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Tientsin Street Scenes 1 (1929)

Fascinating snapshots of life in Tianjin, northern China's largest coastal city.

Amateur film 1929 4 mins Silent

Overview

This fascinating amateur film is one of only two film records of Tianjin (then Tientsin) in this collection. It offers a series of intriguing snapshots of life in northern China's largest coastal city: ornate buildings, a majestic pailou archway, temples, rickshaws and street sellers. There are a striking number of faces too - one group of children seem utterly captivated by the camera.

Since the mid-19th century, Tianjin has been a major sea-port and gateway to neighbouring Beijing. This film was shot two years after Tianjin was established as a municipality of China. The filmmaker, J.G. Thomson, was a keen amateur who also made films of Egypt, Japan, the Philippines and Singapore. His collection was donated to the BFI in 1999.