Beijing
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North China (华北) » Beijing (北京) » Beijing (北京)
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[edit] Overview
Beijing (北京) is the capital of China. It is China's political, cultural, scientific and educational center, and also a major transportation hub with major highways, railways passing through the city. Beijing is one of the four great ancient capitals of China, and is well known for its treasured historical heritage and cultural relics. In the last decade, Beijing has been under a construction boom with such new buildings as the Grand Opera House (the egg) and the Olympic Stadium, where Beijing will host the 2008 Summer Olympics' grand ceremony.
Beijing is the second largest city in China with a population of 16 million (by Jan. 1, 2008). The average temperature is 8-12°C. The land area is 16,807.8 square kilometers. There are 37 competition venues and 59 training venues for the Olympic Games. Beijing boasts over 8 million of bicycles.
[edit] History
Beijing was first established more than 3,000 years ago. It used to be the capital city of several ancient dynasties for over 800 years.
Beijing literally means Northern Capital, a role it has played many times in China's long history. Beijing's history dates back several thousands of years and it became notable in Chinese history after it was made the capital of the State of Yan, one of the major kingdoms of the Warring States Period in Chinese history 2,000 years ago; it was known as Yanjing. After the fall of Yan, during the later Han and Tang dynasties, the area was a major prefectures of northern China.
In 938, Beijing was conquered by the Khitans and was established as the capital of the Liao Dynasty. The city was later taken over by the Mongols in 1215 and from 1264 Beijing served as the capital of a united China let by Kublai Khan's victorious Mongol forces who had set up a capital named the Great Capital to rule their new empire, from a northern location closer to the Mongol homelands. During this period, the walled city was enlarged and palaces and temples were built within the wall.
After the fall of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in 1368, the capital was moved back to Nanjing, 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 in this period. The captial developed into a huge city becomming the religious and cultural centre of Asia.
In the 17th century, the Ming dynasty declined and was overthrowned by the Manchus who established the Qing dynasty in 1644. Despite the changing political climate, Beijing remained the capital into the Qing era, and the Manchus imperial family moved into the Imperial City in the heart of the city. During the Qing Dynasty, both the Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace were built, serving as summer retreat for the Qing emperors. During the 19th century, Western countries established foreign legations, which came to an end during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.
The Qing dynasty fell in 1911. In the chaos in the first years of Republican China, Beijing was beset by fighting warlords. The Kuomintang thus moved the capital to Nanjing again in 1928, renaming Beijing as Beiping ("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. --- from wikitravel.org
[edit] Geography
Beijing is located between 115° 20' - 117° 32' east longitude and 39°23'-41°05' north latitude in North China (华北).
[edit] Video
| Beijing Olympics |
Get the Flash Player to see this player. |
| The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games emblem Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing is filled with Beijing's hospitality and hopes, and carries the city's commitment to the world. |
[edit] Map
Click here to open Beijing map.
Click on the below thumbnail map to open Beijing Subway Map.
- Line 1 (in red) runs from Pingguoyuan at the western suburb to Sihui at the eastern suburb through the heart of the city, Tiananmen Square.
- Line 2 (in dark blue) goes along the city wall surrounding the inner city.
- Line 5 (in purple) goes in a straight north-south line just east of the city center.
- Line 10 (in light blue) with a shape of an inverted "L" runs from Jinsong to Bagou passing south of the Olympic Green, the embassy district and Beijing CBD.
- Line 8 (in green) extends straight north off Line 10 with three stops in the Olympic Green.
- Line 13 (in yellow) circles the city's northern suburbs connecting with line 2 at Xizhimen and Dongzhimen.
- Line Batong (in red) extends line further east to more distant suburbs in Tongzhou District.
- The Airport Line goes to Beijing Capital International Airport in the northeast suburb, intersecting Line 2, Line 10, and Line 13.
[edit] Weather
Beijing has continental monsoon climate with four distinct seasons marked with a temperate spring (often with sandstorms), a rainy summer, a sunny mild fall, and a cold, dry winter. The yearly average temperature is 50-54ºF (or 10-12ºC). The coldest time is in January and the hottest is in July.
Current Conditions (2010-09-03 20:00:00, local time)
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Beijing |
Temp: 76°F (24°C) |
Beijing Weather Forecast
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| Weather averages for Beijing, China | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Avg high °C (°F) | 1 (34) | 3 (37) | 11 (52) | 19 (66) | 25 (77) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 25 (77) | 18 (64) | 9 (48) | 2 (36) | |
| Avg low °C (°F) | -8 (18) | -5 (23) | 0 (32) | 8 (46) | 13 (55) | 18 (64) | 22 (72) | 20 (68) | 15 (59) | 8 (46) | 0 (32) | -5 (23) | |
| Rain mm (inches) | 5.1 (0.2) | 5.1 (0.2) | 7.6 (0.3) | 17.8 (0.7) | 33 (1.3) | 78.7 (3.1) | 223.5 (8.8) | 170.2 (6.7) | 58.4 (2.3) | 17.8 (0.7) | 10.2 (0.4) | 2.5 (0.1) | |
| Source: weatherbase Feb 2007 | |||||||||||||
The best time to visit Beijing is the clear and sunny fall when visitors can enjoy the colors in Xiangshan. Although winter is snowy and cold and not the most popular tourist season, visitors can skate on the Beihai lake, watch the snow on the West Hills, or enjoy the festivals held in many temples. May is also a good season to visit Beijing, as there are a number of international-level performances staged at this time.
[edit] Subdivisions
The city is divided into 13 districts and five counties.
[edit] Other Places
[edit] Attractions
- Imperial Palace-Forbidden City (Gugong, 故宫)
- Summer Palace (Yiheyuan, 颐和园)
- North Lake Park (Beihai Gongyuan, 北海公园)
- Temple of Heaven (Tiantan, 天坛)
- Kung Fu - Live Theater 800m East of Temple of Heaven East Gate(Chongwen, 崇文区)
- Thirteen Ming Tombs (Ming Shisanling, 明十三陵)
- Temple of the Great Bell (Dazhong Si, 大钟寺)
- Beijng Zoo (Dongwuyuang, 北京动物园)
- Lama Temple (Yonghe Gong, 雍和宫)
- Fragrant Mountain (Xiangshan, 香山)
- Bell Tower (钟楼)
- Central Broadcasting and TV Tower (中央广播电视塔)
- Fangshan Xianqi Cave Scenic Area (房山仙栖洞景区)
- Silver Fox Scenic Area at Fangshan District (房山区银狐洞风景区)
- Songshan Forest Tour Area (松山森林旅游区)
- Shangfang Mountain National Forest Park (上方山国家森林公园)
- Yanqing Kangxi Grassland (延庆康西草原)
- Beijing Golf Country Club (北京乡村高尔夫俱乐部)
- Chunhui Spa Resort (春晖温泉度假村)
- Guyaju Scenic Area (古崖居风景名胜旅游中心)
- Badaling Residual Great Wall Natural Scenic Area (八达岭残长城自然风景区)
» search more Beijing attractions...
[edit] Culture
[edit] Language
Beijing locals speak the Beijing dialect, which is the basis of Standard Mandarin, the standard official Chinese spoken language used in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore. The Beijing dialect and Standard Mandarin are very similar to each other with a few notable differences. Beijing dialect uses extensively the rhotic vowels (or 儿) and many slang, such as 劳驾 (excuse me), 搓火儿 (to be angry), 抠门儿 (stingy).
[edit] Cuisine
Beijing is well known for such grain-based foods as noodles, pancakes, dumplings, steamed breads, and stuffed buns. Baozi and jiaozi (dumplings filled with meat or vegetables) are made with a variety of fillings seasoned with sesame oil and white pepper. Among the famous Beijing food are Beijing Roast Duck (北京烤鸭) (glazed and roasted duck thinly sliced and wrapped in pancakes together with scallions), Mongolian Hot pot (涮羊肉).
See The North (北方菜) for more details.
[edit] Music
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Beijing Opera (or Peking Opera) (京剧) is widely regarded as the highest expression of the Chinese culture. It has deeply influenced many generations of the Chinese people.
However, Beijing Opera has been losing its audiences due to its out-of-date styles, the threat from other entertainments, the lack of historical and theatrical knowledge of the young people.
[edit] Notables
[edit] Ethnic Groups
Beijing boasts all of China's 56 ethnic groups in its permanent residents. The Han nationality takes up 96.5% of the total. The other 55 ethnic minorities accounts for a population of more than 300,000, most of them are from Manchu, Hui, and Mongolian nationalities.
The Manchu group is known as the Jurchen tribe from the Tang Dynasty. They conquered the Great Wall in 1644 and overthrew the ruling Ming Dynasty, and established the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the establishment of the Republic in 1911.
The Hui group is the second largest ethnic minority in Beijing (The majority of the group lives in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region). This group is descended from the Arabic and Persian merchants who came to China during the 7th century. Most of the Hui people are Muslims.
The Mongolian (also called Mongols) ethnic minority can also be found in Beijing, although they have a much smaller population than both Manchu and Hui groups. This ethnic minority is known for its brave, open and uninhibited nature, and is sometimes called as 'an ethnic minority on the horseback'.
In recent years, a sizable international community exists in Beijing. Many live in the Beijing urban area's densely populated northern, northeastern and eastern sections.
[edit] Colleges and Universities
Besides Peking University (北京大学) and Tsinghua University (清华大学), China's two most prestigious institutions, Beijing is also home to 57 other colleges and universities. A growing trend among international students, especially among Western students, is to study in Beijing.
[edit] Area and Postal Codes
| City | Area Code | Postal Code | City | Area Code | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dongcheng (东城区) | 10 | 100000 | Xicheng (西城区) | 10 | 100000 | |
| Chongwen (崇文区) | 10 | 100000 | Xuanwu (宣武区) | 10 | 100000 | |
| Chaoyang (朝阳区) | 10 | 100000 | Fengtai (丰台区) | 10 | 100000 | |
| Shijingshan (石景山区) | 10 | 100000 | Haidian (海淀区) | 10 | 100000 | |
| Mentougou (门头沟区) | 10 | 102300 | Fangshan (房山区) | 10 | 102400 | |
| Tongzhou (通州区) | 10 | 101100 | Shunyi (顺义区) | 10 | 101300 | |
| Changping (昌平区) | 10 | 102200 | Daxing (大兴区) | 10 | 102600 | |
| Huairou (怀柔区) | 10 | 101400 | Pinggu (平谷区) | 10 | 101200 | |
| MiyunCounty (密云县) | 10 | 101500 | Yanqing (延庆县) | 10 | 102100 |
