Tianjin welcomes tourists with six new themed tours, reports Yang Feiyue.

By high-speed train, it takes only 32 minutes to reach Tianjin from Beijing. The large coastal city in North China is endowed with a rich historical and cultural legacy. Tianjin also has abundant natural scenery, including mountains, rivers, lakes and wetlands, making it an ideal place for travel.

To capitalize on these assets, the city has rolled out six themed tours in an effort to transform itself into an international tourist destination and a base for the travel equipment industry.

The Italian-style area has a history of more than 100 years and is the largest and best preserved in all of Asia.[Photos provided to China Daily]

Culture & history tour

Tianjin was one of first points of contact between China and the West and it was home to various Western-styled buildings after it became a trading port in 1860.

Early German-styled residential buildings, among the only ones left in Asia, sit on Jiefang South Road. The Italian district has a history of more than 100 years and is one of the largest and best preserved of all in Asia.

Tourists are strongly recommended to visit Wudadao, the famous Five Big Avenues area, which comprises 23 streets in total, hosting approximately 2,000 villas in various styles. It is widely known as a showcase for international architecture.

In fact, there is a story behind every Western building in Tianjin, and together they form an abundant cultural resource for the tourism industry.

City tour

Tianjin has been an industrial and commercial center for much of modern history. The Tianjin Museum and Tianjin Natural History Museum, for example, are ideal places to catch glimpses of the city's heritage.

Its financial, shoe and wine museums help demonstrate the industrial development. The Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao Monument and Jintang Bridge are popular places for "Red tourism," which

refers to sites that house important landmarks in China's revolutionary history.

Tianjin also has time-honored food streets and European-styled shopping streets. The Tianjin Culture Center is by far the largest public facility for cultural and leisure activities.

It covers a total floor area of 900,000 square meters and consists of museums, art galleries, libraries, theaters, and shopping malls.

The ancient cultural street beckons tourists every day.