Introduction to Beijing (Peking) China
Beijing, also called Peking,
is the capital of China and it
is located in the north part of the North China
Plain (its name means literally north capital).
It is a huge city, which occupies an area of about
16,800 sq Km with a population of 13.80 million
made up mostly by Han Chinese. The spoken language
is Peking dialect, quite close to standard Mandarin.
Beijing, the capital of China, is a municipality,
which 
means
that it depends directly form the central government
and it is divided into 14 districts and four counties.
Beijing’s symbols are the cypress (representing
the strength of Chinese people), the scholar tree
(that in China is symbol of joy and good fortune),
the rose and the chrysanthemum.
Beijing’s climate is a continental monsoon
climate; winters are dominated by cold and dry winds
blowing from Siberia and Mongolia, while summers
are mild with warm and humid winds blowing from
the southeast.
Culture and economics in Beijing (Peking), China
Beijing is one of the oldest Chinese cities, with
over 3,000 years of history; therefore it has a
very rich culture. Very famous and highly appreciated
in China is the Beijing opera. Also, Beijing is
a very industrial city now, but even in the past
it has always been famous for its manufactured goods
such as jade, cloisonné, lacquer ware, embroidery
and more.
Beijing hosts the Chinese National library, which
is the biggest library in Asia, and it has more
than forty state scientific research institutes,
more than thirty universities and many exhibition
halls.
The
cuisine adopted in Beijing is Mandarin cuisine,
with its most famous dish worldwide being the Peking
Roast Duck. Also, Beijing is home to traditional
imperial food and imperial medicinal food. The Manhan
Quanxi (the Han-Chinese full banquet) is also typical
of Beijing. It is a full traditional banquet originally
intended for the Qing Dinasty’s emperors.
Nowadays it is served in the most exclusive restaurants
and it is very expensive.
Main attractions in Beijing, China
Being such an ancient
and prestigious city, it is not a surprise that
Beijing has a lot of magnificent attractions to
offer its visitors. Such attractions include (just
to mention some of them):
-
Tian’Anmen Square (Tian’Anmen Guangchang).
The biggest square in the world, 800 metres long
and 500 metres wide.
-
The Forbidden City or Imperial Palace (Gugong)
-
The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan)
-
The Summer Palace (Yiheyuan)
-
The Ming Tombs (Shisanling)
-
The Great Wall of China (Changcheng)
Getting there and accommodation
Transportation wise,
Beijing is well connected by road and rail to every
main city in China and by air to many Chinese and
international destinations.
Also, finding accommodation is not a problem nowadays.
In the past, Beijing did not have hotels as Westerners
intend them, but today there is an ample choice
that includes some of the biggest hotel chains in
the world, such as Beijing Hilton, Shangri-La Hotel,
Radisson Beijing Hotel etc.
Extra links:
