A very large port city in northern China, on the coast about 130 kilometres southeast of Beijing — close enough that a high-speed train runs between the two in around half an hour. It is one of China's four cities that are governed directly by the central government rather than by a province (the others are Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing), which makes it roughly a province in its own right. It is a major industrial and shipping centre: steel, cars, chemicals, and one of the busiest ports in the country. Historically it was where foreign powers had concession areas in the 1800s and early 1900s, so parts of the old city still have European-style streets and buildings. Being a place name, it always takes a capital letter and no "the". In older English books and maps you will see the spelling "Tientsin", from the earlier romanisation system — same city.