Beijing, Hebei Province, People's Republic of China, Asia
Founded: c. 723 B.C.; First Known as Beijing: 1421
Location: North China Plain
Time Zone: 8 PM Chinese time=noon Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Ethnic Composition: Han, 96.2%
Elevation: 30–40 m (100–130 ft)
Latitude and Longitude: 39°55'N, 166°25'E
Climate : Continental monsoon climate in a temperate zone, with long winters and hot, rainy summers
Annual Mean Temperature: 12°C (53°F); January–4°C (24°F); July 26°C (79°F)
Average Annual Precipitation: 635 mm (25 in)
Government: Centrally administered by the national government
Weights and Measures: Metric system, with some use of traditional Chinese units
Monetary Units: Yuan (also called kuai); Monetary system called Renminbi ("people's currency") (abbreviation: Rmb)
Telephone Area Codes: 10 (Beijing area code); 86 (China country code)
Beijing is situated in the southern part of the North China Plain, with the Taihang and Yanshan mountains to the north and west and a flat plain to the southeast, leading to the Bohai Sea, where the five rivers that run through the city come together and empty out. About two-thirds of the city's total land area is hilly.
Highways radiate outward in all directions from Beijing: northeast to Chengdo; eastward to Tangshan; southeast to Tanggu and Tianjin; southward to Hengshui, Baoding, and Shijiazhuang; southwest to Laiyuan; and northwest to Zhangliahou.
Trains are the most commonly used mode of passenger transportation in China, and Beijing is the nation's rail hub, serving as the terminus for many rail lines. Service is provided between Beijing and all Chinese provinces except Tibet. Beijing has four main train stations, of which the largest is the recently built West station in the southwest part of the city. Nearly every city in China, as well as many towns, can be reached from Beijing by train.
Long-distance bus service is used primarily to travel between Beijing and its suburbs, or to nearby cities. However, some bus lines travel as far as Shanghai or Qungdao.
Beijing Capital Airport, located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of the central city, is China's major international airport. Its domestic and international terminals are located in the same building, with a new international terminal under construction. Scheduled flights connect Beijing with Shanghai, Canton, and all other major Chinese cities and tourist sites. There are direct flights to many international capitals, including New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and Berlin. Nanyuan Airport, south of Beijing, is used for domestic flights.
Population: 6–8 million
Area: 750 sq km (290 sq mi)
Nicknames: The Celestial City, The Northern Capital, The Center of the World
Description: Beijing Administrative Zone, which includes the city and its outskirt
Area: 16,800 sq km (6,486 sq mi)
World population rank1: 12
Percentage of national population2: 0.9%
Average yearly growth rate: 1.3%
Ethnic composition: 96.2% Han; 3.8% Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, and 52 other groups
Buses are the most popular means of transportation in Beijing. The city has over 200 bus and trolley routes, and the buses are always packed. They run every five to ten minutes, from 5:00 or 5:30 in the morning until 10:00 or 11:00 at night. Tickets, which are inexpensive, are purchased after the passenger has boarded the bus, and the fare varies according to the distance traveled. Minibuses are also available, primarily for traveling to tourist attractions or railway stations.
Beijing has two subway lines, the east-west First Line, which runs from the western suburb of Xidan to the center of the city (and is slated to be extended to the eastern suburbs), and the Circle Line, which follows a circular route that corresponds to the former location of Beijing's original city walls. The subway is faster and less crowded than the bus lines but does not travel to all spots in the city.
Taxicabs have become increasingly popular in the past decade, and it is now easy to hail one of the many cabs that cruise the city streets and offer a convenient but relatively inexpensive alternative to the bus or subway.
Organized tours are offered by China's tourism agencies, of which the two major ones are the China International Travel Service (CITS) and the China Travel Service (CTS). CITS offers a variety of "Dragon Tours," which include such attractions as the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Beijing Zoo, and rickshaw rides.
Beijing Centre for Planning, ""Beijing Window." [Online] Available http://www.china.org.cn/AcrossCountry/Beijing_w/beijing/indexe.htm (accessed April 14, 2000).
China Travel System [Online] Available http://www.beijing.chinats.com (accessed December 30, 1999).
Excite Travel, "Destination: China." [Online] Available http://www.excite.cm/travel/countries/china/beijing (accessed December 30, 1999).
Ministry of Supervision
State Development and Planning Commission
38 Yuetannan Jie
China International Travel Service (CITS)
103 Fu Xing Men Nei Dajie
China Travel Service (CTS)
Beijing Tourist Building
28 Jianguomenwai Dajie, 100022
State Bureau of Tourism
Jian Guo Men Nei Dajie
15 Huixin Dongjie
Chaoyang District, 100029
61 Guxing Lu
2 Jin Tai Xi Lu
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Salisbury, Harrison Evans. Tiananmen Diary: Thirteen Days in June. Boston: Little, Brown, 1989.
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