Tangshan

Hailed as China's "cradle of industrialization," Tangshan is a large coastal city in Hebei Province where coal mining, begun in the 1870s, gave rise to the country's first standard-gauge railway, first steam locomotive, and first cement factory. The city is also the birthplace of Ping opera, one of China's five most popular operatic forms, and the nearby Qing Eastern Tombs in Zunhua are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tangshan was largely destroyed by a devastating 1976 earthquake but has since been rebuilt and ranks among China's largest ports.

• Population3,372,102
• Nearest water from center0.9 km