Heping District 和平区

Setting and landscape

The ground is level plain between 2.8 and 4.5 metres above sea level. Across the Hai River to the north-east lie Hebei (河北区) and Hedong (河东区) districts; Nankai (南开区) adjoins it to the west, and to the south roads including Machang Road (马场道) form the boundary with Hexi (河西区).

History

Under the Convention of Peking of 1860, British, American and French concessions were laid out here, followed by a Japanese concession in 1896; the American concession passed to the British in 1902. In the 1920s the French concession gained the Quanyechang (劝业场) department store, the Bohai Building (渤海大楼) and the Wanguo Bridge (万国桥), and became the city's main shopping quarter. The First District took the name Heping on 1 January 1956, after Heping Road (和平路), one of the busiest streets of early modern Tianjin, made up of former streets of the French and Japanese concessions. In 1970 the bed of the Qiangzi River (墙子河) was paved as today's Nanjing Road (南京路) with a railway tunnel beneath it; this line opened as a metro in 1979, making Tianjin the second mainland Chinese city with a metro.

What to see

The district government says 42 percent of Heping's area is historic district, with 44 sites under national protection and two 4A scenic areas: the Five Great Avenues (五大道) and the Jinjie (金街) shopping streets. The Five Great Avenues keep 436 historic Western-style houses and 347 protected sites, and the National Cultural Heritage Administration has named the area a Famous Historic and Cultural Street of China. Former residences there include those of Gu Weijun (顾维钧) and Zhang Zizhong (张自忠), as well as the Qingwang Mansion (庆王府).

Jiefang North Road (解放北路) was once called the "Wall Street of the East": China's first stock exchange opened there and the Large Dragon (大龙邮票), China's first set of postage stamps, was issued there. Other buildings from the concession era include the Astor Hotel (利顺德饭店), Xikai Church (西开教堂), Jing Garden (静园) and Minyuan Square (民园广场), rebuilt from the Minyuan Stadium of 1926. Central Park (中心公园) is among Tianjin's earliest modern parks, and a memorial square recalls the 1976 Tangshan earthquake, which struck Tianjin severely.

Food and local products

The district government counts 25 China Time-honoured Brands here, among them Quanyechang and Goubuli (狗不理). Binjiang Road (滨江道) and Heping Road form the Jinjie shopping area, and the Nanshi (南市) quarter has the Nanshi Food Street (南市食品街).

Highlights

• Five Great Avenues 五大道: 4A area with 436 historic Western-style houses and 347 protected sites.
• Jiefang North Road 解放北路: Site of China's first stock exchange; the Large Dragon stamps were issued here.
• Jinjie 金街: 4A shopping area on Binjiang Road and Heping Road.
• Minyuan Square 民园广场: Open square rebuilt from the Minyuan Stadium, completed in 1926.
• Central Park 中心公园: One of the earliest modern city parks in Tianjin.