Beijing
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.
|
