Location:Beijing- The capital of China is located in the northern part of the North China Plain and its terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast.
Area:16,807.8 sq km
Climate:The climate in Beijing is of the continental type, with cold and dry winters, due to the Siberian air massses that move southward across the Mongolian Plateau. The summers are hot owing to warm and humid monsoon winds from the southeast bringing Beijing most of its annual precipitation. January is the coldest month and July is the warmest. Winter usually begins towards the end of October. The summer months, June to August, are wet and hot with about 40% of the annual precipitation.
provincial capital:Beijing
Population:13.82 millions (March 2001)
Ethnic groups:The permanent residents of Beijing come from all of China's 56 ethnic groups. The Han nationality accounts for 96.5% of the total. The other 55 ethnic minorities claim a population of more than 300,000, most of them are from Hui, Manchu, and Mongolian nationalities.
Agriculture:In 1994, the gross value of agricultural output reached 28.69 billion yuan (non-agricultural output value accounting for 79.5%). The gross value of rural industrial output accounted for 40.2% of the city's gross value of industrial output in 1994. The main cereals are wheat, corn, and rice. The total amount of grain output was 2,761 million tons, and per-hectare yield was 6,420 kilograms. There are 541 farms where each farmer is responsible for more than 6.6 hectares. Mechanization in agriculture has been basically realized in plain areas, and various kinds of bases can provide abundant sideline products.
Industry:Beijing's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 82.9 billion yuan in the first five months of 2000, up 12 percent over the same period of last year, with high-tech enterprises leading development, according to Beijing Youth Daily. From January to May, the added value of Beijing's industrial output was 6.35 billion yuan, up 18.8 percent over the same period of the previous year
Beijing, Jing for short, is the nation's political, economic, cultural and educational center as well as China's most important center for international trade and communications. Together with Xian, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Nanjing and Hangzhou, Beijing is one of the six ancient cities in China. It has been the heart and soul of politics and society throughout its long history and consequently there is an unparalleled wealth of discovery to delight and intrigue travelers as they explore Beijing's ancient past and enjoy its exciting modern development.
As the capital of the People's Republic of China, Beijing is located in northern China, close to Tianjin Municipality and partially surrounded by Hebei Province. The city covers an area of more than 16,410 square kilometers (6336 square miles) and has a population of 14.93 million people.
Beijing is a city with four distinct seasons. Its best is late spring and autumn. But autumn is taken as the golden tourist season of the year since there is sometimes in the spring of recent years, a yellow wind. We suggest tourists visit Beijing during the months of May, September, and October when people can enjoy bright sunshine and blue skies. An abundance of international class performances are presented in May. If you like winter, you will have other chances to appreciate another landscape of Beijing. After skiing in Beihai and viewing the snowy sights on West Hill, enjoying the steaming hotpot is the best choice, which is really the fun of tour in Beijing. Please keep warm and remember to bring your down garments and sweaters when you visit Beijing in the winter.
How can one city boast so many phenomenal places? Beijing's long and illustrious history started some 500,000 years ago. It is here that the ancestors of modern Homo sapiens, Peking men, lived in caves. Records show that Beijing has been an inhabited city for more than three thousand years and has endured invasions by warlords and foreign powers, devastating fires, the rise and fall of powerful imperial dynasties and has emerged each time as a strong and vibrant city. For more than 800 years, Beijing was a capital city - from the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) to the Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasties. Thirty-four emperors have lived and ruled the nation in Beijing and it has been an important trading city from its earliest days.
Although now Beijing is a modern and fashionable city complete with a full 21st Century vitality, you can experience authentic Beijing life and become acquainted with 'old Beijing' by exploring its many teahouses, temple fairs, Beijing's Hutong and Courtyard and enjoy the Peking Opera. Add any or all of these to your Beijing tour and you will leave with a feeling of special appreciation in your heart for this ancient city that has truly seen it all and tells its story with matchless grace, charm and vigor.
With the biggest central square in the world - Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City that is the largest and best-preserved imperial palace complex, a superbly preserved section of the Great Wall,as well as the largest sacrificial complex in the world - the Temple of Heaven, Beijing attracts both domestic and foreign visitors who all come to wonder at its century-old history and unique cultural relics.
Dwelling too much on the historical past of Beijing may give tourists the false impression that it is little more than an ancient city in style but this is definitely not so! Strolling around Beijing, you'll find it has much in common with any other great metropolis elsewhere in today's world. There are towering skyscrapers; busy shopping malls and an endless stream of traffic that makes the city much the same as others. The most famous and popular commercial circles and commercial pedestrian streets are predominantly located near the Yansha Shopping Mall, Tiananmen and Wangfujing Street, Guomao Shopping Mall, Qianmen Street and Xidan Street, etc. However, although you will find multinational chains with their own brands to offer, nowhere else on earth will you find such a variety of gourmet Chinese restaurants offering the very best of the eight different styles of Chinese cuisine as well as western style dishes. Modern hotels abound, each offering the highest standards of service and convenience.
After a day's Beijing tours, nighttime can hold other surprises for you. These can vary from traditional performances such as the Beijing Opera, acrobatics and martial arts to modern ones including concerts, ballroom dancing, pubs and clubs. Each and every one has its individual enchantment for the tourist. No description of our capital city is complete without mention of the friendly people who throng the streets. Everywhere you will encounter smiling faces and a warm welcome, especially from the children who love to say 'Hello!' All these things add up to truly make your visit a cultural experience of a lifetime
Restaurant:
1001 Nights
A great spot for an exotic evening filled with Arabian fanfare. With gilded ceilings, entertaining belly dancing and outdoor seating available, it's one of Beijing's most unique dining experiences. Specialties include lamb and chicken kebabs and spicy pita bread. The restaurant boasts many Middle Eastern expats as regular customers.
Phone:6532-4050
bj1001@1001night.com.cn
Fax:6532-2683
Open 11am-2amPrice Y100-Y199 per coupleAccepts International Credit Cards
Hotels&Budget:
Grand Hyatt Beijing
1 East Chang An Avenue,Beijing, People's Republic of China 100738
Phone: 86 10 8518 1234
Fax: +86 10 8518 0000
Email: beijing.grand@hyatt.com
7 Day Inn
4, District 1, Anyuan Dongli,Olympic Areaeast gate of the National Stadium
Phone:6489-2088, 800-9999-800, 400-880-7777
www.7daysinn.com
Open 24H
City Weekendsays:A rapidly developing domestic chain hostel
Beijing Dream Castle
26 Anzhenli Block 3,Chaoyang
Phone:137-1896-9954
www.beijingdreamcastle.comdreamcastlehotel@yahoo.com
Open 24H
Accepts International Credit Cards
Car rental:
SinoRent.cn
15 Xi Dawang Lu, FESCO Tower 1
Toll free: 400-810-6878
www.SinoRent.cnSinoRent@gmail.com
Open 24H
City Weekendsays:Beijing-based website clearinghouse for car rental. They work with many of the big names in worldwide car rental, such as Avis, Alamo, Hertz).
NightLife:
Sanlitun Pub Street and the surrounding Embassy Area in Chaoyang District is also a must for many foreign visitors and young people. The various bars attract the staff from the Embassies and white-collar workers alike. Here you will find rock-and-roll, hip-hop and Jazz among the many activities. This is a good place to see first-hand something of modern China after a day of exploring its historical past.
VICS Location: in the east inside of the North Entrance of Gongti, Chaoyang DistrictOpening hours: 20:00 - 03:00Cost for ticket: 30 Yuan at weekend, 20 Yuan on Wednesday (Lady's night) and women can enjoy cocktail for free at that night (excluding special activities)Music: Hip-hop, R&B
JJ BarAddress: A2, Chaibang Hutong, Andingmennei Da Jie, Dongcheng District Opening hours: for 24 hoursAverage cost per person: 20 Yuan - 30 Yuan
Hugo Club Address: B143, Xiwai Da Jie, Haidian DistrictOpening hours: from 09:00 until late
BananaAddress: 22, Jianguomenwai Da Jie, Chaoyang DistrcitOpening hours: 20:30 - 04:00 from Sunday to Thursday and 20:30 - 05:00 on Friday and SaturdayCost for ticket: 20 Yuan from Sunday to Thursday and 30 Yuan on Friday and Saturday
Understandably, as the nation's capital, Beijing is also its cultural center and the Capital Theatre, the Beijing Concert Hall, the China Folk Culture Palace each offer the very best of entertainment adding greatly to the wide choice of nightlife pastimes in the city. Program details and ticket prices as well as addresses of the various venues can usually be found in the current 'Beijing Daily'.
Every city has its night market and Beijing is no exception. When the curtain of darkness falls, the snack handcarts come alive. Dongdan Street, Xidan Street, Donghuamen Gate and Longfusi Temple area are the main four night market areas. Snacks include Beijing specialities as well as many that are traditional in other parts of the country, some of which are from minority districts.
It is hard to give details of all the nightly activities to be found in Beijing. However, for foreign visitors in particular, we would highly recommend a leisurely stroll along the Chang'an Street to observe the scene as one of your nightlife choices. Maybe you would like to do this in style by hiring a rickshaw, what could be more in keeping with the ambiance than that? The street extends all the way to the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square. The palace complex in shadow has an ethereal beauty that is all its own and that is certain to evoke sentiments of the past glory, mystery and intrigue that was once Imperial China.
