Beijing

Overview

Beijing means 'Northern Capital' and in many ways the name speaks for itself. It is the capital of the People's Republic of China and the capital of bureaucrats. The whole country supposedly runs on Beijing time and is supposed to speak the Beijing dialect. From here the Chinese Communist Party rules over its enormous empire while further to the south, you will find more and more free trading with new capitalists, having contributed to form the new face of China over the last decades.

Beijing has come a long way from the dusty communist capital of the seventies and eighties to a modern city with the usual high rising buildings and shopping malls. At the same time, hotel and restaurant standards have improved enormously. It may not yet be able to compete with Hong Kong or Shanghai, but in its runup to the 2008 Olympics, it is trying really hard.

Naturally, Beijing has some of the most superb examples of Chinese architecture. No other place in China offers such a large number of old buildings as Bejing. On top of that, Beijing is one of the more convenient starting points for visiting The Great Wall.

History

Beijing is the cradle that has nurtured the Chinese culture. It is the home of Peking Man, the ancient ancestor of the nation, and also one of the birth places of mankind in the world. As a city, Beijing can be traced back to the year 2000 BC when it was called "Ji", the capital of the State Yan, which lasted until 937 AC in Tang dynasty. Beijing has always been an important political and military place in the northern part of China, it has also been a communication and commercial hub all the time, as well as the capital of different dynasties.

From 938 to 1215 AC, Beijing was the capital of Liao and Jin dynasties which then held the control of North China. In the year 1267 AC, Hubilie the emperor of Yuan dynasty rebuilt Beijing and established it as its capital. During the next 600 years,it was the capital of three dynasties - Yuan, Ming and Qing in succession until the year 1911 when Xinhai Revolution ended the more than 2000 years feudal society in China.

On the first of January, 1912, the Republic of China was founded. Beijing was initially selected as its capital until June 1928 when it became a special city renamed as Beiping. On January 31, 1949, Beijing was liberated by the Communist Party, and in the same year on the first of October, the People's Republic of China was founded. Beiping was renamed as Beijing and once again chosen as the capital of the new China. From then on, Beijing has become the national political and cultural centre as well as a centre for international exchange.