Beijing Municipality

北京市

Province Abbreviation(s): 京 Jīng
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 29th 16,808 km² xx%
Population  - Total (Year)  - Density	Ranked 26th 13,820,000 822/km²
Administration Type	Municipality

Names

Beijing literally means "northern capital" (as opposed to Nanjing, meaning "southern capital" and Tonkin and Tokyo, both of which mean "eastern capital"). Beijing is sometimes referred to as Peking. The term originated with French missionaries four hundred years ago, and corresponds to an archaic pronunciation which does not take into account a 'k' to 'j' sound shift in Mandarin that occurred during the Qing dynasty.

In China, the city has had many names. Between 1911 and 1949, it was known as Beiping (北平 Wade-Giles Peip'ing) or "Northern Peace". The name was changed because jing means "capital" and the Kuomintang government in Nanjing wanted to emphasize that Beijing was not the capital of China, and Beijing's warlord government was not legitimate. Curiously, many maps of China from Taiwan still use the old name, although most people in Taiwan call the city Beijing.

For the historical names of Beijing, see Capital of China.

Tourism

Picture of the Forbidden City

Famous landmarks around Beijing include:

• Forbidden City
• Tiananmen Square, site of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1919, 1975, 1989
• The Great Wall
• The Temple of Heaven
• The Summer Palace
• Ruins of the Old Summer Palace
• Gulou - The Drum Tower
• Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian (World Heritage Site)

Famous Theatres of Beijing include:

• Zheng Yici Peking Opera Theatre

List of colleges and universities

• Peking University
• Tsinghua University
• Beijing Institute of Technology
• Beijing Institute of Posts and Communication
• Beijing Normal University
• Beijing Science and Technology University
• Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• China Algricultural University
• China Geosciences University
• China University of Mine Technology
• Renmin University of China
• Northern Jiaotong University

Miscellaneous topics

Beijing will be the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics and of the 2008 Summer Paralympics.

Airports include:

• Beijing Capital International Airport

See also:

• Mandarin cuisine
• Mandarin Chinese
• List of Mayors of Beijing

External links

• Satellite image of Beijing at NASA's Earth Observatory
• Beijing Travel
• Beijing The Virtual City ( under construction )

Referenced By