Tianjin's trailblazing attracts new residents

Livelihoods

Two senior residents display traditional fans they made at an elderly service center in Tianjin's Hexi district. MIAO CHAO/FOR CHINA DAILY

David Gosset, founder of the Europe-China Forum, touts Tianjin as an "inspiring and smart city" thanks to its solid development of intelligent manufacturing and the annual WIC meeting. He stressed in his book Inspiring Tianjin that the city is "filled with life where history, science, dialogues of cultures and spiritual quest converge".

Bruce Connolly, a photographer and writer from Scotland who has lived in China for 35 years, said: "Tianjin, which is sometimes called the 'museum of architecture from a myriad countries' creates the feeling of walking from Italy to France and out into Britain."

The rising influx of top-notch talent to the city echoes comments about Tianjin's appeal.

Since Haihe Elite, a scheme with policies favorable toward top-notch talent, was launched in 2018, it has attracted 428,000 new residents to the city.

A survey of these new residents indicated that they were not only lured by Tianjin's technological and educational strengths, and amenities with a blend of Western and Chinese lifestyles, but also by its ever-improving quality of life.

Statistics show that over the past few years, the city has spent on average 75 percent of its tax revenues on improvements to the quality of life. Since 2018, the city's centralized heating system has expanded operation from early November to the end of March, almost a month longer than in Beijing.

Local residents can buy "Huimin" cards, which allow them to attend world-class performances at the Tianjin Grand Theatre, with a government subsidy of up to 80 percent.

The Tianjin Juilliard School is another space for residents to appreciate music, a rarity in many rival cities in China. Joseph W. Polisi, President Emeritus of The Juilliard School, and an honorary citizen of Tianjin, said: "The Tianjin Juilliard School functions not only as a degree-granting institution with a cohort of students, but also as a catalyst for new projects, new ideas, imaginative processes."

With 3 million senior residents aged 60 or older, who account for 21.66 percent of the population, the city has set up 1,700 canteens for the elderly and subsidizes their use for some 1.9 million.

Downtown Tianjin's Hexi district is now the national role model for service for the elderly.

An elderly service center is a top priority for each community in Hexi. Zhu Feng, Party chief and head of the Tianjin Municipal Civil Affairs, noted that during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, the elderly care system will see even greater advances in the provision of community services available within a 15-minute radius, and said the city expected every local community to set up centers for the elderly by its end.