Beijing

From ChinaTravelGuide

Jump to: navigation, search

Bookmark: Add to diggAdd to Del.icio.usPost to googleAdd to Stumble UponPost to facebookPost to yahooAdd to redditAdd to Fark

North China (华北) » Beijing (北京) » Beijing (北京)

Contents

Beijing
Beijing

[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.

[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] Map

Click here to open Beijing map.

Click on the below thumbnail map to open Beijing Subway Map.

Beijing Subway Map
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 (2008-10-10 16:50:30, local time)

Beijing
Clear

Clear

Temp: 52°F (11°C)
Wind: N at 1 mph
Humidity: 58%

 Beijing Weather Forecast

Today
Partly Sunny
Partly Sunny

68/48°F

Sunday
Clear
Clear

73/51°F

Monday
Mostly Sunny
Mostly Sunny

73/53°F

Tuesday
Clear
Clear

77/57°F

Weather Forecast

Weather averages for Beijing, China
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average 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)
Average 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.

Changping (昌平) Chaoyang (朝阳) Chongwen (崇文) Daxing (大兴)
Dongcheng (东城) Fangshan (房山) Fengtai (丰台) Haidian (海淀)
Huairou (怀柔) Mentougou (门头沟) Miyun County (密云县) Pinggu (平谷)
Shijingshan (石景山) Shunyi (顺义) Tongzhou (通州) Wangfujing (王府井)
Xicheng (西城) Xuanwu (宣武) Yanqing (延庆)

[edit] Other Places

[edit] Attractions

» 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

Photos
National Grand Theater
National Grand Theater
National Grand Theater from south
National Grand Theater from south
A view of National Grand Theater from southwest
A view of National Grand Theater from southwest
A view of National Grand Theater from southeast
A view of National Grand Theater from southeast

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

Area Code and Postal Code – Beijing (北京)
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

[edit] Tips & Practical Info

[edit] See also

Provinces and Cities

Wikipedia:Beijing

Personal tools
In other languages