Beijing is the capital of the People’s
Republic of China
and it is
China’s
political and cultural center. It covers
an area of 16,808 square kilometres and
has a population of over 11 million,
among which urban dwellers amount to
73.1 percent.
Beijing is located on the west coast of
the Pacific, stands at the northern tip
of the North China plain. It is situated
at 39.6’ north latitude and 116.0’ east
longitude, with the Shanxi and Inner
Mongolian plateaus to the west and
northwest, and with Bohai Sea to the
east.
Beijing is surrounded by the Yanshan
Mountains on the west, north
and east while the small alluvial plain
of the Yongding River lies to its
southeast. Beijing stands on his terrain
and faces the Bohai Sea, which is also
called the Beijing Bay.
In China, Beijing is one of the four
municipalities directly under the
central government, and it is divided
into 12 districts and 6 counties.
Beijing enjoys a moderate continental
climate. The average yearly rainfall is
about 600 to 700 millimetres. Much of it
falls in the late June, July and August.
Spring in Beijing is dry and dusty,
summer rainy, winter long, sunny and
dry. The best season to visit Beijing,
as many other parts of China,
is autumn.
Archaeological discovery has shown that
Beijing is a cradle of the Chinese
nation. It is here that the "Peking Man"
-- an ancestor of the ancient Chinese
nation -- multiplied about half a
million years ago. About 3,000 years
ago, Beijing became
an important town in North China. In the
11th century B.C., a northern kingdom
called Yan established its capital in
Beijing, which was then known as "Yanjing".
Later, the Kin, Yuan, Ming and Qing
Dynasties (1115-1911) all made Beijing
their capital, so that it served as
China’s political center for 700 years.
Construction during various feudal
dynasties has left Beijing a host of
historical and cultural relics, imperial
palaces and gardens, imperial
residences, temples, pavilions, archways
and stone carvings. These, unique in the
world, have earned Beijing the name of a
historical and cultural treasure house.
Since New China was founded in 1949,
Beijing has undergone new changes and
become a modern city. |