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BEIJING CITY GUIDE & TOUR
About Beijing China
Beijing China City Guide
Beijing China History
Beijing Duck, Peking Duck
Beijing Hutong Tour
Beijing Imperial Palace & Garden - 1 Beijing Imperial Palace & Garden - 2 Beijing Imperial Palace & Garden - 3 Beijing Ming Tomb Tour
Beijing YongheGong Lamasery
Beijing Zoo
Beijing Happy Valley Theme Park
Beihai Park Travel Guide
China Great Wall
Forbidden City in Beijing
  › Forbidden Palace - Wumen Gate
  › Three Great Halls
  › Nine Dragon Wall
  › Inner Palace of Forbidden City
Great Wall of China
  › Badaling Great Wall & Mutianyu
  › China Great Wall Tour
  › Juyongguan Great Wall & Simatai
Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)
Peking Man at Zhoukoudian
Peking Opera (Beijing Opera)
Summer Palace - 1
Summer Palace - 2
Temple of Heaven - 1
Temple of Heaven - 2
Tiananmen Square - 1
Tiananmem Square Attractions - 2
Things to do in Beijing

HONG KONG CITY GUIDE
Hong Kong City Guide
Hong Kong History
Hong Kong Attractions
Hong Kong Disneyland
Hong Kong Districts
Hong Kong Lantau Island
Hong Kong Racing Museum
Hong Kong Science Museum
Hong Kong Space Museum
Hong Kong Discount Hotels
Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car Tour
Ocean Park Hong Kong
Prepare for Travel to Hongkong
Ride on the Hong Kong Star Ferry
So Much to See at Ocean Park
The Sights of Hong Kong
Things to do in Hong Kong
Things to See at Repulse Bay
Top Budget Hotels in Hong Kong
Trip to Hong Kong Museum of History
Victoria Peak
Visit Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Visit Hong Kong Victoria Peak
Wong Tai Sin Temple

SHANGHAI CITY GUIDE
About Shanghai China
Shanghai China city Guide
Shanghai History
Jade Buddha Temple
Oriental Pearl TV Tower
Much to do at Oriental Pearl Tower
Shanghai Bund & Huangpu River
Shanghai Museum
Shanghai Shopping and Food
Shanghai Jin Jiang Amusement Park
Shanghai Visitors Guide
4 Must See Places in Shanghai
A Day at Shanghai Ocean Aquarium
Daytrip at Shanghai Animal Park
Staying in Shanghai Hotels

XIAN CITY GUIDE & TOUR
About Xian City (Xian City Guide)
Amazing Xian Terracotta Museum
Banpo Village Museum
Huaqing Hot Springs
Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang
Maoling Mausoleum
Qianling Tomb of Xian
Qianling Tomb - Princess Yongtai
TerraCotta Army Discovery
Terra Cotta Archer & Chariot
TerraCotta Warriors - History
Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang
Tour of Terra Cotta Museum
Xian City Wall

Travel China & China Tour
About China
China Tourism
Chinese Food & Cuisine - 1
Chinese Food & Cuisine - 2
My Impressions of China

 

About Beijing China

Introduction of Beijing

Beijing, the capital city of China, is a world famous city filled with ancient history and culture. It is also China's political, economic, cultural, and transportation center covering an area of over 16,800 square kilometers. With a population of over 15 million, beijing has a semi humid continental climate. It's winters are cold and dry, while the summers are hot and humid - both spring and autumn are short lasting. Because of the winter cold and summer heat, the best times to travel to Beijing are during the spring and autumn seasons.

Beijing is located in the northernmost part of the North China Plains. It is estimated that about 3,000 years ago, the city emerged as one of the earliest cities in the world, and around 800 years ago, Beijing became the nation's capital for the first time in Chinese History.

Beijing History

in early 10th century, a nomadic tribe established the Liao Dynasty and made Beijing the secondary capital, which was named Nanjing, or Yanjing. After more than a century, the Jin Dynasty defeated the Liao Dynasty, and moved their capital to Nanjing (Beijing) in 1153, and renamed the city Zhongdu.

Later in 1267, Kublai Khan built a new city northwest of Zhongdu, and made it as the capital, naming it Dadu, or "Great Capital". The Mongols were defeated in 1368 by the Ming Dynasty, and the capital city was once again moved to present day Nanjing city by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. In 1403, Emperor Yongle moved the capital to Beijing, where large scale construction took place - including city walls, palaces, temples, gardens, and the city was much larger than Dadu. In 1421, Yongle officially moved the capital city to Beijing.

The Qing Dynasty, which resided in northern China defeated the Ming Dynasty and ruled China from Beijing since 1644. Finally in 1911, Dr. Sun Yat Sen lead a revolution that ended the feudal society of China. On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong raised the flag in Tiananmen square officially declaring the found of the People's Republic of China, and Beijing remained the capital city.

For more Beijing history, read this article.

After liberation, with steady urban development, the old city walls were unfortunately demolished, and the "ring roads" were built on their foundations. However, parts of the old city wall and gate towers were preserved, helping Beijing retain some of its ancient history and charm. The Tiananmen Square still remains the center of Beijing directly facing the Forbidden Palace.

Today, there are numerous palaces, imperial gardens, temples, pagodas, stone carvings and other historical sites that are well preserved in Beijing, making the city one of the most scenic spots and historical cities China has to offer. If you ever travel to Beijing, plan to stay in Beijing for at least several days so that you have enough time to visit and tour all the historical sites around Beijing.

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