Beijing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- Peking is also the name of an asteroid, see 2045 Peking.
| Abbreviation: 京 (pinyin: Jīng) | |
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| Origin of name | 北 běi - north 京 jīng - capital "northern capital" |
| Administration type | Municipality |
| CPC Beijing Committee Secretary | Liu Qi 刘淇 |
| Mayor | Wang Qishan 王岐山 |
| Area | 16,808 km² (29th) |
| Population (2003) - Metropolitan area - Density |
14,560,000 (26th) approx. 7.5 million 866/km² (2nd) |
| GDP (2003) - per capita |
CNY 366.3 billion (15th) CNY 25200 (2nd) |
| The rankings given above are in comparison with other province-level administrative divisions. | |
| Major nationalities (2000) | Han - 96% Manchu - 2% Hui - 2% Mongol - 0.3% |
| City trees | Chinese arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis) Pagoda tree (Sophora japonica) |
| City flowers | Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) Chinese rose (Rosa chinensis) |
| County-level divisions | 18 |
| Township-level divisions {December 31, 2004) |
273 |
| Postal code | 100000 - 102600 |
| Area code | 10 |
| Licence plate prefixes | 京A, C, E, F, H, J |
| 京B (taxis) | |
| 京G (outside urban area) | |
| 京O (police and authorities) | |
| 京V (military headquarters) | |
| ISO 3166-2 | CN-11 |
| Official website: www.beijing.gov.cn (Simplified Chinese) www.ebeijing.gov.cn (English) |
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Beijing ▶(?) (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng; Wade-Giles: Pei-ching; Postal System Pinyin: Peking) is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Beijing is one of the four municipalities of the PRC, equivalent to a province 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 entering and leaving it in all directions. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China. Beijing is recognized as the political, educational, and cultural center of the PRC, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields.
Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
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Names
Beijing (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 Tonkin (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".
An older Western name for Beijing is Peking. The term originated with French missionaries four hundred years ago, and corresponds to an older, now obsolete pronunciation predating a subsequent sound change in Mandarin from [kʲ] to [tɕ]. ([tɕ] is represented in pinyin as j, as in Beijing.)
In China, the city has had many names. Between 1928 [1] and 1949, it was known as Peiping (北平, Pinyin: Beiping, Wade-Giles: Pei-p'ing), literally "Northern Peace". The name was changed—with the removal of the element meaning "capital" (jing or king, 京)—to reflect the fact that, with the Kuomintang government having established its capital in Nanking (pinyin: Nanjing), Peking was no longer the capital of China, and that the warlord government based in Peking was not legitimate.
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 for Beijing to be called Peiping on Taiwan 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 (Wade Giles: Yenching) 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 learner formerly located in Beijing. Beijing is also the Cambaluc (Khanbalik) described in Marco Polo's accounts.
(The history section below outlines other historical names of Beijing.)
History
There were cities in the vicinities of Beijing by the 1st millennium BC, and the capital of the State of Yan (燕), one of the powers of the Warring States Period, was established at Ji (T: 薊 / S: 蓟), near modern Beijing. Ji has often been claimed to be the beginning of Beijing; but in reality Ji had been abandoned no later than the 6th century. The exact location of Ji remains unknown despite much effort in recent decades to identify the site.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, only small towns existed in this area. Numerous ancient poets came here to mourn the lost city, as testified by their compositions.
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 the 10th century. 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), or "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 its own "Grand Capital", Dadu (大都, Wade-Giles: Ta-tu), to the north of the Jin capital in 1267, which was the true beginning of contemporary Beijing. This site is known as "Cambaluc" in Marco Polo's accounts. Apparently, Kublai Khan, who wanted to become a Chinese emperor, established his capital in Beijing instead of more traditional sites in central China because Beijing 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.
In 1403, the 3rd Ming emperor Zhu Di (朱棣) moved the Ming capital from Nanjing to Beijing (北京), or "Northern Capital", situated in the north. He also gave it its modern name. Beijing during the Ming Dynasty took its current shape, and the Ming-era city wall served as the walls to the city until modern times, when it was pulled down and the 2nd Ring Road was built in its place.
The Forbidden City was constructed soon after that (1406-1420), followed by the Temple of Heaven (1420), and numerous other construction projects. Tian'anmen, 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.
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 ROC, 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 ("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 July 29, 1937. During the occupation, the city was reverted to its former name, Beijing, and made the seat of the North China Executive Committee (T: 華北政務委員會 / S: 华北政务委员会), a puppet state that ruled Japanese-occupied North China. With Japan's surrender in World War II, on August 15, 1945, however, Beijing's name was changed back to Beiping.
On January 31, 1949, during the Chinese Civil War, Communist forces entered Beiping without a fight. On October 1 of the same year, the Communist Party of China, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, announced in Tian'anmen the creation of the People's Republic of China in Beijing. Just a few days earlier, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference decided that Beiping would be the capital of the PRC, and that its name 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, with most of the city wall still intact until the 1950s. 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.
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, 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.
As the national capital, Beijing has also been the site of political turmoil in recent years. Tiananmen Square, widely regarded as the spiritual center of China, was the site of first the Tiananmen Square protests of 1976 and then the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, which ended in a military crackdown. Tiananmen Square has also been the site of protests by Falun Gong.
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.
Beijing has been chosen to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, scheduled to August of the year 2008 an event that sparked nationalistic pride across China.
Geography and climate
- Main article: Geography of Beijing
Hills dominate the north, northwest and west of the municipality. 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. 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, which are part of the Haihe River system, and flow in a southerly direction. Beijing is also the northern terminus of the Grand Canal of China linking Beijing with Hangzhou, and the North Grand Canal flows in a similar southerly direction into the Haihe system. Miyun Reservoir, found 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″ North, 116°23′29″ East (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, current 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 harsh, characterized by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and cold, windy, dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Average temperatures in January are at around -7 to -4 °C, while average temperatures in July are at 25 to 26 °C. Annual precipitation is over 600 mm, with 75% of that in summer. [2]
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. Efforts have been made of late to clean up Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Astronomical phenomena
The previous total solar eclipse can be seen from the center of Beijing (39°54.4′ N 116°23.5′ E) was solar eclipse of 1277-Oct-28 occurred on October 28, 1277. But Beijing was Dadu, the capital of Yuan Dynasty then, where the urban area of the city was some northeast to the present city center. Beside this one, there were also some much recently total and annular solar eclipses can be seen from other parts of the municipality, they are:
- Solar eclipse of 1005-Jan-13 (total, but the totality cannot be seen from the center of the city)
- Solar eclipse of 1021-Aug-11 (total, but the totality cannot be seen from the center of the city)
- Solar eclipse of 1189-Feb-17 (annular, the annularity can be seen from the urban area)
- Solar eclipse of 1277-Oct-28 (total, the totality can be seen from the urban area)
- Solar eclipse of 1292-Jan-21 (annular, the annularity can be seen from the urban area)
- Solar eclipse of 1521-Apr-07 (total, but the totality can be seen only from the far north of the municipality)
- Solar eclipse of 1561-Feb-14 (annular, the annularity can be seen from the urban area)
- Solar eclipse of 1665-Jan-16 (annular, the annularity can be seen from the urban area)
- Solar eclipse of 1666-Jul-02 (total, but the totality can be seen only from very limited area in the southwest of the municipality)
- Solar eclipse of 1697-Apr-21 (total, but the totality can be seen only from the northwest of the municipality)
- Solar eclipse of 1760-Jun-13 (total, but the totality can be seen only from very southwest of Fangshan District)
- Solar eclipse of 1802-Aug-28 (annular, the annularity can be seen from the urban area)
While the next total solar eclipse can be seen from Beijing will be the solar eclipse of 2035-Sep-02 occurs on September 2, 2035, which can be seen from almost the whole municipality except some far north and far south area.
Wikisource has an article about partial, total and annular solar eclipses can be seen from Beijing from 2001 to 3000. [3]
City layout
Neighbourhoods
Linguistic note: Men (门) means "gate", while cun (村) literally means "village". Major neighbourhoods in urban Beijing include the following. Neighborhoods may overlap across multiple districts (see below):
- Andingmen 安定门
- Beiyuan 北苑
- Chaoyangmen 朝阳门
- Dongzhimen 东直门
- Fangzhuang 方庄
- Fuchengmen 阜成门
- Fuxingmen 复兴门
- Guomao 国贸
- Hepingli 和平里
- Wangjing 望京
- Wangfujing 王府井
- Wudaokou 五道口
- Xidan 西单
- Yayuncun 亚运村
- Zhongguancun 中关村
Towns
Towns within Beijing Municipality but outside the urban area include:
Administrative divisions
Beijing Municipality currently 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 8 districts:
- Dongcheng District (东城区: Dōngchéng Qū)
- Xicheng District (西城区: Xīchéng Qū)
- Chongwen District (崇文区: Chóngwén Qū)
- Xuanwu District (宣武区: Xuānwǔ Qū)
- Chaoyang District (朝阳区: Cháoyáng Qū)
- Haidian District (海淀区: Hǎidiàn Qū)
- Fengtai District (丰台区: Fēngtái Qū)
- Shijingshan District (石景山区: Shíjǐngshān Qū)
The other 8 districts are located further out, and govern more distant suburbs, satellite towns, and some rural areas:
- Mentougou District (门头沟区: Méntóugōu Qū)
- Fangshan District (房山区: Fángshān Qū) — Fangshan County until 1986
- Tongzhou District (通州区: Tōngzhōu Qū) — Tong County until 1997
- Shunyi District (顺义区: Shùnyì Qū) — Shunyi County until 1998
- Changping District (昌平区: Chāngpíng Qū) — Changping County until 1999
- Daxing District (大兴区: Dàxīng Qū) — Daxing County until 2001
- Pinggu District (平谷区: Pínggǔ Qū) — Pinggu County until 2001
- Huairou District (怀柔区: Huáiróu Qū) — Huairou County until 2001
- Miyun County (密云县: Mìyún Xiàn)
- Yanqing County (延庆县: Yánqìng Xiàn)
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.
Economy
The 2 counties of Beijing govern very distant towns and rural areas: In 2004 Beijing's total gross domestic product was 428.3 billion RMB, a real increase of 13.2% from the previous year. The tertiary sector of industry was the most productive sector of Beijing's economy, contributing 60% of its GDP. Urban disposable income per capita was 15637.8 RMB, a real increase of 11.5% from the previous year. Rural pure income per capita was 7172 RMB, a real increase of 9.2% from the previous year. [4]
Beijing's real estate and automobile sectors continue to boom in recent years. In 2004 a total of 24.72 million square metres of housing real estate was sold, for a total of 108.51 billion RMB. The total number of automobiles registered in Beijing in 2004 was 1,871,000, of which 1,298,000 were privately-owned. 447,000 new and old automobiles had been sold in Beijing in the previous year. [5]
The Beijing CBD, centered 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 malls, and high-end housing. The Beijing Financial Street, in the Fuxingmen and Fuchengmen area, is a traditional financial center. The Wangfujing and Xidan areas are major shopping districts. Zhongguancun, dubbed "China's Silicon Valley", continues to be a major center 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 center in pharmaceuticals, IT, and materials engineering. [6] Urban Beijing is also known for being a center 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.
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.
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.
 The ancient Beijing skyline. |
 The boxy look of buildings made in the 1970s. |
 The very modern contrast. |
 Details of traditional architecture. |
 A mix of 70s and 90s styles. |
 Mix and match the old and the new. |
A bizarre and striking mix of both old and new styles of architecture can be seen at the Dashanzi Art District, 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.
Demographics
The population of Beijing Municipality, defined as the total number of people who reside in Beijing for 6 months or more per year, was 14.927 million in 2004. 11.872 million people were urban, which includes residents in the Beijing urban area and surrounding towns, and the remainder were rural. [7] 11.629 million people in Beijing had Beijing hukou (permanent residence) and the remainder were on temporary residence permits. [8] In addition, there is a large but unknown number of migrant workers (min gong) who live illegally in Beijing without any official residence permit (also termed hei ren 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. Smaller populations consisting of members of the Manchu, Hui, and Mongol ethnic groups also call the city home. In recent years there has been an influx of South Korean expatriates, who live in Beijing predominantly for business and study, and are concentrated in the Wangjing and Wudaokou areas. 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 or expatriate community exists in Beijing, mostly attracted by the highly growing foreign business and trade sector, and many members live in the Beijing urban area's densely populated northern, northeastern and eastern sections. The southwest and southern parts of the Beijing urban area are less densely populated.
| Ethnic groups in Beijing, 2000 census | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Population | Percentage1 |
| 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% |
2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料，民族出版社，2003/9 (ISBN 7105054255)
Includes only citizens of the PRC. Does not include members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.
Culture
People native to urban Beijing speak the Beijing dialect, which belongs to the Mandarin subdivision of spoken Chinese. Beijing dialect provides the basis for Standard Mandarin, the standard Chinese 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), 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. As a result, modern theaters often have electronic titles in Chinese and English.
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, with the objective that by the 2008 Olympics, only these few will remain. 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 very 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 Jingtailan is a cloisonné metalworking technique and tradition originating from Beijing, and 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.
Stereotypes
Beijingers are stereotypically held to be open, confident, humorous, majestic in manner, enthusiastic about politics, art, culture, or other "grand" matters, unconcerned with thrift or careful calculation, and happy to take center stage. They are however also stereotypically aristocratic, arrogant, laid back, blindly nationalistic, disdainful of "provincials", always "lording it over others", and strongly conscious of social class. These stereotypes may have originated from Beijing's status as China's capital for most of the past 800 years, and the high concentration of officials and other notables in Beijing that has resulted.
Transportation
- Main article: Transportation of 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. Five other railway stations in Metropolitan Beijing handle regular passenger traffic: Beijing East, Beijing North, Beijing South, Fengtai, and Guang'anmen.
Beijing is a railway hub. There are railway lines from Beijing to Guangzhou, Shanghai, Harbin, Baotou, Taiyuan, Chengde and Qinhuangdao.
International trains, including lines to cities in Russia and Pyongyang, North Korea (DPRK), all run through Beijing. Direct trains to Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR also depart from 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.
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 was poorly designed in terms of zoning and in terms of transportation system [9], [10]. 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.
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 Liangxiang Airport, Nanyuan Airport, Xijiao Airport, Shahe Airport and Badaling Airport. However, these are primary for military use and less well-known to the public.
Public transit
The evolving Beijing Subway has four lines (two above ground, two 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. [11] Taxis are nearly ubiquitous, and some can accept Yikatong cards for payment.
Buses and trolleybus fares cost 1 Renminbi for shorter trips, and more for longer trips. Subway tickets range from 2 to 5 Renminbi. Taxi fares depend on vehicle type: these start at 10 Renminbi for the first 3 to 4 kilometers, and go up by 1.20, 1.60, 2.00, or 2.50 Renminbi per extra kilometer, depending on the type of taxi. Some, too, can accept Yikatong cards for payment.
Tourism
- Main article: Tourist attractions of Beijing
Despite the turmoil of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—including damage caused by European military intervention, the Japanese invasion of WWII and the Cultural Revolution—and the recent intense urbanisation and transformation, including the demolition of hutongs, Beijing still maintains tourist attractions that are rich in history.
Although more known for its political significance in the West, Tian'anmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) remains the spiritual center of China and one of the most important tourist sites of Beijing, both by itself and as the main entrance to the Forbidden City. Other world-renowned sites include the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven.
Buildings, Monuments, and Landmarks
- Sections of the Great Wall (World Heritage Site) at:
- Forbidden City (World Heritage Site)
- Tiananmen Square, site of the Tiananmen Square protests of May 4, 1919, 1976, and 1989
- Tiananmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace)
- Great Hall of the People (National Legislature)
- The National Museum of China
- Monument to the People's Heroes
- Mausoleum of Mao Zedong
- The Summer Palace (World Heritage Site)
- Ruins of the Old Summer Palace
- Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian (World Heritage Site)
- The Ming Dynasty Tombs (World Heritage Site)
- Bell Tower and Drum Tower
- Historic Hutongs and Siheyuans in many older neighborhoods
- Lugou Bridge (Marco Polo Bridge)
- Prince Gong Mansion (Gong Wang Fu)
- Zheng Yici Peking Opera Theatre
- Liulichang Culture Street
- Beijing Ancient Observatory
Temples, Cathedrals, and Mosques
- Temple of Heaven (World Heritage Site), situated in the southern area of urban Beijing
- Temple of Earth, located in northern Beijing
- Temple of Sun, situated in the eastern area of urban Beijing
- Temple of Moon, located in western Beijing
- Tanzhe Temple
- Jietai Temple
- Yunju Temple
- Yonghegong (Lama Temple)
- Guangji Temple
- Confucius Temple
- Great Bell Temple
- Five Pagoda Temple
- Temple of Azure Clouds
- Temple of Recumbent Buddha
- White Dagoba Temple in Beihai Park
- Badachu
- Immaculate Conception Cathedral
- Holy Saviour Church
- Niujie Mosque
Parks and Gardens
- Beihai Park
- Shichahai
- Jingshan Park
- Beijing World Park
- The Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan)
- The Grandview Garden (Daguanyuan)
- Beijing Botanical Garden
- Taoranting Park
Shopping and Commercial Districts
- Wangfujing: Beijing's most upscale, globalized shopping district
- Xidan
- Beijing CBD
- Beijing Financial Street
- Zhongguancun
- Yizhuang
see also: Jin Yuan Mall
Hotels and lodging
In first two decades following the PRC's foundation in 1949, Beijing had virtually no hotels (at least by Western standards), due to economic and social conditions at the time. One system of institution providing a place for individuals traveling to Beijing from other locations to spend the night was the zhaodaisuo (literally, "accommodation centre"). Zhaodaisuo were subordinate to state organisations or state organs. Older ones had communal public conveniences and amenities. Some zhaodaisuos still remain in use today.
In the late 1970s, Beijing, alongside much of China during the period of reform and economic opening under Deng Xiaoping, saw greater attempts at attracting and catering to international business. A large number of hotels and other facilities to accommodate business, tourist, and other visitors began to be constructed. Today, given Beijing's size and status as one of the most frequently visited and economically, politically, and culturally important cities in Asia, a great number of hotels exist, many rivalling the highest international standards.
The most well-known hotel is the Beijing Hotel, which is state-owned. Other notable hotels are the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel, the Jianguo Hotel, the China World Hotel, the St. Regis, Grand Hyatt at Oriental Plaza and the Peninsula Palace Hotel, operated by the Hong Kong-based Peninsula Group.
Youth hostels do exist are few in number. There is one near the centre of Beijing, where accommodations are located four floors below ground level.
Nightlife
Nightlife in Beijing is varied. Most clubs are situated in the area around Sanlitun or in the region near the Workers Stadium, especially to the north and to the west. New clubs opened on Gongrentiyuchang West Road.
Wudaokou, in northwestern Beijing, is also a bustling center of nightlife. There are more Koreans and other foreigners, mostly students, in the area.
Bar-wise, the following areas of Beijing are known as hubs for bars which open until late:
Education
- Main article: Colleges and Universities of Beijing
Beijing is home to an extensive number of colleges and universities, including several well-regarded universities of international stature, especially including China's two most prestigious institutions, Peking University ("Beida") and Tsinghua University. Other well known institutions, domestically and internationally, include Beijing Normal University and Renmin University of China.
Owing to Beijing's status as the political and cultural capital of China, a larger proportion of tertiary-level institutions are concreated here than probably 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, a growing trend, especially among Western students. The institutions listed here are administered by China's Ministry of Education.
Best-known institutions:
- Tsinghua University (清华大学) (founded 1911), typically considered one of the two best academic institutions in China along with Peking Univeristy
- Peking University (北京大学) (founded 1898), typically considered one of the two best academic institutions in China along with Tsinghua Univeristy
- Renmin University of China (中国人民大学)
- Beijing Normal University (北京师范大学) (founded 1902)
- Beijing Foreign Studies University (北京外国语大学)
Other institutions include:
- Beijing Language and Culture University (北京语言大学)
- Beijing Forestry University (北京林业大学)
- Beijing Institute of Technology (北京理工大学)
- Beijing Jiaotong University (北京交通大学)
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology (北京化工大学)
- Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (北京中医药大学)
- Beijing University of Petroleum (石油大学)
- Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (北京邮电大学)
- Central University of Finance and Economics (中央财经大学)
- China Agricultural University (中国农业大学)
- China University of Political Science and Law (中国政法大学)
- Communication University of China (中国传媒大学)
- Beijing University Health Science Center (formally Beijing Medical University) (北京大学医学部, 原北京医科大学)
- University of International Business and Economics (对外经济贸易大学)
- University of International Relations (国际关系学院)
- University of Science and Technology Beijing (北京科技大学)
- Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (北京航空航天大学)
- Beijing University of Technology (北京工业大学)
Arts-related institutions:
- Central Academy of Drama (中央戏剧学院)
- Central Conservatory of Music (中央音乐学院)
- Central Institute of Fine Arts (中央美术学院)
- Beijing Film Academy (北京电影学院)
Media
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.
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.
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:
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, as Beijing itself is not properly a city (being a municipality).
| City | Country | Sister City since: |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | Japan | March 14, 1979 |
| New York City | USA | February 25, 1980 |
| Belgrade | Serbia and Montenegro | October 14, 1980 |
| Lima | Peru | November 21, 1983 |
| Washington, D.C. | USA | May 15, 1984 |
| Madrid | Spain | September 16, 1985 |
| Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | November 24, 1986 |
| Île-de-France[12] | France | July 2, 1987 |
| Cologne | Germany | September 14, 1987 |
| Ankara | Turkey | June 20, 1990 |
| Cairo | Egypt | October 28, 1990 |
| Islamabad | Pakistan | October 8, 1992 |
| Jakarta | Indonesia | October 8, 1992 |
| Bangkok | Thailand | May 26, 1993 |
| Buenos Aires | Argentina | July 13, 1993 |
| Seoul | South Korea | October 23, 1993 |
| Kiev | Ukraine | December 13, 1993 |
| Berlin | Germany | April 5, 1994 |
| Brussels | Belgium | September 22, 1994 |
| Hanoi | Vietnam | October 6, 1994 |
| Amsterdam | Netherlands | October 29, 1994 |
| Moscow | Russia | May 16, 1995 |
| Paris | France | October 23, 1997 |
| Rome | Italy | May 28, 1998 |
| Gauteng[13] | South Africa | December 6, 1998 |
| Ottawa | Canada | October 18, 1999 |
| Canberra | Australia | September 14, 2000 |
1: ^ A région of France
2: ^ A province of South Africa
- Source: www.ebeijing.gov.cn
See also
External links
- Official site (English version)
- Official 2008 Summer Olympics Website (English)
- Beijing Map - full size, 1560*1547 pixels, 645kb)
- Large map of Beijing region
- Beijing The Virtual City (under construction)
- Beijing Weather Forecast
- gou-rou.com Beijing satire
- Human Rights in China and the Beijing 2008 Olympics - OlympicWatch.org
Travel & Tourism
- Photos of Beijing
- Beijing Travel Informations
- My Beijing travel Guide
- Peking.org - Peking Tourist Attractions, Photos and History
- The Beijing Guide
- Bruce Ma's Beijing Tour [14], pictures
- Beijing tours
- Beijing Travel Service
- Beijing Travel
- Beijinglives.com Information about tourism in Beijing
Images of Beijing
- Interactive Satellite view of the city
- Pictures of Beijing
- Satellite image of Beijing at NASA Earth Observatory
- Pictures of: Liulichang, Quianmen and Panjiayuan, Tian'anmen, Wangfujing, Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Temple of Heaven
- Flickr: Photos tagged with beijing, photos likely of Beijing
Wiki project links
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