces occupied Tientsin July 30, 1937.
 

The Russian Boxer War Monument

A major bridge in central Tientsin

With its protecting mission now compromised by Japanese forces, the 15th Infantry departed from Tientsin on March 12, 1938 after a 26 year stint representing American interests in the region. It was replaced by a small U.S. Marine detachment guarding the Consulate-General and showing the flag.
 

The Tientsin Bell Tower

Following the alleged murder of a Japanese customs officer in June 1939 four Chinese took refuge in the Foreign Concessions. On June 14, 1939, Japanese forces began a systematic harassment of French and British residents of the concessions. Japanese naval forces also blockaded the bund cutting off the concessions. The issue was negotiated with the foreign areas retaining their integrity but with Japan providing perimeter security.  On August 9, 1940 Great Britain announced that it was withdrawing all its forces from Peking, Shanghai, and Tientsin by the end of the month. This left only token garrisons of Italian and American Marines and a few French soldiers in the concessions representing the larger international community. On November 14, 1941, the small American Marine guard detachment (49 officers and men) was ordered to withdraw to the Philippines. Events overtook these plans and the detachment surrendered to the surrounding Japanese forces on December 8, 1941. Japan took de facto control of all the concessions. Neutral Vichy France and co-belligerent Italy retained only nominal authority over their concessions.

By the terms of the peace treaties ending World War II and other bi-lateral agreements between nations, all remaining foreign concessions had reverted to Chinese authority between 1943 and the end of 1946.

Tienstin was occupied by the Red Army in January 1949. By late 1949 all foreign military forces had been removed from China.

Most foreign civilians had also departed by this time because of the continuing civil war and the general disintegration of the Nationalist government. On October 1, 1949 the Peoples' Republic of China was proclaimed and China asserted its complete independence from foreign domination for the first time in almost a century.

The photographs included with this article illustrate some of architecture transplanted to Tientsin by the foreign powers. Several of the street scenes shown could be have been transplanted from middle class neighborhoods or provincial cities in Europe. Over one thousand buildings of European design have survived into the 21st Century giving the old concession areas a decidedly Western look.

Gordon Hall was the seat of British administration. The massive stone built American Barracks were actually built by the Germans for their garrison. After the Germans lost their lease following World War I the Americans moved in and used the facilities until the advent of World War II.

Another example of the international flavor of the city were the names of the main street going through several of the concessions. It started at one end as Kaiserwilhelmstrasse in the German Concession, became Victoria Road in the British district, became Rue de Paris in the French, and ended as Via d'Italia in the Italian. Following the eviction of Germany that segment became Woodrow Wilson Boulevard.
 

The Grand Canal near Tientsin

The American Barracks, Tientsin, China

Tianjin, modern Tientsin, is a booming province level municipality directly under the national government. Its population is over 8,000,000 people. It is one of the cornerstone cities of Chinese industry. The city is a center for textiles, chemicals, iron and steel production, and machinery. It is also a major port. There are also several colleges and a university.

The flags over Tientsin in this century include the four national flags of China used since 1900 and the flags of nine treaty powers. From 1872 until 1890 the National Flag was triangular.

Qing (Manchu) Empire 1890-1912

Republic of China #1 1912-1928

Republic of China #2 1928-1949(4)

Peoples' Republic of China 1949-Present

There were nine treaty powers with a presence at Tientsin during all or portions of the period between 1861 and 1946. Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia lost their concessions by 1920 as a result of World War I. Belgium relinquished its concession in 1929. Great Britain relinquished its lease and treaty rights in January 1943. Japan had occupied the British Concession December 8, 1941. Japan and Italy surrendered their treaty rights in 1945 following World War II. France, in a quid pro quo arrangement, surrendered it's concessions and treaty rights in China during 1946 in return for China evacuating its forces from Tonkin, French Indo-China. The United States was a treaty power with a strong presence in Tientsin but did not have a formal concession. It ended its treaty rights in January 1943.
 

Austria-Hungary 1900 - 1917	Belgium 1900 - 1929	The Middle Kingdom	France 1861 - 1946	Germany 1899 - 1917
Great Britain 1861 - 1941	Italy 1900 - 1945	Japan 1895 - 1945	Russia 1900 - 1920	United States 1912 - 1941(5)

¹Treaty Port is a generic term used to denote Chinese cities open to foreign residence and trade. Usually they were the result of a treaty. In the early 20th Century China began to recognize the benefits of freer trade and opened many cities to foreign residence and commerce without the need for a treaty. After 1860 missionaries were free to live, work, and own property anywhere in China and were thusly not restricted to treaty ports. (Back to Text)

²Concessions were areas leased by the holding nation and were de jure foreign territory from which Chinese and other foreigners could be excluded. Although most concessions had a municipal council, the resident consul was the final authority of government. (Back to Text)

³Settlements were foreign administered municipalities adjacent to Chinese cities. They were independent of Chinese laws. Settlements were governed by a local council elected by qualified ratepayers. The council was responsible to the local group of consuls representing the treaty powers. Chinese and foreigners were free to own or lease property and live within the settlements. Entry to settlements was open to all persons except in cases of emergency. (Back to Text)

⁴This flag is still used by the Republic of China on Taiwan. (Back to Text)

⁵The American Concession was administered from 1869 until 1880. Administered by Chinese from 1880 until 1902. It's territory eventually became part of the British Concession in 1902. The United States maintained a permanent garrison at Tientsin from January 1912, until December 8, 1941. (Back to Text)

Note: Areas vary between sources. The United States never formally administered its concession and returned it to Chinese administration in 1880 while reserving the right to restore its claim should it wish to.

THE FOREIGN CONCESSIONS AND SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS

The map linked to the image below was drawn in 1910 and shows the foreign concession areas. The old walled Native City is on the left side adjacent to part of the Japanese Concession. From the top left side going clockwise the concession were Austria-Hungary, Italy, Russia, Belgium, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France and a second Japanese district. Note that the divisions between the individual foreign concessions are not authoritative.

The base map used to create this map was drawn in 1937 for use in Shanghai and Tientsin, written by F.C. Jones and published in 1940 by the Institute of Pacific Relations. The research was done just prior to the Japanese occupation of Tientsin and environs in June of 1937. Four of the concessions, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan still existed. The four special areas were administered as sub-districts of the Chinese municipality. Italy co-operated fully with Japanese authorities. Great Britain and France were at odds with some Japanese international policies and refused to allow Japanese forces to dictate policy or interfere with the internal workings of the foreign municipalities. After June of 1940 Vichy France became neutral and its local officials became fully co-operateive with Japan.

Photo Credits

The images are scanned from postcards collected by Svend P. Morch during his time of service in Tientsin. Mr. Morch was an American soldier and radio telegraph operator attached to the 10th Service Company, U.S. Army Signal Corps at Tientsin, China from 1920 to 1922. The 10th Service Company supported the U.S. Army's 15th Infantry Regiment. The images are provided with the kind permission of his son-in-law, Edgar C. Smith.

Note that modern place names are enclosed within parentheses. I've elected to use the old Western spellings. Modern Beijing has had at least three western spellings in this century.

Edited by Phil Abbey and first uploaded 28 February 1999.  Revised 21 March 2005. The editor would like to extend a request for more information, photos, maps, and other resources to supplement the materials already provided. Comments to pr_abbey@hotmail.com.

LINKS Treaty Ports - 1920-1921 U.S. Navy's Yangtze Patrol - 1854-1941 Tales of Old Shanghai Boxer Rebellion - 1900 -  Military View - Political View Fourth Marines in Shanghai - 1927-1941 15th Infantry in Tientsin General Booklist

In Association  With Amazon's On-line Books

Black's Law Dictionary, 5th Edition. St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co. 1979.

The Boxer Rebellion. Paul H. Clements. New York: AMS Press, Inc. 1967.

Conversations with Dr. John Toop a British resident of Tientsin 1919 - 1931.

China A NewHistory. John King Fairbank & Merle Goldman. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. 1992 & 1998.

China Yearbook 1919-20. Edited by H. T. Montague Bell and H. G. W. Woodhead. London: George Routledge & Sons, Ltd. 1920.

China Yearbook 1921. Edited by H. G. W. Woodhead. Tientsin: Tientsin Press. 1922.

China Yearbook 1928. Edited by H. G. W. Woodhead. Tientsin: Tientsin Press. 1928.

Handbook for China. Carl Crow. Shanghai: Carl Crow. 1921.

Hold High The Torch. Kenneth W. Condit & Edwin T. Turnbladh. Washington, D.C.: United States Marine Corps. 1960.

Old China Hands. Charles G. Finney. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co, 1961. Greenwood Press. 1973.

Shanghai and Tientsin. F.C. Jones. London: The Institute of Pacific Relations. 1940.

Webster's New Geographical Dictionary. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1988.

World War II Almanac 1931-1945. Robert Goralski. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1981.

The Yangtze Patrol. Kemp Tolley. Annapolis, Maryland: U.S. Naval Institute Press. 1971. reprinted 1984.

The World Almanac and Book of Facts for 1929. Edited by Robert Lyman Hunt. New York: New York World. 1930.

2,194 Days of War. Compiled by Cesare Salmaggi and Alfredo Pallavisini. New York: Gallery Books. 1977.