Guide Note
Beijing, also known as Peking, is the capital of China and China's second largest city after Shanghai. Since the 1950s, Beijing has become a major industrial and manufacturing area and acts as the political, cultural and educational center of China.1
Fast Facts
- Country: People's Republic of China
- Mayor: Guo Jinlong
- Currency: Chinese Yuan
- Population: Over 16 million (2008)2
- Language spoken: Chinese
- Country code: +86
- City code: +10
- Time zone: +8:00 (UTC)
- Current time and weather
- Current exchange rate
Tourist Attractions
- The Forbidden City Palace Museum
- The Peking Opera
- Tiananmen Square
- The Summer Palace
- The Temple of Heaven
- The Great Wall of China
- The Beijing Zoo
- Beihai Park
Olympic City
From August 8-24, Beijing will act as the host country for the 2008 Summer Olympics. This marks the first time a Communist country has hosted the games since the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Concern over the effect that Beijing's heavily polluted air would have on athlete's health caused Australia's Olympic Committee to advise their athletes to avoid the city until shortly before the games and the world's fastest marathon runner, Haile Gebrselassie, announced that he would not compete in the long-distance marathon.3 Other contentious issues such as governmental censorship, alleged human rights violations and the treatment of Tibetan citizens has led to several protests against the Olympics.
Mahalo Suggests
If planning a trip, please see our Beijing Vacation, Beijing Hotels, Beijing Restaurants and Beijing Tours pages.
Categories
