Country China Time zone China Standard (UTC+8) Area code(s) 020 Local time Saturday 12:11 AM | Region Guangzhou Postal code 510630 Area 141 km² | |
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Weather 15°C, Wind N at 6 km/h, 88% Humidity Points of interest South China Botanical, Flower City Square, Guangdong Museum, Redtory, Pearl River Park | ||
Tianhe District (Simplified: 天河区; Traditional: 天河區; Cantonese: Tīnhó keui; Mandarin: Tiānhé qū) is one of the eleven districts of Guangzhou in the province of Guangdong. In Chinese, the name Tianhe literally means "a river in the sky/heavens", which is also a Chinese name for the Milky Way. It is bordered by Yuexiu District on the west, Baiyun District on the north and Huangpu District on the east. Haizhu District is on its south, though they are separated by the Pearl River.
Contents
- Map of Tianhe Guangzhou Guangdong China
- History
- Developments
- Economy
- Diplomatic missions
- Education
- Transportation
- Metro
- Notable buildings
- References
Map of Tianhe, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
Tianhe became a district in the 1980s as the city expanded its size. Back then, it was east of Dongshan District (which was merged into Yuexiu in 2005) and it was more suburban like if not rural like. Even though a majority of colleges and universities in the city were located in the district, the rest of the district was mostly composed of rice fields.
Symbolic landmarks of Guangzhou located in Tianhe District are: Citic Plaza (simplified chinese: 中信大厦; traditional chinese: 中信大廈), Guangzhou International Finance Center (simplified chinese: 广州国际金融中心，西塔; traditional chinese: 廣州國際金融中心，西塔), Guangzhou Opera House (simplified chinese: 广州大剧院; traditional chinese: 廣州大劇院); and Guangdong Museum (simplified chinese: 广东博物馆; traditional chinese: 廣東博物館), etc. A lot of good colleges and universities are also located in Tianhe District, such as: South China University of Technology (simplified chinese: 华南理工大学; traditional chinese: 華南理工大學), Jinan University (simplified chinese: 暨南大学; traditional chinese: 暨南大學), South China Normal University (simplified chinese: 华南师范大学; traditional chinese: 華南師範大學), and South China Agricultural University (simplified chinese: 华南农业大学; traditional chinese: 華南農業大學), etc. The 6th and 9th of The National Games of the People's Republic of China, and the 2010 Asian Games were also held in Tianhe District, Guangzhou.
History
Prehistoric population settled in what is now Longdong Subdistrict (龙洞村) in the Neolithic Period. Eastern Han tombs were discovered in Tianhe. During the Song Dynasty, Tianhe area was called Dashuixu (大水墟, lit. "large river town").
The area of modern Tianhe District was part of Panyu County for more than two thousand years. The area was gradually put under Guangzhou's administration between 1937 and 1958. By the liberation of Guangzhou (October 1949), there were two districts in Tianhe area, namely Shahe (沙河区) and Shipai (石牌区). In 1951 both districts were merged into the newly established Baiyun District, while five years later Baiyun was further merged with Huangpu and Xinjiao Districts to form suburban district (郊区). In 1960 Jiaoqu was dissolved and the area consisting of modern Tianhe became Huangpu District, however it was reestablished two years later. In 1985 part of Jiaoqu was split, and Tianhe District was established then.
In 1987 Tonghe Town (同和镇) was put into Baiyun District. In 1992 Yangji Cun was put into Dongshan District. By 1994, Kemulang (柯木塱), Yushatan (渔沙坦), and Fenghuang (凤凰) Farms along with Shadongcun (沙东村) and Erduicun were placed under Tianhe's jurisdiction. In 2000, former Xintang (新塘), Mubei (沐陂), Lingtang (凌塘), and Yushu (玉树) Farms were also placed under Tianhe and the farms gradually became subdistricts.
Developments
The first big project built in the district during the 1980s was the Tianhe Sports Center when the city was selected to host the Sixth National Games in 1986. The complex includes a stadium of 65,000 seats, a gymnasium and an indoor swimming pool. Its construction had a lasting impact on the development of the district. Soon other projects followed and rice fields gave away to residential complexes called "xiaoqu" (meaning "little districts"). The construction of xiaoqu began in the mid and late eighties and most of them had residential buildings of no more than 10 stories. Each floor was kept to no more than four units due to the lack of elevators since they would increase the construction cost. Also, due to the sheer number of residential buildings – some xiaoqu had more than 20 residential buildings – a lot of land was needed and thus converted.
The building of Guangzhou East Railway Station in 1990 further contributed to the growth of the district. The old Guangzhou Railway Station is 10 km to the west and was the terminus for trains to and from Beijing and Hong Kong. To relieve the traffic, the East Railroad Station was built and is now the terminus for trains to and from Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
As the district developed, the size of xiaoqu became smaller since land became more valuable and expensive. Most of the new xiaoqu now only consist of four to six residential buildings but each can contain 30 floors or more since the growth of district attracted big developers where the cost of construction (such as elevators) was no longer an issue. Also, taller residential buildings gave rise to taller office buildings.
South of the Sports Center and north of the Zhujiang River is Zhujiang New Town, an area desolate a decade ago but which is now one of the fastest-developing areas of Guangzhou. Many of Guangzhou's newest and most iconic buildings are found in this part of the district.
Several venues used for the 2010 Asian Games are located in Tianhe District.
Economy
Diplomatic missions
The Consulate General of the United States, Guangzhou is in Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District.
Education
Many of the city's colleges and universities are located in the district. They include:
International schools in the district include:
Former international schools:
Transportation
Besides the Guangzhou East Railway Station (referred to by locals as simply "East Station"), Tianhe is also the terminus for several Guangzhou Metro lines, and one line goes through it:
Metro
Tianhe is currently service by five metro lines operated by Guangzhou Metro: