Dagu Fort

Located in the southern bank of Hai River in Tanggu area, 60km southeast of Tianjin city, the Dagu Fort (also known as Taku Forts) was built in 1816 to protect the Qing's capital - Beijing. Tianjin is the gateway to Beijing, and the Dagu Fort is the entrance to Tianjin from the sea.

The Dagu Fort guarded the mouth of the Hai River. In 1858, the Qing government built six emplacements named Wei, Zhen, Hai, Men, Gao, and Shitoufeng due to its strategic importance, which made it an effective defense system. As a result of the Xinchou Treaty signed between the Qing government and the 11 countries - Britain, the United States, Russia, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, Holland and Belgium in 1901, the Dagu Forts were dismantled. Only the forts of Wei and Hai have preserved and has remained comparatively intact. Around the forts, relics of artilleries and shells can still be found.

More Attractions in Tianjin