A multistranded, multivocal microhistory of a global city at the heart of a world war, Tianjin Cosmopolis offers exceptionally luminous insight into Chinas experiences of imperialism and modernity. -- Julia Lovell, author of Maoism: A Global History This book offers a remarkable revision of the conventional history of nineteenth-century China as entirely a victim of globalization, giving it instead an active role in shaping how the world came to China. Sometimes we need an informed outsider like Pierre Singaravélou to upend our assumptions and introduce a new perspective, which is what this book does. -- Timothy Brook, author of Great State: China and the World Singaravélou uncovers the hidden story of one of the first attempts at multinational governance. Tracing the complex interactions among the Western occupiers and between these and the local population of Tianjin, this book blurs the lines between foreign and Chinese, traditional and modern, providing a fascinating alternative to conventional histories of globalization. -- Thoralf Klein, Loughborough University, United Kingdom The 1900 war in China brutally thrust Tianjin into a globalized world. Singaravélou uses this history to examine the connection between urbanization and modernization. Through the creation of its international government, Tianjin became the center of an administrative, social, and cultural experiment in terms of city planning, public health policy, and river management. This book is a significant contribution to Chinese urban history. -- Franēois Gipouloux, National Centre for Scientific Research, Paris