Tianhe District is one of the ten districts in
GuangzhouGuangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
,
People's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. In Chinese, the name Tianhe means
a river in the sky. It is bordered by Yuexiu District on the west,
BaiyunBaiyun District is one of the districts of Guangzhou.Baiyun is the place where the former Guangzhou airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, is located. The new airport, though still called Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, is located in Huadu District.-External links:**...
District on the north and
HuangpuHuangpu District is one of the ten districts in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:...
District on the east.
HaizhuHaizhu District is one of the ten districts in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:Haizhu District was the largest in area along with Liwan, Yuexiu and Dongshan Districts, and the least dense of the four old districts in Guangzhou before the city expanded...
District is on its south, though they are separated by the Zhujiang River.
Tianhe District is one of the ten districts in
GuangzhouGuangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
,
People's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. In Chinese, the name Tianhe means
a river in the sky. It is bordered by Yuexiu District on the west,
BaiyunBaiyun District is one of the districts of Guangzhou.Baiyun is the place where the former Guangzhou airport, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, is located. The new airport, though still called Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, is located in Huadu District.-External links:**...
District on the north and
HuangpuHuangpu District is one of the ten districts in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:...
District on the east.
HaizhuHaizhu District is one of the ten districts in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.-History:Haizhu District was the largest in area along with Liwan, Yuexiu and Dongshan Districts, and the least dense of the four old districts in Guangzhou before the city expanded...
District is on its south, though they are separated by the Zhujiang River.
Tianhe became a district in the 1980s as the city expanded its size. Back then, it was east of another district called Dongshan (which was merged into Yuexiu in 2005) and it was more suburban like if not rural like. Despite a majority of colleges and universities in the city are located in the district, the rest of the district were mostly composed of rice fields.
Projects
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 StationGuangzhou East Railway Station serves the city of Guangzhou, China. It is located in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China....
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
BeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
and
Hong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. To relieve the traffic, the East Railroad Station was built and is now the terminus for trains to and from Hong Kong and
ShenzhenShenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
.
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 TownZhujiang New Town is the area in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, which is between Huangpu Avenue in the north and the Pearl River in the south, and between Guangzhou Avenue as the west and the South China Expressway the east...
, 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 GamesThe 2010 Asian Games, also known as the XVI Asiad, was a multi-sport event celebrated in Guangzhou, China from November 12 to November 27, 2010. Guangzhou was the second Chinese city to host the Games, after Beijing in 1990...
are located in Tianhe District.
Economy
- Guangzhou Science City
Guangzhou Science City is a new 2008 state-of-the-art technology center developed with support from the Guangzhou government. The Guangzhou government is trying to make the Science City an important destination for IT R&D, outsourcing in China....
- Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
has an office in Tianhe District.
- All Nippon Airways
, also known as or ANA, is one of the largest airlines in Japan. It is headquartered at the Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It operates services to 49 destinations in Japan and 35 international routes and employed over 14,000 employees as of May 2009...
operates its Guangzhou Office in the district. Since May 3, 2011 it has been located in Tower A of Victory PlazaThe Victory Plaza is a complex of two towers in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China. The Victory Plaza Tower A is 52 floors and Victory Plaza Tower B is 36 floors. Construction of the Victory Plaza was completed in 2007.-Tenants:...
. On May 2, 2011 and prior, it was located in the 2605 CITIC PlazaCITIC Plaza is a skyscraper built in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Its structural height is 391 m 80 stories including two tall antenna-like spires on the top. Completed in 1997, it is the tallest concrete building in the world...
.
Education
Many of the city's colleges and universities are located in the district. They include:
- Guangzhou Sports College
- Guangzhou Military Sports Academy
- Jinan University
Jinan University is a public research and comprehensive university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. It is one of the oldest universities established on mainland China tracing back to the Qing Empire...
- Guangdong Industrial University
- South China Agricultural University
South China Agricultural University founded in 1908. Main campus settles in Wushan, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. It is a national comprehensive university with long history. The university has 24 colleges/department and 36,000 students, including international students from 22 countries...
- South China University of Technology
South China University of Technology is a Chinese university located in Guangzhou, capital of the Guangdong province. In 1999, SCUT ranked No...
- South China Normal University
South China Normal University is a comprehensive university in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, in the People's Republic of China. The university is featured distinctively by both teaching and research, consisting of diverse branches of learning such as philosophy, economics, law,...
Transportation
Besides the
Guangzhou East Railway StationGuangzhou East Railway Station serves the city of Guangzhou, China. It is located in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China....
(referred to by locals as simply "East Station"), Tianhe is also the terminus for several
Guangzhou MetroGuangzhou Metro is the metro system of the city of Guangzhou in Guangdong Province of China. It is operated by the state-owned Guangzhou Metro Corporation and was the fourth metro system to be built in mainland China, after those of Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.The earliest effort of preparation...
lines, and one line goes through it:
- ■ Line 1
Line 1 of the Guangzhou Metro or Zhongshanlu Line runs from Xilang to Guangzhou East Railway Station .Apart from Kengkou and Xilang, all stations in Line 1 are underground. Line 1's color is yellow....
(built) connects Tianhe and Liwan via Yuexiu.
- ■ Line 3
Line 3 of the Guangzhou Metro or Southern-Northern Express Line is a 67.3-kilometer Y-shape line connecting Tianhe Coach Terminal to Panyu Square. Currentl all stations are underground...
(built) connects Tianhe with Panyu via Haizhu.
- ■ Line 4
Line 4 of the Guangzhou Metro or Nansha Line is a north-south line on the system that runs between Huangcun and Jinzhou stations, spanning a total of 43.7 km with 16 stations. It will eventually run from the Guangzhou Science Town to Nansha. The section of the line from Huangcun to Xinzao is...
(built partly) connects Tianhe with Panyu, starts at Chebeinan and stops at Jinzhou.
- ■ Line 5
Line 5 of the Guangzhou Metro or Huanshilu Line runs from Liwan District to Huangpu District. It starts at Jiaokou and ends at Wenchong. The total length is 31.9 km. Line 5's color is red. Huangpu Line began operation on December 28, 2009 from Jiaokou to Wenchong.-Huanshi Line...
(built) connects Tianhe, Liwan, and Huangpu via Yuexiu.
- ■ Line 8
Line 8 of the Guangzhou Metro or Pazhou Line is an east-west line on the system that runs from Fenghuang Xincun to Wanshengwei, spanning a total of 14.8km with 13 stations. It interchanges with Line 2 at Changgang, Line 3 at Kecun and Line 4 at Wanshengwei. All stations on Line 8 are underground...
(built) connects Wanshengwei with Changgang
- ■ APM Line (built) connects central and southern Tianhe
Notable buildings
- CITIC Plaza
CITIC Plaza is a skyscraper built in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China. Its structural height is 391 m 80 stories including two tall antenna-like spires on the top. Completed in 1997, it is the tallest concrete building in the world...
, is a complex completed in 1997 between Tianhe Sports Center and Guangzhou East Railroad Station, that has a 80-story, 391 m (1,291 ft) skyscraper of the same name. It was briefly the tallest building in China and now the third tallest in the country and seventh in the world.
- Pearl River Tower
The Pearl River Tower is a clean technology skyscraper under construction at the junction of Jinsui Road/Zhujiang Avenue West, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, China. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill with Adrian D. Smith and Gordon Gill as...
, a skyscraperA skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
under construction at the junction of Jinsui Road/Zhujiang Avenue West. It is due for completion Autumn 2009 and will be occupied by the China National Tobacco CorporationChina National Tobacco Corporation is by sales the largest single manufacturer of tobacco products in the world. It boasts a virtual monopoly in the People's Republic of China, which accounts for roughly 30% of the world’s total consumption of cigarettes....
.
- Guangzhou International Finance Center, is a tall skyscraper 435m high. It was built between 2005 and 2010.
- The famous shopping mall, TeeMall, a very big shopping centre, the Chinese from Guangzhou even call it the biggest shopping mall in Asia (although the biggest mall in Asia is actually the Golden Resources Mall
Golden Resources Shopping Mall, or Jin Yuan is a shopping mall located near the Fourth Ring Road in Beijing, People's Republic of China....
in Beijing).
- Shipai Village
Shipai Village is the largest urban village in Guangzhou, China. It is situated in the middle of Tianhe District in Guangzhou, with dense multi-story dwelling houses building in and lands for collective use...
is a large urban village located in Tianhe District.
External links