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*[http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&hl=ru&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&num=10&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=108714195091031357259.000440d68cc0e744f941e&ll=39.906444,116.395855&spn=0.047471,0.079136&t=h&z=14&om=1 Satellite photographs of Beijing] Google Maps
*[http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&hl=ru&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&num=10&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=108714195091031357259.000440d68cc0e744f941e&ll=39.906444,116.395855&spn=0.047471,0.079136&t=h&z=14&om=1 Satellite photographs of Beijing] Google Maps
*{{wikitravel}}
*{{wikitravel}}
*[http://www.petergreenberg.com/2007/10/18/off-the-brochure-beijing Off-the-Brochure Travel Guide - Beijing] by Peter Greenberg Staff


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Revision as of 23:48, 28 February 2008

"Peking" redirects here. For other uses, see Peking (disambiguation).
Běijīng
北京
Municipality
The Temple of Heaven, a symbol of Beijing
The Temple of Heaven, a symbol of Beijing
Location within China
Location within China
Country People's Republic of China
County-level divisions18
Township divisions273
Settledca. 473 BC
Government
 • CPC BeijingLiu Qi Committee Secretary
 • MayorGuo Jinlong
Area
(ranked 29th)
16,801.25 km2 (6,487 sq mi)
Elevation
43.5 m (142.7 ft)
Population
 (2007)
17,430,000 (26th)
 • Density1,037/km2 (2,690/sq mi)
 • Urban
8,495,000
 • Mun. Density rank
(4th)
 • Major nationalities
Han - 96%
Manchu - 2%
Hui - 2%
Mongolian - 0.3%
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard Time)
Postal code
100000 - 102600
Area code+86/10
License plate prefixes京A, C, E, F, H, J, K, L
京B (taxis)
京G (outside urban area)
京O (police and authorities)
京V (military headquarters
& central government)
ISO 3166-2cn-11
GDP (2006)CNY 772.03 billion (15th)
 - per capitaCNY 49,505 (2nd)
HDI (2005)0.882 (2nd) — high
Websitewww.beijing.gov.cn
www.ebeijing.gov.cn (English)
City trees
Chinese arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis)
Pagoda tree (Sophora japonica)
City flowers
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)
Chinese rose (Rosa chinensis)

Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng; Wade-Giles: Peiching or Pei-ching; IPA: [peɪ˨˩ tɕɪŋ˥˥]; Chinese Postal Map Romanization: Peking; literally "Northern capital"; pronunciationⓘ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is also known in English as Peking (English pronunciationⓘ). 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.[1] Beijing is China's second largest city, after Shanghai. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and motorways passing through the city. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China. Beijing is recognised as the political, educational, and cultural center of the People's Republic of China, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields.[2]

Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It will host the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Names

Beijing or Peking (北京) 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 (南京), China, meaning "southern capital"; Tokyo (東京), Japan, and Đông Kinh (東京, now Hanoi), Vietnam, both meaning "eastern capital"; as well as Kyoto (京都), Japan, and Gyeongseong (京城; 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 Peking 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][3]. ([tɕ] is represented in pinyin as j, as in Beijing), and is still used in some languages (as in Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Polish and Spanish).

The city has been renamed several times. During the Jin Dynasty, the city was known as Zhongdu (中都) , and then later under the Mongol Yuan Dynasty as Dadu (大都) in Chinese, and Khanbaliq in Mongolian (recorded as Cambuluc by Marco Polo). After the reconquest of the city by the Ming it was known as Shuntian (順天), and later as Peiping (北平 Pinyin: Beiping; Wade-Giles: Pei-p'ing), literally "Northern Peace", a name it received in 1928.[2] 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.[2] The Republic of China, still claiming the city, continues to use the name "Peiping".

Yanjing (燕京; 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.

(The history section below outlines other historical names of Beijing.)

History

Remains of Beijing city wall, 2006
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 centered around Tianningsi, slightly to the southwest of central Beijing.

The Pagoda of Tianning Temple in Guang'anmen of Beijing, built in 1120 during the Liao Dynasty.

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 centered 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.

A corner tower of the Forbidden City, located at the middle of Beijing.

It is believed that Beijing was the largest city in the world from 1425 to 1650 and from 1710 to 1825.[4]

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.

Panorama view of the Forbidden City, home to the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

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.

Historic image of student protests at the Tiananmen Square, such events are embodied by the Tiananmen Square protests of 1919 and Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
The Tiananmen Square protests were democracy and anti-corruption demonstrations that were repressed by force in 1989

Following the success of the Kuomintang (KMT)'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.[2]

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Beiping fell to Japan on 29 July 1937.[2] 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 northern 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, with many areas that were formerly farmland now developed residential or commercial districts. 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 centre 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 neighbourhoods, 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
A simulated-color image of Beijing, taken by NASA's Landsat 7.

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°54′20″N 116°23′29″E / 39.90556°N 116.39139°E / 39.90556; 116.39139 (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), characterised 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). Highest temperature ever recorded is 42°C and lowest recorded is -27°C. [5] Annual precipitation is over 600 mm, with 75% of that in summer.[6]

Climate data for Beijing, China
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Source: Weatherbase[7]

Pollution

Heavy air pollution has resulted in widespread smog

Air pollution levels on an average day in Beijing are nearly five times above World Health Organization standards for safety.[8] China's extremely inefficient use of coal - the country's main source of energy - results in much of the pollution. Despite promises to stage a green 2008 Summer Olympics Bejing has had persistent air pollution - thus city officials are planning to reduce its motor traffic by half during the Games to improve air quality.[9] In February 2008, the Chinese government announced that it would close 144 gas stations in Beijing, which amounts to about 10% of such stations in the city, to improve air quality in preparation for the Olympics.[10]

Dust storm

Dust from erosion of deserts in northern and northwestern China result in seasonal dust storms that plague the city; the Beijing Weather Modification Office sometimes artificially induces rainfall to fight such storms and mitigate their effects.[11] In the first four months of 2006 alone, there were no fewer than eight such storms.[12] In April 2002, one dust storm alone dumped nearly 50,000 tons of dust onto the city before moving on to Japan and Korea.[13]

City layout

Layout Map

Neighbourhoods

Southern end of Wangfujing Road (July 2004 image).
Beijing by night
File:Xidan Xinhuashudian.jpg
Beijing Bookshop at Xidan

Major neighbourhoods in urban Beijing include the following. Neighbourhoods 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 (but are not limited to):

Subdivisions

See also: List of administrative divisions of Beijing

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:[1]

District Population (2000 census) Area (km²) Density (per km²)
Dongcheng District (东城区: Dōngchéng Qū) 536,000 24.7 21,700
Xicheng District (西城区: Xīchéng Qū) 707,000 30.0 23,567
Chongwen District (崇文区: Chóngwén Qū) 346,000 15.9 21,761
Xuanwu District (宣武区: Xuānwǔ Qū) 526,000 16.5 31,879
Chaoyang District (朝阳区: Cháoyáng Qū) 2,290,000 470.8 4,864
Haidian District (海淀区: Hǎidiàn Qū) 2,240,000 426.0 5,258
Fengtai District (丰台区: Fēngtái Qū) 1,369,000 304.2 4,500
Shijingshan District (石景山区: Shíjǐngshān Qū) 489,000 89.8 5,445
City proper + inner suburbs 8.50 million 1377.9 6,171

The following six districts encompass the more distant suburbs and satellite towns, constituting part of the metropolitan area:

District Population (2000 census) Area (km²) Density (per km²)
Mentougou District (门头沟区: Méntóugōu Qū) 267,000 1,331.3 201
Fangshan District (房山区: Fángshān Qū)
Fangshan County until 1986		 814,000 1,866.7 436
Tongzhou District (通州区: Tōngzhōu Qū)
Tong County until 1997		 674,000 870.0 775
Shunyi District (顺义区: Shùnyì Qū)
Shunyi County until 1998		 637,000 980.0 650
Changping District (昌平区: Chāngpíng Qū)
Changping County until 1999		 615,000 1,430.0 430
Daxing District (大兴区: Dàxīng Qū)
Daxing County until 2001		 672,000 1,012.0 664
Outer suburbs 3.68 million 7,490 491

The other two districts and the two counties located further out govern semirural and rural areas:[14]

District Population (2000 census) Area (km²) Density (per km²)
Pinggu District (平谷区: Pínggǔ Qū)
Pinggu County until 2001		 397,000 1,075.0 369
Huairou District (怀柔区: Huáiróu Qū)
Huairou County until 2001		 296,000 2,557.3 116
Miyun County (密云县: Mìyún Xiàn) 420,000 2,335.6 180
Yanqing County (延庆县: Yánqìng Xiàn) 275,000 1,980.0 139
Peripheral areas 1.39 million 7,947.9 175

Beijing's 18 districts and counties are further subdivided into 273 lower (third)-level administrative units at the township level: 119 towns, 24 townships, 5 ethnic townships and 125 subdistricts.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Beijing

The Politics of Beijing is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in the mainland China.

The Mayor of Beijing is the highest ranking official in the People's Government of Beijing. Since Beijing is a centrally administered municipality, the mayor occupies the same level in the order of precedence as provincial governors. However, in the city's dual party-government governing system, the mayor has less power than the Beijing Communist Party of China Municipal Committee Secretary.

Economy

The Beijing CBD area around Dawangqiao and Dabeiyao, as seen from the Jingtong Expressway.
Dawangqiao area around Beijing CBD

In 2006, Beijing's nominal GDP was 772.03 billion RMB (about 97 billion USD), a year-on-year growth of 12% from the previous year. Its GDP per capita was 49,505 RMB, an increase of 8.8% from the previous year and more than twice as much as in 2000. In 2005, Beijing's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 9.77 billion RMB, 210.05 billion RMB, and 461.63 billion RMB. In 2006, Urban disposable income per capita was 19,978 yuan, a real increase of 12.9% from the previous year. Per capita pure income of rural residents was 8,620 RMB, a real increase of 9.6%. Per capita disposable income of the 20% low-income residents increased 16.7%, 11.4 percentage points higher than the growth rate of the 20% high-income residents. The Engel's coefficient of Beijing's urban residents reached 31.8% in 2005 and that of the rural residents was 32.8%, declining 4.5 percentage points and 3.9 percentage points, respectively, compared with 2000.

Beijing's real estate and automobile sectors have continued to bloom in recent years. In 2005, a total of 28.032 million square metres of housing real estate was sold, for a total of 175.88 billion RMB. The total number of cars registered in Beijing in 2004 was 2,146,000, of which 1,540,000 were privately-owned (a year-on-year increase of 18.7%). [1]

The Beijing CBD, centred at the Guomao area, has been identified as the city's new central business district, and is home to a variety of corporate regional headquarters, shopping precincts, and high-end housing. The Beijing Financial Street, in the Fuxingmen and Fuchengmen area, is a traditional financial centre. The Wangfujing and Xidan areas are major shopping districts. Zhongguancun, dubbed "China's Silicon Valley", continues to be a major centre in electronics- and computer-related industries, as well as pharmaceuticals-related research. Meanwhile, Yizhuang, located to the southeast of the urban area, is becoming a new centre in pharmaceuticals, IT, and materials engineering. [2] Urban Beijing is also known for being a centre of pirated goods and anything from the latest designer clothing to the latest DVDs can be found in markets all over the city, often marketed to expatriates and international visitors. It is also a world leader in the production and distribution of melamine and melamine-related compounds, (ammeline, ammelide and cyanuric acid).

A corner of the emerging Beijing CBD.

Major industrial areas include Shijingshan, located on the western outskirts of the city. Agriculture is carried out outside the urban area of Beijing, with wheat and maize (corn) being the main crops. Vegetables are also grown in the regions closer to the urban area in order to supply the city.

Beijing is increasingly becoming known for its innovative entrepreneurs and high-growth start-ups. This culture is backed by a large community of both Chinese and foreign venture capital firms, such as Sequoia Capital, whose head office in China resides in Chaoyang, Beijing. Though Shanghai is seen as the economic centre of China, this is typically based on the numerous large corporations based there, rather than as a centre for Chinese entrepreneurship.

The development of Beijing continues to proceed at a rapid pace, and the vast expansion of Beijing has created a multitude of problems for the city. Beijing is known for its smog as well as the frequent "power-saving" programmes instituted by the government. Citizens of Beijing as well as tourists frequently complain about the quality of the water supply and the cost of the basic services such as electricity and natural gas. The major industrial areas outside of Beijing were ordered to clean their operations or leave the Beijing area in an effort to alleviate the smog that covers the city. Most factories, unable to update, have moved and relocated to other cities such as Xi'an, China.

Demographics

The Wangjing neighbourhood, in Chaoyang District, Beijing
Wangfujing Cathedral

The population of Beijing Municipality, defined as the total number of people who reside in Beijing for 6 months or more per year, was 17.43 million in 2007. 12.03 million people in Beijing Municipality had Beijing hukou (permanent residence) and the remainder were on temporary residence permits.[15] In addition, there is a large but unknown number of migrant workers (min gong) who live illegally in Beijing without any official residence permit (or unregistered people). The population of Beijing's urban core (city proper) is around 7.5 million.

Over 95% of Beijing's residents belong to the Han Chinese majority. Other major ethnic minorities include the Manchu, Hui, and Mongol, etc. A Tibetan high school exists for youth of Tibetan ancestry, nearly all of whom have come to Beijing from Tibet expressly for their studies.

A sizable international community exists in Beijing, mostly attracted by the highly growing foreign business and trade sector, and many live in the Beijing urban area's densely populated northern, northeastern and eastern sections. In recent years there has also been an influx of South Koreans who live in Beijing predominantly for business and study purpose. Many of them live in the Wangjing and Wudaokou areas.

Ethnic groups in Beijing, 2000 census
Nationality Population Percentage
Han Chinese 12,983,696 95.69%
Manchu 250,286 1.84%
Hui 235,837 1.74%
Mongol 37,464 0.28%
Korean 20,369 0.15%
Tujia 8372 0.062%
Zhuang 7322 0.054%
Miao 5291 0.039%
Uyghur 3129 0.023%
Tibetan 2920 0.022%

Excludes members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.
[16]

Architecture

Three styles of architecture predominate in urban Beijing. First, the traditional architecture of imperial China, perhaps best exemplified by the massive Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace), which remains the PRC's trademark edifice, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven. Next there is what is sometimes referred to as the "Sino-Sov" style, built between the 1950s and the 1970s, which tend to be boxy, bland, and poorly made. Finally, there are much more modern architectural forms — most noticeably in the area of the Beijing CBD. Pictured below are some images of Beijing architecture — blending the old and the new.

  • Beijing's Taimiao
    Beijing's Taimiao
  • The boxy look of buildings built in the 1970s
    The boxy look of buildings built in the 1970s
  • The very modern contrast
    The very modern contrast
  • Details of traditional architecture
    Details of traditional architecture
  • A mix of 70s and 90s styles
    A mix of 70s and 90s styles
  • Mix and match of the old and the new
    Mix and match of the old and the new
  • The Tian'anmen
    The Tian'anmen
  • Wangfujing, a major commercial street
    Wangfujing, a major commercial street

A mixture of both old and new styles of architecture can be seen at the 798 Art Zone, which mixes 1950s-design with a blend of the new. The influence of American urban form and social values in manifest in the creation of Orange County, China, a suburban development about one hour north of the city.

Culture

A Beijing performance of the classic opera Farewell my Concubine (September 2002).

People native to urban Beijing speak the Beijing dialect, which belongs to the Mandarin subdivision of spoken Chinese. Beijing dialect is the basis for Standard Mandarin, the language used in the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China on Taiwan, and Singapore. Rural areas of Beijing Municipality have their own dialects akin to those of Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing Municipality.

Beijing Opera, or Peking Opera (Jingju京剧), is well-known throughout the national capital. Commonly lauded as one of the highest achievements of Chinese culture, Beijing Opera is performed through a combination of song, spoken dialogue, and codified action sequences, such as gestures, movement, fighting and acrobatics. Much of Beijing Opera is carried out in an archaic stage dialect quite different from modern Standard Mandarin and from the Beijing dialect; this makes the dialogue somewhat hard to understand, and the problem is compounded if one is not familiar with Chinese. As a result, modern theaters often have electronic titles in Chinese and English.

A hutong in Beijing, near the Grand Canal of China.

The Siheyuan (四合院) is a traditional architectural style of Beijing. A siheyuan consists of a square housing compound, with rooms enclosing a central courtyard. This courtyard often contains a pomegranate or other type of tree, as well as potted flowers or a fish tank. Siheyuans line Hutongs (胡同), or alleys, which connect the interior of Beijing's old city. They are usually straight and run east-to-west so that doorways can face north and south for Feng Shui reasons. They vary in width — some are very narrow, enough for only a few pedestrians to pass through at a time.

Once ubiquitous in Beijing, siheyuans and hutongs are now rapidly disappearing, as entire city blocks of hutongs are leveled and replaced with high-rise buildings. Residents of the hutongs are entitled to apartments in the new buildings of at least the same size as their former residences. Many complain, however, that the traditional sense of community and street life of the hutongs cannot be replaced. Some particularly historic or picturesque hutongs are being preserved and restored by the government, especially for the 2008 Olympics. One such example can be seen at Nanchizi.

Mandarin cuisine is the local style of cooking in Beijing. Peking Roast Duck is perhaps the most well-known dish. The Manhan Quanxi ("Manchu-Han Chinese full banquet") is a traditional banquet originally intended for the ethnic-Manchu emperors of the Qing Dynasty; it remains very prestigious and expensive.

Teahouses are also common in Beijing. Chinese tea comes in many varieties and some rather expensive types of Chinese tea are said to cure an ailing body extraordinarily well.

The cloisonné (or Jingtailan) metalworking technique and tradition is a specialty of Beijing's cultural art, and is one of the most revered traditional crafts in China. Beijing lacquerware is well known for the patterns and images carved into its surface.

The Fuling Jiabing is a traditional Beijing snack food, a pancake (bing) resembling a flat disk with filling, made from fu ling (Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf, or "tuckahoe"), an ingredient common in traditional Chinese medicine.

Transportation

Main article: Transportation in Beijing

With the growth of the city following economic reforms, Beijing has evolved as an important transportation hub. Encircling the city are five ring roads, nine expressways and city express routes, eleven China National Highways, several railway routes, and an international airport.

Rail

Beijing has two major railway stations: Beijing Railway Station (or the central station) and Beijing West Railway Station. Three other railway stations in Metropolitan Beijing handle regular passenger traffic: Beijing East, Beijing North, and Fengtai. There are also several other small stations serving suburban area.

As of August 1 2006, Beijing Railway Station has 167 trains stopping daily, while Beijing West Railway Station has 176 trains.

Beijing is a railway hub. There are railway lines from Beijing to Guangzhou, Shanghai, Harbin, Baotou, Taiyuan, Chengde and Qinhuangdao. Direct trains to Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR also depart from Beijing.

International trains, including lines to cities in Russia and Pyongyang, North Korea (DPRK), all run through Beijing.

Construction on a Beijing-Tianjin high-speed rail began on July 4 2005, and is scheduled to be completed in 2007.

Roads and expressways

See: Ring Roads of Beijing, Expressways of Beijing and China National Highways of Beijing for more related information.
The Badaling Expressway near the intersection with the Northern 6th Ring Road (November 2002 image)
An air-conditioned articulated bus operating on Beijing Bus Rapid Transit Line 1.

Beijing is connected via road links from all parts of China. Nine expressways of China (with six wholly new expressways under projection or construction) connect with Beijing, as do eleven China National Highways. Within Beijing itself, an elaborate network of five ring roads has developed, but they appear more rectangular than ring-shaped. Roads in Beijing often are in one of the four compass directions (unlike, for example, Tianjin).

One of the biggest concerns with traffic in Beijing deals with its apparently ubiquitous traffic jams. Traffic in the city centre is often gridlocked, especially around rush hour. Even outside of rush hour, several roads still remain clogged up with traffic. Urban area ring roads and major through routes, especially near the Chang'an Avenue area, are often clogged up during rush hour.

Recently expressways have been extended (in some cases reconstructed as express routes) into the territories within the 3rd Ring Road. As they are either expressways or express routes, drivers do not need to pass through intersections with traffic lights. This may finally solve the difficulties in "hopping between one ring and another".

Another problem is that public transportation is underdeveloped (the subway system is presently minimal) and that even buses are jam-packed with people around rush hour. Beijing's urban design layout further complicates the the situation of the transportation system.[17] Compounding the problem is patchy enforcement of traffic regulations, and road rage. Beijing authorities claim that traffic jams may be a thing of a past come the 2008 Olympics. The authorities have introduced several bus lanes where, during rush hour, all vehicles except for public buses must keep clear.

Chang'an Avenue runs east-west through the centre of Beijing, past Tian'anmen. It is a major through route and is often called the "First Street in China" by authorities.[18]

Air

Beijing's main airport is the Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) near Shunyi, which is about 20 km northeast of Beijing city centre. Most domestic and nearly all international flights arrive and depart at Capital Airport. Capital Airport is the main hub for Air China. It is linked to central Beijing by the Airport Expressway and is a roughly 40-minute drive from the city centre during good traffic hours. In preparation for the 2008 Olympics, another expressway is being built to the Airport, as well as a lightrail system.

Other airports in the city include Beijing Liangxiang Airport, Beijing Nanyuan Airport, Beijing Xijiao Airport, Beijing Shahe Airport and Beijing Badaling Airport. However, these are primarily for military use and less well-known to the public.

Inside a Beijing Subway station

Public transit

The evolving Beijing Subway has five lines (two above ground, three underground), with several more being built in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics. There were 599 bus and trolleybus routes in Beijing as of 2004. [3]

Beijing has simplified its bus fare system from Jan 1 2007 as follows:

Pay by cash -

Lines 1-199 (Mainly operated in inner city) 1 Yuan(USD$ 14 Cents,EUR 10 Cents) per single journey.

Lines 200-299 (Night services): 2 Yuan per journey.

Lines 300-899 (Mainly operated in outer city / suburb): 1 Yuan for the first 12 km and another 0.5 yuan for each additional 5 km.

Lines 900-999 (Mainly operated from city center to rural area): 1 Yuan per 10 km.

Pay by prepaid Yikatong smartcard -

Lines 1-499: 0.4 Yuan (USD$ 5 cents, EUR 4 Cents)per single journey.

Lines 500-899: 0.4 Yuan for the first 12 km and another 0.2 Yuan for each additional 5 km.

Lines 900-999: 0.8 Yuan per 10 km.

3-day, 7-day and 14-day bus passes are available for travellers.

Surcharges of air-conditioned buses have been cancelled.

Since October, Subway tickets cost only 2 Yuan. No matter where you get on and where you get down. There is no discount for smartcard users.

Taxis are nearly ubiquitous, including a large number of unregistered taxis. As of June 30 2006 all fares on legal taxis start at 10 Renminbi for the first 3 km (idling time is also a factor), and are 2.00 Renminbi per extra kilometer. Most taxis are a mixed fleet of new Hyundai Elantra and Sonata, Peugeot Citroen(older models) and Volkswagen Jetta cars(mostly older models). After 15 km, the base fare is increased by 50% (but only applied to the portion of the distance over 15 km, so that the passenger is not retroactively charged extra for the first 15 km). Between 11pm and 6am, the fee is increased by 20%, starting at 11 RMB and increasing at a rate of 2.4 RMB per km. Rides over 15 km and between 11pm and 6am apply both charges, for a total increase of 80% (120%*150%=180%).

Education

Main article: List of colleges and universities in Beijing

Beijing is home to a great number of colleges and universities, including several well-regarded universities of international stature. Particularly of note are China's two most prestigious institutions, Peking University, and Tsinghua University. Owing to Beijing's status as the political and cultural capital of China, a larger proportion of tertiary-level institutions are concentrated here than any other city in China, reaching at least 59 in number. Many international students from Japan, Korea, North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere come to Beijing to study every year. The institutions listed here are administered by China's Ministry of Education.

Media

Xinhua News Agency

Television and radio

Beijing Television (BTV) broadcasts on numbered channels 1 through 10. Unlike China Central Television (CCTV), there is at present no exclusive English-language TV channel on a citywide level in Beijing.

Three radio stations feature programmes in English: Hit FM on FM 88.7, Easy FM by China Radio International (CRI) on FM 91.5, and the newly launched Radio 774 on AM 774.

Other Beijing Radio Stations are listed as follows:

Beijing Radio Stations
Frequency/Internet Description
Xinwen - Internet Streaming News
Gudian - Internet Streaming Classical Music
Jingji - Internet Streaming City Management
Tongsu - Internet Streaming Popular Music
Jiaotong - Internet Streaming Traffic
Jiaoxue - Internet Streaming School Radio
Wenyi - Internet Streaming Chinese Literature Broadcast
Wuexueyingshi - Internet Streaming Chinese Movie Broadcast
Tiyu - Internet Streaming Sports Broadcast
Xiquzongyi - Internet Streaming Drama Broadcast
Yinyue - Internet Streaming/97.4 FM Music
Yazhouliuxing - Internet Streaming Asian Broadcast
Shenghuo - Internet Streaming Beijing City Life Broadcast
Qingyinyue - Internet Streaming Light Music Broadcast
Waiyu - Internet Streaming Foreign Broadcast
DAB - Internet Streaming DAB Broadcast
Qingmeng - Internet Streaming Blue Network Broadcast

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. According to author Mike Davis in his book Planet of Slums, which details urban population growth and the urban poor in developing nations, Beijing removed and relocated 350,000 persons for the construction of the stadium that will house the Olympics.

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.

City and regional partnerships

Beijing maintains partnerships or "sister city" status with the following international locations. (Note: some locations are provinces or regional-level units, not cities properly. Beijing itself is not technically a city, being a Chinese municipality).

See www.ebeijing.gov.cn

References

  1. ^ a b "Basic Information". Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Beijing". The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). 2007.
  3. ^ Coblin, W. South. "A Brief History of Mandarin." Journal of the American Oriental Society 120, no. 4 (2000): 537-52.
  4. ^ Rosenburg, Matt T. "Largest Cities Through History". About.com.
  5. ^ China Travel Service-Destination beijing tour beijing guide beijing travel beijing hotel beijing Air Ticket beijing tailor made tour
  6. ^ "Georgraphy & Climate". 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Travel Places. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  7. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Beijing, China". Weatherbase. 2007.
  8. ^ Macur, Juliet (January 24), "Olympic Teams Vying to Defeat Beijing's Smog", The New York Times {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  9. ^ Yardley, Jim (January 24), "Smoggy Beijing Plans to Cut Traffic by Half for Olympics, Paper Says", New York Times {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  10. ^ "Beijing petrol stations to close". BBC News. 2008-02-15. Retrieved 2008-02-15.
  11. ^ "China says it made rain to wash off sand". MSNBC. 2006-05-05.
  12. ^ "Beijing hit by eighth sandstorm". BBC News. 2006-04-17.
  13. ^ Weaver, Lisa Rose (2002-04-04). "More than a dust storm in a Chinese teacup". CNN. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  14. ^ Geohive
  15. ^ "Beijing's population exceeds 17.4 million". Xinhua News Agency. 2007-12-04.
  16. ^ Department of Population, Social, Science and Technology Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司) and Department of Economic Development of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China (国家民族事务委员会经济发展司), eds. Tabulation on Nationalities of 2000 Population Census of China (《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》). 2 vols. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House (民族出版社), 2003. (ISBN 7-105-05425-5)
  17. ^ "Beijingers spend lives on road as traffic congestion worsens". China Daily. Xinhua News Agency. 2003-10-06.
  18. ^ "Minzu Hotel Beijing". Sino Hotel Guide. Retrieved 2008-02-06.

See also

Books

  • Lillian M. Li, Alison J. Dray-Novey Haili Kong, Beijing : From Imperial Capital to Olympic City (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).
  • The Diaries of Sir Ernest Satow, British Envoy in Peking (1900-06) edited by Ian Ruxton in two volumes, Lulu Press Inc., April 2006 ISBN 1-4116-8804-X (Volume One); ISBN 1-4116-8805-8 (Volume Two).

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Preceded by Capital of China (as Dadu)
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Preceded by Capital of China
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Preceded by Capital of the People's Republic of China
1949-present 		Succeeded by
present capital

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