Tangshan

Geography and Climate

Tangshan City is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, north China. It is a coastal city located in the central section of circum-Bohai Sea Gulf region. The city lies on the foot of Yan Mountain and borders Bohai Sea to its south, the harbor city Qinhuangdao to its east, and Beijing to its west.

Located in the temperate zone, Tangshan has a typical monsoonal climate with distinct four seasons. Although the city borders on the Bohai Sea, its climate shows continental features.

The Tangshan Earthquake

In 1976, Tangshan suffered an earthquake of moment magnitude 7.8 at 3:42 a.m. on July, 28. Because the epicenter was in the city district and the time when it took place was in early morning, the earthquake became a most tragic disaster with colossal number of casualties. The city area was almost flattened and the official death toll was around 255,000, making it the most destructive earthquake in modern history. The city has since been rebuilt and memorials were established for remembering the braveness and solidarity of Tangshan people when facing the terrible earthquake. The city has become a tourist resort in north China.

Economy and Industry

Tangshan is an industrial city with astonishing development potential in North China. It has an industrial system which is complete in range from machinery, motor vehicles to textiles, glass and petroleum products. The city is also a shipping center in North China and the well-developed modern logistics has facilitated Tangshan with convenient transportation which makes the city the gateway of northeast Asia. With the construction of Caofeidian Project, Tangshan has launched several large iron and steel plants as well as some electricity works. Known as the cradle of Chinese modern industry, Tangshan has gradually established its crucial place in China’s economy.

In 2010, the GDP of Tangshan was more than 430 billion and finally joined the 400-billion-club with other metropolitans like Beijing and Shanghai.

Education

Hebei polytechnic university is the most famous educational institute in the region and it’s a comprehensive university which offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate coursework and research programs, including PhD.