Fascinating changes in 25 yrs as Scottish photographer revisits Binhai New Area

Tianjin, where many urban different facets come together, is a vast municipality on the western edge of Northern China’s Bohai Gulf.

Such were my thoughts as I stood at the edge of a massive container ship berth, looking across a vast extent of water towards rows of gantries and gigantic cranes loading and unloading some of the world’s largest commercial vessels. Tianjin Port, within the Binhai New Area, has long been a key element not just for the local economy but for much of China’s trade. It connects by maritime sea routes and overland railways with so many countries worldwide.

It had long been my ambition to visit the port, to comprehend something of its scale,  to appreciate its rise into one of the world’s busiest hubs of international maritime commerce.

Compared with the long history of Tianjin itself,  present-day Tianjin Port is relatively young. The largest man-made port in China, it was carved out of land reclaimed from former mudflats, salt marshes and coastal shallows. To allow ships of the immense size that daily berth at and use its facilities, deep water navigation and access has depended on extensive, ongoing dredging. Advanced high-tech facilitates boat movement within these channels while maintaining separation between incoming and outgoing traffic.