Abstract:
The Chinese port city of Tianjin, between 1860 and 1945, was the site of up to nine foreign-controlled concessions (zujie).1 This chapter focuses on the Italian concession ( 1901- 1945) and explores its historical legacy. Tianjin gained historical s ignificance because of its strategic geopolitical position at the northern terminus of the Grand Canal on the Hai River, and on the Dagu Tianjin- Beijing axis. The city has traditionally been the port of Beijing, 120km to the north-west. In was opened as a treaty port in 1860, when the British, French and American concessions were established.
