Beijing - China

Beijing, a city in northern China, is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was formerly known in English as Peking or Peiking.

Beijing is also one of the four municipalities of the PRC, which are equivalent to provinces in China's administrative structure.

Beijing Municipality borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.

Beijing is China's second largest city in terms of population, after Shanghai. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways entering and leaving it in all directions.

Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
It will also host the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Beijing has many great hotels: The Palace Hotel Beijing, Holiday Inn Beijing, Crowne Plaza Beijing and InterContinental Hotels Beijing are some of the more popular hotels.

Beijing Info

Beijing is situated at the northern tip of the roughly triangular North China Plain which opens to the south and east of the city. Mountains to the north, northwest and west shield the city and northern China's agricultural heartland from the encroaching desert steppes. The northwestern part of the municipality, especially Yanqing County and Huairou District, are dominated by the Jundu Mountains, while the western part of the municipality is framed by the Xishan Mountains.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China stretches across the northern part of Beijing Municipality, made use of this rugged topography to defend against nomadic incursions from the steppes. Mount Dongling in the Xishan ranges and on the border with Hebei is the municipality's highest point, with an altitude of 2303 m.

Major rivers flowing through the municipality include the Yongding River and the Chaobai River, part of the Hai River system, and flowing in a southerly direction. Beijing is also the northern terminus of the Grand Canal of China which was built across the North China Plain to Hangzhou. Miyun Reservoir, built on the upper reaches of the Chaobai River, is Beijing's largest reservoir, and crucial to its water supply.