Beijing Facts
Beijing in general
Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, is the center
of the nation's politics, culture and international exchanges and a
moden metropolis full of vitality. The world's earliest record of
Beijing came from the travel notes by Marco Polo, the young Italian
traveler in the 13th century. His description of people's civilized and
well to do life in Beijing and his admiration for the beauty of the
city has for hundreds of years attracted the reverie of numerous people
about this ancient capital of civilization in the East.
Beijing History
Some 600,000 years ago, Peking Man, man's forefathers lived at
Zhoukoudian, 48 kilometers southwest of Beijing. The history of Beijing
as a city may be traced back to about 3000 years ago when a small town
appeared on the present site of southwestern Beijing. It was named Ji
and then changed to Yan. At the beginning of the 10th century, it was
the second capital of the Liao Dynasty. From then on, the city had been
the capital of the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties until 1911. A
long history has left numerous famous historical sites which possess
great aesthetic and cultural valleys. The Great Wall, a huge project
began more than 2000 years ago, meanders through mountains and valleys
for hundreds of kilometers in the region of Beijing. On the Shijing
Mountains, there are more than 340 volumes of 15000 stone tablets
carved with Buddhist scriptures. The Big Yongle Bell cast at one go
with over 23000 characters on it weighs 46.5 tons and shows exquisite
casting technology of ancient China. The Forbidden City, the largest
ancient architectural complex extant today, is splendid crystallization
of ancient Chinese architectural art. Walking in the city, one may find
many places where many historical events took place, every day,
hundreds of thousands of people, domestic and foreign, come to Beijing
to visit its grand palaces and graceful gardens and to enjoy its
marvelous art.
Beijing Location
Beijing is situated at 40 degrees north latitude and 116 degrees of
longitudes. It is 43 meters above sea level and 183 kilometers from the
sea. Beijing covers an area of 16,800 square kilometers, 38% of it is
flat land and 62% mountains.
Beijing Climate & Weather
Beijing has a continental climate. Annual rainfall averages nearly 700
millimeters, most of it comes in July and August. Winter is dry and has
little snow. The frost -free period is 185 days. the best time to visit
Beijing is May, September and October, when people enjoy bright sunny
day.
Beijing Population & Administration
Beijing has a population of 13.82 million in the year of 2000, about 5
million live in the city proper and the rest on the outskirts. It is
divided into 16 districts and 2 counties.
Below are the 8 districts in or close to the Beijing city proper:
Dongcheng District
Xicheng District
Chongwen District
Xuanwu District
Chaoyang District
Haidian District
Fengtai District
Shijingshan District
Below are the 8 districts
on the outskirts of Beijing:
Tongzhou District
Shunyi District
Changping District
Daxing District
Pinggu District
Huairou District
Mentougou District
Fangshan District
Below are the two counties:
Miyun County
Yanqing County
The two counties are located in the suburb of Beijing.
Beijing Economic Development
Through more than 50 years of construction, Beijing has changed from a
consumer-city to a major city with various industries. Beijing ranks
second among the top 50 cities in China in terms of comprehensive
power, and is the first among the 40 best cities in China in terms of
investment enviroment. With China's reform and opening up, Beijing is
improving urban construction on an unprecedented scale. Its speed of
development is astonishing and it brings about changes day by day.
Around this graceful ancient capital, a large number of key national
projects, massive infrastructure buildings and moden residential houses
have sprung up. Wasteland and low, dilapidated houses are gradually
disappearing, replaced by newly-built residential quarters of different
styles and surrounded by greenbelts. Wide and smooth highways,
magnificent overpasses and expressways link Beijing with its
neighboring provinces and cities. And eye-catching green trees and
gardens have made Beijing resemble a huge scroll of painting pleasing
to both the eye and the mind.
Beijing Education & Health
There are nearly 100 institutions of higher learning such as the famous
Beijing University, Qinghua University, over 1000 middle schools and
4500 primary schools in Beijing, with total enrollment of over 2
million. Much attention is being paid to special schools with total
about 600 now. more than 500 scientific research Institutions, over 300
publishing houses, as well as hundreds of newspapers and periodicals.
In medical and health care, the city has more than 500 hospitals, about
65600 sick beds, with around 121000 medical workers.
Arrival Beijing by air
Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) lies to the northeast of
the city of Beijing, 30 km from the city cneter. Beijing Capital
Airport has two terminals.Terminal 2 is for international flights as
well as some domestic flights. After arriving, you have some convenient
services like ATMs,money changers and also you can enjoy coffee and
KFC. You can use cabs to get to the city center. Few drivers can speak
English! So bring the Chinese name of the hotel in which you are going
to stay and let your driver know where you are going. It takes about
100 - 150 from the airport to the city center by taxi. You have to pay
RMB 10 toll for the airport expressway. There are still some aiport
shuttle buses outside the airport for your taking.The cost of the bus
is RMB16. There are also some shuttle buses sent by either by youth
hostels or luxury hotels.
Beijing Rail Stations & Train Tour 
There are 4 rail stations in Beijing, namely, Beijing Railway Station,
Beijing West Railway Station, Beijing North Railway Station and Beijing
South Railway station. Beijing Railway Station is located in the center
of Beijing, just south of Beijing International Hotel. Most of the
trains from southern China come to this old station - Beijing Railway
Station (北京站). Just remind you that the trains to Chengde and Tianjin
also start in this station. Beijing West Railway Station(北京西站) is the
largest railway station in Beijing and China as well. Most of the
trains in north China arrive or start from this station. The train from
Beijing to Xian starts from this West Station. Beijing South Railway
Station & Beijing north Railway Station are both for some special
trains or short trains.
Beijing Long-distance bus travel
There are about 10 national expressways and national roads to link
Beijing.You can take the bus to Tianjin, Datong, Xian, Pingyao and
Shanghai ect. Some long-distance buses with bunk beds in rows. It is a
real experience in getting the knowledge how the people of low class
travel. Of course,there some luxury buses.
Beijing Shopping
1)Silk Street:
It lies on No.8 East Xiushui Street Jianguo Men Wai Dajie. No more
street shopping! It was reopened in March 2005 as a 5-story shopping
mall mainly for foreign visitors and expats in Beijing.
2)Sanlitun Yashou Market:
Situated at 58 Gongti Beilu, this is just like Silk Street.
3)Zhong Guan Cun:
Zhongguancun,a place not far from Tsinghua University and other
universities is called "Silicon Valley in China." It sells everything
from a whole computers to computer parts at good low price.
4)Xizhi Men shopping area:
The large clothing market where local people like to go lies at Xizhi Men, close to the Zoo.
5)The Malls at Oriental Plaza:
Located east of Tian'anmen Square, just beside Wangfujing Street.
Expensive Shopping area with good quality products.
6)Wangfujing Street:
Many shops and stores.
7)Xidan Shopping area:
Located on the west of Tiananmen square. Some large malls.
8)China World Trade Center:
You can find a lot of expensive stores and some international convenience stores.
Beijing Antiques Buy 
Panjiayuan Antiques Market:
It also called the "dirt market" or the "weekend market". It is the
Beijing's flea market of this kind. It opens on Sunday and Saturday. It
lies close to Pan Jia Yuan bridge, on the eastern southern third ring
road.
Liulichang Antique Street:
The street is full of antique stores which sell Chinese paintings,
handicrafts, also sell used books and other matters.
Gu Wan Cheng ( Curio City ):
Just next to Pan Jia Yuan. it's a 4-storey building hold various Chinese antiques, with reasonable prices.
Hong Qiao Free Market:
This is just east of the eastgate of Temple of Heaven. The top two
floors of this market are full of fresh water pearl, jewelry, and this
may be the most ideal place in beijing for this kind of market.
Beijing Pubs or bars
Sanlitun Bar street:
Located in the embassy area north-east of Beijing. There is much
nightlife around the Sanlitun Embassy district. Sanlitun Street has
many bars of various styles with live music and imported beers. There
are many foreign visitors going there.
Hou Hai Cafe & Bar:
Located 20 South Houhai, Xicheng District Houhai is Beijing's newly
developed traditional area. It has big and small bars and pubs with
unique character. With the bright of the lights over the lake Hohai has
the imprssive and unreal image. Many of cafes and restaurants are
privately owned and have their own unique feature and good service.
Wudaokou Bar Area:
Wu Dao Kou is right outside the East Gate of Tsinghua, Haidian
District.There are many universities and research institutes there,
which include Peking University,Beijing Language and Culture
University, and Tsinghua University. There is a large student
population. Wudaokou is noted for its publicity as a student living
place,especially the international students. It has many bars and
nightclubs which, in most cases offer low prices than more central bar
areas.
Beijing Sightseeing 
There are numerous tourist senic sites in Beijing. Among them, there
are five major must-see scenic spots in Beijing, namely, Forbidden
City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Ming Tomb and Great Wall.
Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven are walkable if you stay at a
downtown hotel. Summer Palace is located on the north-east edge of the
city. You may take a taxi or the public bus to go there. Badaling Great
Wall and Ming Tomb are on the same route on the north suburb of
Beijing. You may take a tourist public bus, or take a taxi, or join in
a seat-in coach by a local travel agent with English speaking service.
To travel the five major senic spots, you need two days. If you only
have one day in Beijing, we suggest you tour Forbidden City, Tiananmen
Square and Badaling Great Wall - the highlight of Beijing. If you and
your family are going to have a easy travel in Beijing, then you have
much more to look at and it's no problem for you to stay a week and
even more time enjoying and exploring in Beijing.
Tian'anmen Square, located in the city center, is a symbol of both
Beijing and China. The solemn flag-raising ceremony has become a sacred
daily celebration. Standing in the world's largest city square and
looking far east and west up and down the Chang'an Avenue, one can see
a centuries-old architectural complex standing side by side with
newly-built modern-style buildings, torrent of bicycles flooding by and
awareness that Beijing is a mix of modem and ancient.
Welcome to Beijing!
