Tianjin - The first English-language Internet portal geared at internationally promoting the city of Tianjin went into operation on Monday.

The website, www.exploringtianjin.com, was jointly established by China Daily and the Tianjin Municipal Information Office.

Zhang Gaoli, Party chief of Tianjin, met with Zhu Ling, editor-in-chief of China Daily, who attended the website’s launching ceremony on Monday.

"China Daily, as the country’s most authoritative English-language newspaper, has played a major role in promoting China’s image abroad and enhancing its cultural influence,” Zhang said. He hailed the newspaper’s efforts to increase overseas understanding of Tianjin.

China Daily has always given importance to the international communication about Tianjin, Zhu said. "Tianjin has become a focal point of the whole country, and it attracts the world’s attention. We will report on Tianjin as a window from China to the outside world.”

New design concepts and multimedia technology will be adopted to present the city to the world, making it the first choice for people overseas to get information about Tianjin.

The target readership includes overseas tourists, businesspeople and overseas students in Tianjin.

The site has eight main categories of information — including tourism, life, business, art and the news service — and provides interactive options to its readers, enabling them to share its contents with others on social websites and gain access to information on the Web swiftly with mobile devices such as tablets.

"The launching?of this website marks an important step in promoting Tianjin’s international image,” said Gong Jiansheng, director of Tianjin Municipal Information Office.

Tianjin is one of the four municipalities directly under the central government. It is an international harbor and economic center in the north of China.