Beijng
Bĕijīng (北京, Wade-Giles: Pei-Ching), or in older transliterations Peking, is the capital city of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the 4 municipalities of the People's Republic of China, which have a provincial-level status. The municipality governs 10 districts and 8 counties.
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
Famous landmarks around Beijing include:
Famous Theatres of Beijing include:
List of colleges and universities
Miscellaneous topics
Beijing will be the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics and of the 2008 Summer Paralympics.
Airports include:
See also:
External links
Referenced By
Grand Canal of China | Jinghang Canal | Jinghang Grand Canal
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