A guide in period costume leads an immersive tour of the museum, which takes visitors on a journey through the country's manufacturing history.[Photo/China Daily]

Museum pieces

Housed in a former workshop at Jinyi Park, the Tianjin Machine Tool Industry Museum includes three machines recovered from the original factory. The team found the machines while making an inventory of the factory's fixed assets, said Li Mengyan, a museum guide.

One is a straight bevel gear planer. Visitors can learn about its function through the exhibits or try operating a virtual version of it on an interactive screen, turning controls and pressing buttons to earn a score.

The museum displays extend beyond machine tools to the products and institutions that shaped the city's industrial life. They include time-honored Tianjin brands such as White Rose household goods, Guifaxiang fried dough twists, Yumeijing skincare products and Sea-gull watches, alongside exhibits about local universities and newer technology companies. Together, they reflect the range of Tianjin's manufacturing and commercial history, from everyday household products and traditional snacks to skincare and watchmaking.

Li said the museum plans to include more local manufacturers in its collection.

The reuse of idle industrial buildings at Jinyi Park is part of Tianjin's wider urban renewal agenda. The city's special urban renewal plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, announced in May, sets out 26 key tasks and identifies 215 urban renewal areas.

It calls for the revitalization of idle and inefficient factory buildings, stronger protection of industrial heritage and the development of new uses and business models.