Beijing (北京) is the capital of the most populous country in the world, the People's Republic of China. It was also the seat of the Ming and Qing dynasty emperors until the formation of a republic in 1911. As such it is rich in historical sites and important government institutions.
The city is well known for its flatness and regular construction. There is only one hill to be found in the city limits (in Jingshan Park to the north of the famous Forbidden City). Like the configuration of the Forbidden City, Beijing has concentric "ring roads", which are actually rectangular, that go around the metropolis.
Much of city is presently in upheaval as infrastructure is being frenetically constructed and sights are being renovated for the Olympics; the best time to visit as a tourist will thus probably be right after them.
Administrative Divisions
Beijing has a total of 16 districts and 2 counties.
Districts
8 districts are close to the city centre:
The other 8 districts are further afield:
Except for Mentougou, all of these eight districts switched from being counties to districts from 1988 to 2001.
Counties
The two counties lie very far from central Beijing:
Understand
History
Beijing literally means "northern capital", a role it has played many times in China's long history.
While various small towns and warlord capitals have been traced back as far as the 1st millennium BCE, Beijing first served as the capital of a (more or less) united China in 1264 when Kublai Khan's victorious Mongol forces set up the city of Dadu (大都, "Great Capital") to rule their new empire, from a northern location closer to the Mongol homelands.
After the fall of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in 1368, the capital was moved back to Nanjing ("southern capital"), but in 1403, the 3rd Ming emperor Zhu Di moved it to Beijing again and also gave the city its present name. This was Beijing's golden era: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and many other Beijing landmarks were built at this time. Beijing remained the capital into the Qing era and into the revolutionary ferment of the early 1900s, but in the chaos following the abdication of the last Emperor, Beijing was beset by fighting warlords. The Kuomintang thus moved the capital to Nanjing again in 1928, renaming Beijing as Beiping (北平, "Northern Peace") to emphasize that it was no longer a capital. However, the Kuomintang was eventually defeated by the Communists, who in 1949 proclaimed the People's Republic of China with its capital at Beijing.
Get in
By plane
Beijing Capital International Airport (北京首都国际机场, ) is located to the northeast of the central districts, 26km from the city centre. The airport is being expanded at a furious pace to be ready in time for the 2008 Olympics. Terminal 2, opened in 1999, is still new and shiny, with contemporary abstract architecture, while Terminal 1 was renovated in 1995. Facilities on arrival include ATMs and money changers.
Be aware that upon departure, porters want ¥10 to wheel your bags 50m to check-in and that most eating options are rather outrageously priced. Before you cross through security, if you want a bite to eat in the Terminal 1, there is a KFC which has lowered its prices a little, and in Terminal 2, there are 2 KFCs, and the eateries in the basement have relatively low prices compared to what's above. However, a bite would still be ¥20 at KFC or at the eateries.
Most people use taxicabs to reach town from the airport. Get your travel agent to get you the Chinese name of your hotel so that you can let your taxi driver read where you want to go. A taxi from the airport should cost ¥70-120. You will have to pay the fee shown on the meter (make sure the driver uses it) plus ¥10 toll for the airport expressway.
The cheapest way to get to the city centre is to take the airport shuttle. There are several lines running to different locations throughout Beijing. Trips are frequent, and tickets cost ¥16 for a one-way trip. Follow signs for the 机场巴士 (jīchǎng bāshì) to find all the lines:
Public bus #359 also runs from the airport to Dongzhimen, where you can catch subway 2 or 13, but this is not very fast or convenient.
There are also many shuttle buses to youth hostels and luxury hotels. You could get on for free if you say that you will stay at that hotel.
The Beijing subway system should complete its spur to the airport in 2008.
Nanyuan Airport (南苑机场, IATA: NAY) is a former military airfield 17km to the south of Beijing, currently used only by army-linked low-cost operator China United (中国联合 zhōngguó liánhé). China United currently fields daily flights to Harbin, Dalian, Sanya, Chongqing, Chengdu, and Wuxi. Free shuttle buses run from China United's ticket office at the Xidan Aviation Building (西单民航大厦) to the airport from 6am-2:10pm; buses run from the airport to Xidan from 11:40am-10:40pm.
By train
Beijing has four major railway stations. Most trains arrive at the central or West stations.
By car
By the time of the Olympics in 2008, foreigners will be allowed to rent vehicles while in China.
Beijing is the hub of several expressways heading in all directions and the following is a list of the expressways and their destinations:
11 China National Highways (国道) also link into Beijing.
G101 - Jingshun Road (Beijing - Shenyang, Liaoning)
G102 - Jingha Road (Beiling - Harbin, Heilongjiang)
G103 - (Beijing - Tanggu, Tianjin)
G104 - Nanyuan Road (Beijing - Fuzhou, Fujian)
G105 - (Beijing - Zhuhai, Guangdong)
G106 - (Beijing - Guangzhou, Guangdong)
G107 - (Beijing - Shenzhen, Guangdong)
G108 - Jingyuan Road (Beijing - Chengdu - Kunming, Yunnan)
G109 - Fushi Road (Beijing - Datong - Yinchuan - Xining - Golmud - Lhasa, Tibet)
G110 - (Beijing - Zhangjiakou - Hohhot - Baotou - Yinchuan, Ningxia)
G111 - (Beijing - Jiagedaqi, Inner Mongolia)
By bus
Long-distance buses from areas as far as Shanghai and the Mongolian border connect to Beijing. You can reach areas as far as Harbin or Xian on a single bus ride. Beijing has 12 long distance bus stations and what you need to do is go to the bus station located on the edge of the city in the direction you want to travel. Zhougongkou Long Distance Bus Station handles buses heading south and southeast. Dongzhimen Long Distance Bus Station handles buses heading northeast. Xizhimen Long Distance Bus station handles buses heading west. Deshengmen Long Distance Bus Station handles buses for north and northwest. These long distance bus stations also have buses for related direction destinations but on a limited frequency basis.
Most of the buses from the Long Distance Bus Stations will be regular or express buses, which take the expressways, cost from ¥200-600 per trip, have comfy seats, and most rides don't take more than 6-12 hours, but sleeper buses are also available.
A sleeper bus, with bunk beds in rows, average about ¥100 per trip, but many go REALLY slow up hills, they avoid expressways, stop at every city or town, some to give "meals" which you have to pay extra for, they take the potholed National Highways to save money, and a bus ride can take up to 24 hours. The average speed is only 40 km/hr on the moderately fast sleeper buses, and the range could be from 25 to 60 km/hr. It is a good authentic experience of how the lower class travels.
Get around
Though many residents of Beijing know conversational English, one should not count on finding a taxi driver who knows English well. Neither should a foreigner with minimal experience with the Chinese language put undue faith in his or her ability to pronounce Chinese place names so that a local can understand clearly. Before embarking on a trip around the city, print out the names of places you want to visit in Chinese characters. Show the text to the taxi driver, or just ask for help on the street. You have more chance to get help in English if you address younger people, as many schools in China have expanded their English education in the last few years.
By train / subway
The subway is an excellent way to quickly get around the city and a traveller can easily figure it out through the station maps and English signs and language. Beijing now has four subway lines:
Seven additional subway lines are under construction in preparation for the 2008 Olympics.
The subway station entrances are identified by a large blue stylized letter B wrapped around a smaller letter D.
Purchase tickets at the window. Note that if you want two tickets, do not show your thumb and index finger, the Chinese way to signify numbers is different from the west, thumb and index finger mean seven not two.
The ticket for Lines 1 and 2 costs ¥3 and transferring between these two lines are free. The fare for Line 13 is ¥3 and for the Batong Line is ¥2. If you are transferring to Line 13 or the Batong Line, purchase the combination ticket (Line 2 and Line 13 fare: ¥5, Line 1 and Batong Line: ¥4).
All the lines use paper tickets, except for Line 13, which has magnetic tickets and automatic fare collection machines. When transferring to Line 13 from Line 2, you will first exchange your paper ticket for a magnetic ticket at the booths before the automatic barrier.
By bicycle
Once known as a nation of bicycles, China today has a growing number of private car owners. Still, you are guaranteed to see more bikes than anywhere else in your life. Exploring Beijing on a bike is excellent since the city is flat as a pancake, and all major streets have bike lanes. Bicycling is often faster than car, taxi or bus because of the traffic congestion in the motorized traffic lanes.
Four-wheeled motorized traffic in Beijing usually observes traffic signals with the exception of making turns on red lights which is often done without slowing or deferring to pedestrians or bicyclists. Pedestrians, bicycles and all other vehicles (for example, motorized bicycles, mopeds and tricycles) generally do not observe traffic signals. Also, cars, trucks and buses do not defer to bicyclists on the road so it is common for a vehicle to make a right turn from an inside lane across a bike lane with no concern for bicyclists traveling in the bike lane. Sometimes a right-turning vehicle crossing a bike lane will sound its horn as a warning, but not always. Bicyclists also need to be on the lookout for wrong-way traffic in the bike lanes, usually bicycles and tricycles but sometimes motor vehicles, too. Wrong-way traffic usually stays close to the curb so you move to the left to get by them, but not always. Helmets are not worn by bicycling Beijingers. Nor are lights used at night with few bikes even having rear reflectors. The moderate pace and sheer numbers of bicyclists in Beijing appears to make bike travel safer than it would be otherwise.
While you will see bicyclists use many creative paths across wide, busy intersections in Beijing, the safest way for bicyclists is to observe the traffic signals (there are often special signals for bicyclists) and to make left turns in two steps as a pedestrian would. But if you spend any significant amount of time bicycling in Beijing, you will probably start adopting more creative approaches. These can be learned by finding a local bicyclist going your way and following him or her across the intersection.
For adventuresome and fit bicyclist on a fast bike, it is possible to motor pace behind an electric bicycle or moped. Their top speed is about 35 kph, so it is possible to zoom around Beijing in the draft of an electric vehicle when traffic in the bike lane permits. If you have made a good choice, you will both make it to your destinations!
Several professional bike rental companies, as well as major hotels and some hostels, rent bikes on an hourly basis. For those who need the security of a guide, a bike touring company like Bicycle Kingdom Rentals & Tourswould be a great way to go.
By bus
Beijing's bus system is cheap, convenient and covers the entire city—perfect for locals but, alas, difficult to use if you don't understand Chinese. The bus staff speak little English, and only a few bus lines in the city center broadcast stop names in English. Bus stop signs are also entirely in Chinese. But should you speak Chinese or have a healthy sense of adventure, a bus can get you almost anywhere, and often somewhere that you never intended to go: it's a great way to see parts of the city that tourists normally don't visit.
A flurry of shiny new buses have arrived on the streets in preparation for the Olympics. Many buses now feature air-conditioning (heating in winter), TVs, a scrolling screen that displays stops in Chinese, and a broadcast system that announces stops. If you are having problems navigating the bus system, call the English-speaking operators at the Beijing Public Transportation Customer Helpline (96166).
Warning: Beijing buses can get very crowded so be prepared and keep an eye on your valuables. Many pickpockets frequent buses and subways, so carry backpacks in the front, and try to put your valuables somewhere hard to access. Be aware of a scam offering bus rides to the Great Wall masquerading as the real bus service. Instead of directly driving to the Great Wall, you will instead be led to a series of tours to dilapidated theme parks, tourist shops, museums, etc before finally reaching the Great Wall near the end of the day.
Bus routes
Bus lines are numbered from 1-999. Buses under 300 serve the city center. Buses 300 and up run between the city center and more distant areas (such as beyond the Third Ring Road). Buses in the 900s connect Beijing with its "rural" districts (i.e., Changping, Yanqing, Shunyi, etc) that are not considered part of Beijing proper.
Full maps of the system are available only in Chinese. The Beijing Public Transport Co. website has limited information in English, but the Chinese version has a very helpful routing service with an interactive map. You can input your starting point and your ending point and see all the bus routes that will get you from A to B, look up a bus route by number, or input a place name and see all the routes that go stop there.
Fares and operating hours
Most buses with a line number under 200 run daily from 5:00 to 23:00. Buses with a line number greater than 300 run from 6:00 till 20:00-22:00. All buses with a line number in the 200s are night buses. Many routes get very crowded during rush hours (6:30-9:00 and 17:00-19:00). On all major holidays, there will be more frequent service on most city routes.
For passengers paying by cash: Lines 1-199 operate on a flat rate of ¥1 per journey. Lines 300-899 charge ¥1 for the first 12km of each journey and ¥0.5 for each additional 5km. Buses with air-condition start at ¥2. The night buses (200-299) charge ¥2 per journey.
For passengers paying by the new pre-paid Smart Card (yikatong): Lines 1-499 operate on a flat rate of ¥0.40 per journey. Lines 500-899 get 60% off the cash price. There are also 3-day, 7-day and 15-day passes available for travelers. There is no return ticket or day ticket.
By minibus
Minibuses are very common in the countryside outside the urban areas. Privately operated, most trips cost less than ¥10 per short journey and only a little more for longer journeys.
By taxi
Taxis are the preferred choice for getting around, as they are convenient and are fairly inexpensive for travelers from Western countries. The only downside is that Beijing's congested traffic often results in long jams. Vehicles used as taxis include the Hyundai Sonata and Elantra, Volkswagen Santana and Jetta (the old model, designed in the 1980s), and China-made Citroens. These taxis are dark red, or yellow top with dark blue bottom, or painted with new colors (see picture). Luxurious black executive cars (usually Audis) can also be found, usually waiting outside hotels.
Fares and meters
Beginning from June 2006, all taxis charge a starting fee of ¥10, and an additional ¥2 per kilometer after the first 3km. Taxi meters keep running when the speed is slower than 12km per hr. or when waiting for green lights; five minutes of waiting time equals 1 km running. Outside of rush hour, an average trip through the city costs around ¥20-25, and a cross-town journey about ¥50 (for example, from the city center to the northern side of the Fourth Ring Road).
If the taxi driver "forgets" to switch the taxi meter on, remind him or her by politely saying "qǐng dǎ biǎo" (请打表) (pronunciation: qǐng slightly like "ching", da like "Dalai Lama", biao= b(b in "blue") -i(y in "yen") -ao(au in "Austria"). This means "Run the meter, please". Get a receipt (in case you want to make a complaint later or for business reimbursement purposes) by saying "fā piào" (发票) or gesturing at the meter and making a writing motion.
If you want a tour around Beijing and its vicinities, you can ask your hotel to hire a cab for one day or several days. It usually costs ¥400-600 per day, depending on where you go. If you have Chinese-speaking assistance, then bargain down the cost. No matter the cost, the taxi is yours for the day and will wait for you at various destinations.
Communicating with the drivers can be a problem, as most do not speak English. You can ask that your hotel write your destination on a card to give to the driver. Make sure also to take the hotel's card (and a map) that lists the hotel's address in Chinese. This can be a 'get out of jail free' card if you get lost and need to get back via taxi. A regular city map with streets and sights in Chinese will help also.
Avoiding scams and fakes
All official taxis have license plates beginning with the letter "B", as in "京B". "Black cabs" may look like taxis but their license plates will start with letters other than B. It's nearly impossible to hail a black cab on the streets; they generally hang out around tourist sights like the Great Wall and the Summer Palace or around subway stops. Black cabs will charge you a higher fee for the journey, unless you are a good bargainer, know where you are going, and know what the right fare should be. Sometimes they drop foreign tourists in wrong places. In some extreme cases, the driver may even take them to the countryside and rob them. If you find you hired a fake taxi and are overcharged, don't argue if you are alone, pay the driver and remember the car's license plate number, then call police later.
To avoid being taken advantage of, it is a good idea to know the rough direction, cost, and distance of your destination. You can easily find this out from asking locals before calling a cab. Verify these values with the taxicab driver to show them that you are in the know, and are probably too much trouble to cheat. Keep track of the direction of travel with a compass and/or the sun. If the cab goes in the wrong direction for a long distance, verify the location with the taxi driver. For scamming drivers, that is usually enough for them to go back on the right track (without ever acknowledging that they were trying to cheat you). Honest drivers will explain why they are going that way.
Keep in mind that central Beijing can be off limits at certain times, forcing cabs to reroute. And some roads forbid left turns (with big road signs) either at certain hours or all the time, so the driver might make a detour.
By car
Renting a car normally is not recommended for the ordinary visitor. Besides being extremely expensive, driving in Beijing can be quite complicated, language difficulties included. Many hotels, however, rent cars that come with drivers, for those who can afford it, up to 1000 yuan per day.
See also Driving in China.
See
Many tourist areas in Beijing are under renovation for the 2008 Olympics. The Forbidden City and the Summer Palace all had sections under renovation as of the middle of March 2006. Renovations on the Temple of Heaven are completed. As a plus, ticket prices were reduced for sights under renovation. Just be aware that prior to the Olympics there may be continued renovations.
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Do
: See Beijing 2008 for the Olympics.
Learn
Private Schools
Work
Most of the commercial areas are in the following areas:
Wherever you see the acronym CBD, it means it is located near the Central Business District. It can be both residential or commercial area.
Like all of China, finding a job teaching English in Beijing is relatively easy for native speakers. In fact, if you are of European descent some employers may assume that you are already qualified enough to teach English to Chinese students. However, more prestigious employers (especially universities and language schools) will generally require an English teaching qualification or a Bachelor's degree (normally in any discipline, although sometimes specifically in English/linguistics).
Caution: there has been something of an "explosion" in English teaching in recent years, but this has brought some attendant problems with unregulated schools who fail to deliver on their contracts with teaching staff. You are advised to check with existing teachers before signing a teaching contract with an unknown school.
See also: Teaching English
Buy
Antiques and Specialty Items
Eat
The best way to eat good and cheap in Beijing is to enter one of the ubiquitous restaurants where the locals are eating and pick a few different dishes from the menu. Truth be told, anyone familiar with Western currency and prices will find Beijing a very inexpensive city for food, especially considering that tipping is not practiced in China.
Some of the cheapest and delicious meals can be had on the streets. Jiānbĭng guŏzi (煎饼果子) is one of the most popular street snacks, eaten from morning till night. This delicious pancake is cooked with an egg on a griddle, a fried dough crisp is added, and the whole thing is drizzled in scallions and a savory sauce. Hot sauce is optional. Diehard fans often go on a quest for the "best" jiānbĭng cart in the city. This ubiquitous treat only costs ¥2, with an extra egg ¥2.50.
Lamb kebabs (羊肉串 yángròu chuàn ) and other kebabs are grilled on makeshift stands all around Beijing, from the late afternoon to late at night. Often, the worst looking grills offer the best taste, so be brave and try them all. Wangfujing has a "snack street" selling such mundane fare like lamb, chicken, and beef, but the brave can also sample silkworm, scorpion, and various organs all skewered on a stick and grilled to order.
A winter specialty, candied haw berries (冰糖葫芦 bīngtáng húlu) are dipped in sugar and sold on a stick. You can also find variations with oranges, grapes, strawberries, and bananas, or dipped in crumbled peanuts as well as sugar. This sweet snack can also sometimes be found in the spring and the summer, but the haw berries are often from last season's crop.
Beijing Roast Duck
This famous Beijing specialty is served at many restaurants, but there are quite a few restaurants dedicated to the art of roasting the perfect duck. Expect to pay around ¥40 per whole duck at budget-range establishments, and ¥160-¥190 at high-end restaurants. Beijing duck (北京烤鸭 bĕijīng kăoyā) is served with thin pancakes, plum sauce (甜面酱 tiánmiàn jiàng)，and slivers of scallions and cucumbers. You dip the duck in the sauce and roll it up in the pancake with a few slivers of scallions and/or cucumbers. The end result is a mouthwatering combination of the cool crunchiness of the cucumber, the sharpness of the scallions, and the rich flavors of the duck.
Hot Pot
Beijing is also known for its lamb hotpot (涮羊肉 shuàn yáng ròu), which originally came from the Manchu people and emphasizes lamb over other meats. Like variations of hotpot (general name 火锅 huŏ guō) from elsewhere in China and Japan, lamb hotpot is a cook-it-yourself affair in a steaming pot in the center of the table. Unlike Sichuan hotpot, lamb hotpot features a savory, non-spicy broth. If that's not exciting enough for you, you can also request a spicy broth (be aware that this is flaming red, filled with peppers, and not for the weak!). To play it safe and satisfy everyone, you can request yuānyáng for a pot divided down the middle, with spicy broth on one side and regular broth on the other.
Raw ingredients are purchased by the plate. In addition to lamb, beef, and seafood, this also includes a wide variety of vegetables, mushrooms, noodles, and tofu, so it's also perfectly possible to have vegetarian hotpot. A dipping sauce, usually sesame, is served as well; you can add chilis, garlic, cilantro, etc, to customize your own sauce. While "raw" sounds dangerous, boiling the meat yourself is the best way to ensure that more risky meats like pork are fully cooked and free of germs. In the city center, hotpot can run as much as ¥40-¥50 per person, but on the outskirts it can be found for as little as ¥10-¥25.
Other Chinese cuisines
Beijing provides an ideal opportunity to sample food from all over the country. Some of Beijing's best restaurants serve food from Sichuan, Hunan, Canton, Tibet, Yunnan, Xinjiang, and more. Many, such as Makye Ame (11A Xiushui Nanjie Jianguomenwai Beijing Tel: +86 (10) 6506 9616) and Dai Nationality Restaurant feature live dancing and performance, and are not to be missed.
For vegetarians, Beijing's first pure vegetarian buffet restaurant is located on the Confucius Temple on Guo zi jian street, west of the
famous Lama Temple. No English menu so far, but one can just ask for the buffet, which contains a large variety of delicious vegetarian dishes, as
well as a vegetarian hotpot, and a large selection of dessert.
International cuisines
If you're in the mood for American fare, head for the Tim's Texas BBQ near the Jianguomen subway station. They'll happily provide you with your favourite American food and drink. Tony Roma's has a location in Wangfujing (in the big big shopping mall near the bookstore).
Korean restaurants are also very common in Beijing. A frequent meal is the grill-it-yourself barbeque, including beef, chicken, and seafood items as well as some vegetables including greens and potatoes.
Splurge
All luxury hotels have at least one restaurant, which can be of any cuisine they believe their guests will enjoy. You will find French, Italian, American, and Chinese restaurants in most hotels. Of course, restaurants that serve abalone/sharkfin are considered the most expensive restaurants in the city. Expect to pay upwards of ¥800 for a "cheap" meal at one of these restaurants, much more if splurging.
Drink
Tea, tea, and more tea! Some are in malls, but first ask the price before ordering or else brace yourself for the most expensive egg-sized cup of tea in the world. You can experience different ceremonies of tea at tea houses especially in the Qianman area south of Tiananmen. These can range in price, and some tea houses are really tourist traps whose main goal is to milk you of your money, so be careful. You can get a free tea demonstration at most Tenrenfu tea houses which are located throughout the city and at some malls.
Good coffee is hard to find in most parts of China, although addicts have a place to retreat now that Starbucks has made huge inroads with the emerging middle class. They have at least 50 Starbucks in the capital, most situated around shopping malls and in commercial districts of the city.
Chinese beer can be quite good. The most preferred beer in China is Qingdao (青岛, 10-20 yuan, 2-3 if you buy it from a street vendor) which can also be found in the States. Try Yanjing beer (燕京, 10-15 yuan at restaurants, 2 yuan on the street), which is main beer brand of Beijing. It comes in very large bottles and has 4% alcohol content. (Yanjing is an antiquated name for Beijing.). Both Yanjing and Qingdao now come in "standard" (putong - 普通) and "pure" (chunsheng - 纯生) varieties. You'll also find Beijing beer in some establishments and is only served on draught. It's brewed by the Japanese beer company Asahi which probably explains why you don't see it in many places.
Great Wall is the most popular local brand of wine. Wine made in China are considered not drinkable by most foreigners, but this is probably due to the fact that it is not common among local Chinese to drink it. Giving wine as a gift is not a common custom in most places in China and most people will not be accustomed to wine etiquette or appreciation. Foreign red wines are usually of a much better quality, such as those from the US, France, Australia, and Chile, and you will find them at most upscale restaurants.
The most common hard liquor to get drunk from is Bai jiu (白酒, white liquor). It comes in a large variety everywhere for very cheap prices and should be avoided if you want to have a clear mind for your travels on the next day. Mao Tai (茅台酒) is one of the more famous brands, and costs about as much as an imported bottle of whiskey. A large selection of imported liquor can be found at all bars ranging from tequila to whiskey.
Places to drink
Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng; ; ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was formerly known in English as Peking (). Beijing is also one of the four municipalities of the PRC, which are equivalent to provinces in China's administrative structure. Beijing Municipality borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.
Beijing is China's second largest city in terms of population, after Shanghai. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China. Beijing is recognized as the political, educational, and cultural center of the People's Republic of China, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields.
Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It will host the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Names
Beijing () literally means "Northern capital", in line with the common East Asian tradition whereby capital cities are explicitly named as such. Other cities similarly named include Nanjing (), China, meaning "southern capital"; Tokyo (), Japan, and Đông Kinh (東京, known to Europeans as Tonkin; now Hanoi), Vietnam, both meaning "eastern capital"; as well as Kyoto (), Japan, and Gyeongseong (; now Seoul), Korea, both meaning simply "capital".
Peking is the name of the city according to Chinese Postal Map Romanization, and the traditional customary name for Beijing in English. The term originated with French missionaries four hundred years ago and corresponds to an older pronunciation predating a subsequent sound change in Mandarin from kʲ to tɕ. (tɕ is represented in pinyin as j, as in Beijing), and is still used in some languages (as in Dutch and Hungarian).
In China, the city has had many names. Between 1368 and 1405, and again from 1928 and 1949, it was known as Beiping (; Pinyin: Beiping; Wade-Giles: Pei-p'ing), literally "Northern Peace". On both occasions, the name changed — with the removal of the element meaning "capital" (jing or king, 京) — to reflect the fact the national capital had changed to Nanjing, the first time under the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the second time with the Kuomintang (KMT) government of the Republic of China, so that Peking was no longer the capital of China.
The Communist Party of China reverted the name to Beijing (Peking) in 1949 again in part to emphasize that Beijing had returned to its role as China's capital. The government of the Republic of China on Taiwan has never formally recognized the name change, and during the 1950s and 1960s it was common in Taiwan for Beijing to be called Beiping to imply the illegitimacy of the PRC. Today, almost all of Taiwan, including the ROC government, uses Beijing, although some maps of China from Taiwan still use the old name along with pre-1949 political boundaries.
Yanjing (; Pinyin: Yānjīng; Wade-Giles: Yen-ching) is and has been another popular informal name for Beijing, a reference to the ancient State of Yan that existed here during the Zhou Dynasty. This name is reflected in the locally-brewed Yanjing Beer as well as Yenching University, an institution of higher learning that was merged into Peking University. During the Yuan Dynasty, Beijing was known as Khanbaliq which is the Cambuluc described in Marco Polo's accounts.
(The history section below outlines other historical names of Beijing.)
History
:Main article: History of Beijing
There were cities in the vicinities of Beijing by the 1st millennium BC, and the capital of the State of Yan, one of the powers of the Warring States Period (473-221 BC), Ji (薊/蓟), was established in present-day Beijing.
After the fall of the Yan, the subsequent Qin, Han, and Jin dynasties set-up local prefectures in the area. In Tang Dynasty it became the headquarter for Fanyang jiedushi, the virtual military governor of current northern Hebei area. An Lushan launched An Shi Rebellion from here in 755. This rebellion is often regarded as a turning point of Tang dynasty, as the central government began to lose the control of the whole country.
In 936, the Later Jin Dynasty (936-947) of northern China ceded a large part of its northern frontier, including modern Beijing, to the Khitan Liao Dynasty. In 938, the Liao Dynasty set up a secondary capital in what is now Beijing, and called it Nanjing (the "Southern Capital"). In 1125, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty annexed Liao, and in 1153 moved its capital to Liao's Nanjing, calling it Zhongdu (中都), "the central capital." Zhongdu was situated in what is now the area centred around Tianningsi, slightly to the southwest of central Beijing.
Mongol forces burned Zhongdu to the ground in 1215 and rebuilt it to the north of the Jin capital in 1267. In preparation for the conquest of all of China, Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty founder Kublai Khan made this his capital as Dadu (大都, Chinese for "grand capital"), or Khanbaliq to the Mongols. This site is known as Cambuluc in Marco Polo's accounts. Apparently, Kublai Khan, who wanted to become a Chinese emperor, established his capital at this location instead of more traditional sites in central China because it was closer to his power base in Mongolia. The decision of the Khan greatly enhanced the status of a city that had been situated on the northern fringe of China proper. Dadu was situated north of modern central Beijing. It centred on what is now the northern stretch of the 2nd Ring Road, and stretched northwards to between the 3rd and 4th Ring Roads. There are remnants of Mongol-era wall still standing.
After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368, the city was later rebuilt by the Ming Dynasty and Shuntian (順天) prefecture was established in the area around the city. In 1403, the third Ming Emperor Yongle moved the Ming capital from Nanjing (Nanking) to the renamed Beijing (Peking) (北京), the "northern capital", situated in the north. The capital was also known as Jingshi 京師, simply meaning capital. During the Ming Dynasty, Beijing took its current shape, and the Ming-era city wall served as the Beijing city wall until modern times, when it was pulled down and the 2nd Ring Road was built in its place.
It is believed that Beijing was the largest city in the world from 1425 to 1650 and from 1710 to 1825 .
The Forbidden City was constructed soon after that (1406-1420), followed by the Temple of Heaven (1420), and numerous other construction projects. Tiananmen, which has become a state symbol of the People's Republic of China and is featured on its emblem, was burned down twice during the Ming Dynasty and the final reconstruction was carried out in 1651.
After the Manchus overthrew the Ming Dynasty and established the Qing Dynasty in its place, Beijing remained China's capital throughout the Qing period. Just like during the preceding dynasty, Beijing was also known as Jingshi, which corresponded to the Manchu Gemun Hecen with the same meaning. It was the scene of the siege of the foreign legations during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.
The Xinhai Revolution of 1911, aimed at replacing Qing rule with a republic, originally intended to establish its capital at Nanjing. After high-ranking Qing official Yuan Shikai forced the abdication of the Qing emperor in Beijing and ensured the success of the revolution, the revolutionaries in Nanjing accepted that Yuan should be the president of the new Republic of China, and that the capital should remain at Beijing.
Yuan gradually consolidated power, culminating in his declaration of a Chinese Empire in late 1915 with himself as emperor. The move was highly unpopular, and Yuan himself died less than a year later, ending his brief reign. China then fell under the control of regional warlords, and the most powerful factions fought frequent wars (the Zhili-Anhui War, the First Zhili-Fengtian War, and the Second Zhili-Fengtian War) to take control of the capital at Beijing.
Following the success of the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition which pacified the warlords of the north, Nanjing was officially made the capital of the Republic of China in 1928, and Beijing was renamed Beiping (Peip'ing) (北平), "northern peace" or "north pacified", to emphasize that the warlord government in Beijing was not legitimate.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Beiping fell to Japan on 29 July 1937. During the occupation, the city was reverted to its former name, Beijing, and made the seat of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state that ruled the ethnic Chinese portions of Japanese-occupied North China. It was later merged into the larger Wang Jingwei Government based in Nanjing. The Imperial Japanese Army established in the city the bacteriological research unit 1855, a section of unit 731 where japanese doctors experimented on humans.
With Japan's surrender in World War II, on 15 August 1945, Beijing's name was changed back to Beiping.
On January 31, 1949, during the Chinese Civil War, Communist forces entered Beijing without a fight. On October 1 of the same year, the Communist Party of China, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, announced in Tiananmen the creation of the People's Republic of China in Beijing. Just a few days earlier, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference had decided that Beiping would be the capital of the new government, and that its name would be changed back to Beijing.
At the time of the founding of the People's Republic, Beijing Municipality consisted of just its urban area and immediate suburbs. The urban area was divided into many small districts inside what is now the 2nd Ring Road. Since then several surrounding counties have been incorporated into the Municipality, enlarging the limits of Beijing Municipality by many times and giving it its present shape. The Beijing city wall was torn down between 1965 and 1969 to make way for the construction of the 2nd Ring Road.
Following the economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping, the urban area of Beijing has expanded greatly. Formerly within the confines of the 2nd Ring Road and the 3rd Ring Road, the urban area of Beijing is now pushing at the limits of the recently-constructed 5th Ring Road and 6th Ring Road (under construction), with many areas that were formerly farmland now developed residential or commercial neighborhoods. A new commercial area has developed in the Guomao area, Wangfujing and Xidan have developed into flourishing shopping districts, while Zhongguancun has become a major center of electronics in China.
In recent years, the expansion of Beijing has also brought to the forefront some problems of urbanization, such as heavy traffic, poor air quality, the loss of historic neighborhoods, and significant influx of migrants from poorer regions of the country, especially rural areas.
Early 2005 saw the approval by government of a plan to finally stop the sprawling development of Beijing in all directions. Development of the Chinese capital would now proceed in two semicircular bands just outside of the city centre (both west and east) instead of being in concentric rings.
Geography and climate
:Main article: Geography of Beijing
Beijing is situated at the northern tip of the roughly triangular North China Plain which opens to the south and east of the city. Mountains to the north, northwest and west shield the city and northern China's agricultural heartland from the encroaching desert steppes. The northwestern part of the municipality, especially Yanqing County and Huairou District, are dominated by the Jundu Mountains, while the western part of the municipality is framed by the Xishan Mountains. The Great Wall of China, which stretches across the northern part of Beijing Municipality, made use of this rugged topography to defend against nomadic incursions from the steppes. Mount Dongling in the Xishan ranges and on the border with Hebei is the municipality's highest point, with an altitude of 2303 m. Major rivers flowing through the municipality include the Yongding River and the Chaobai River, part of the Hai River system, and flowing in a southerly direction. Beijing is also the northern terminus of the Grand Canal of China which was built across the North China Plain to Hangzhou. Miyun Reservoir, built on the upper reaches of the Chaobai River, is Beijing's largest reservoir, and crucial to its water supply.
The urban area of Beijing, located at (39.9056, 116.3914), is situated in the south-central part of the municipality and occupies a small but expanding part of the municipality's area. It spreads out in bands of concentric ring roads, of which the fifth and outermost (the Sixth Ring Road; the numbering starts at 2) passes through several satellite towns. Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) and Tian'anmen Square are at the centre of Beijing, and are directly to the south of the Forbidden City, former residence of the emperors of China. To the west of Tian'anmen is Zhongnanhai, residence of the paramount leaders of the People's Republic of China. Running through central Beijing from east to west is Chang'an Avenue, one of Beijing's main thoroughfares.
The city's climate is a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dwa), characterized by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and harshly cold, windy, dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Average temperatures in January are at around -7 to -4 °C (19 to 24 °F), while average temperatures in July are at 25 to 26 °C (77 to 79 °F). Annual precipitation is over 600 mm, with 75% of that in summer.
Beijing also suffers from heavy pollution and poor air quality from industry and traffic. Dust from erosion of deserts in northern and northwestern China result in seasonal dust storms that plague the city. In the first four months of 2006 alone, there were no fewer than eight such storms. Efforts have been made of late to clean up Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
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City layout
Neighborhoods
Major neighbourhoods in urban Beijing include the following. Neighborhoods may overlap across multiple districts (see below):
Several place names in Beijing end with mén (门), meaning "gate", as they were the locations of gates in the former Beijing city wall. Other place names end in cūn (村), meaning "village", as they were originally villages outside the city wall.
Towns
Towns within Beijing Municipality but outside the urban area include:
Subdivisions
Beijing Municipality comprises 18 administrative sub-divisions, county-level units governed directly by the municipality (second-level divisions). Of these, 16 are districts and 2 are counties.
The urban and suburban areas of the city are divided into eight (8) districts:
Press
The well-known Beijing Evening News (Beijing Wanbao) newspaper is distributed every afternoon, covering news about Beijing in Chinese. Other newspapers include The Beijing News (Xin Jing Bao), the Beijing Star Daily, the Beijing Morning News, the Beijing Youth Daily (Beijing Qingnian Bao), as well as English-language weeklies Beijing Weekend and Beijing Today (the English-language edition of Youth Daily). People's Daily and China Daily (English) are also published in Beijing.
Nationally-circulated Chinese newspapers are also available in Beijing.
Publications primarily aimed at international visitors and the expatriate community include the English-language periodicals City Weekend, Beijing This Month, Beijing Talk, that's Beijing and MetroZine.
Rolling Stone Magazine will base its China version's editorial staff in Beijing.
The international press, including English- and Japanese-language newspapers and magazines, are available in major international hotels and Friendship stores, and content often appears complete.
Sports
Beijing will host the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics.
Professional sports teams based in Beijing include:
The Beijing Aoshen Olympians of the ABA, formerly a CBA team, kept their name and maintained a roster of primarily Chinese players after moving to Maywood, California in 2005.
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