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• 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.The Columbia Encyclopedia: Beijing

  About 2500 mobile toilets will be installed in Beijing to accommodate the needs of up to 200,000 participants during China's National Day celebrationhttp://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/05/content_12001004.htm

  Beijing Says New Measures Needed to Fight Lead Poisoninghttp://online.wsj.com/article/SB125200395846684117.html

  On February 9, 2009, a fire ripped through Beijing's newly-constructed, 40-story Mandarin Oriental luxury hotel. There were no immediate reports of any injuries, and the exact cause of the blaze remained under investigation.CNN: China: Fire engulfs 40-story luxury hotel (February 9, 2009)

• Fast Facts

  1. Country: People's Republic of China
  2. Mayor: Guo JinlongBeijing International: Resume of Mayor Guo Jinlong
  3. Currency: Chinese Yuan
  4. Population: 16,330,000Reuters UK: Beijing population tops 16 mln target 2 years early (January 22, 2008)(2007)
  5. Language spoken: Chinese
  6. Country code: +86
  7. City code: +10
  8. Time zone: +8:00 (UTC)
  9. Climate: Semi-humidBeijing International: Beijing
  10. Airport code: PEKWorld Airport Codes: Beijing Capital Int. Airport

• Beijing Fire

  A massive fire heavily damaged the newly-constructed Mandarin Oriental hotel in Beijing on February 9, 2009. The 40-story hotel was unoccupied, and there were no immediate reports on any injuries. While there was no initial word on a cause, the fire began as the Chinese were wrapping up fireworks celebrations of the Chinese lunar new year.CNN: China: Fire engulfs 40-story luxury hotel (February 9, 2009)

• Tourist Attractions

  1. The Forbidden City Palace Museum
  2. The Peking Opera
  3. Tiananmen Square
  4. The Summer Palace
  5. The Temple of Heaven
  6. The Great Wall of China
  7. The Beijing Zoo
  8. Beihai Park

• Olympic City

  From August 8-24, Beijing acted as the host country for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The event marked 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.National Post: Beijing's air too toxic for marathon champ (March 11, 2008) Other contentious issues such as governmental censorship, alleged human rights violations and the treatment of Tibetan citizens 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.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  China | Han Fei | Sun Tzu | History of China | Mao Zedong | Shanghai | Beijing Travel | Beijing Hotels | Beijing Restaurants | Beijing Tours

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