The Beijing Tianjin-Tangshan Economic Zone comprises Beijing, Tianjin and neighboring Tangshan, Langfang and Qinhuangdao and other cities in Hebei.
It is North China's largest and most developed economic zone.[1]
Beijing is not only the political capital of China, but also its cultural capital. Situated on the north end of the North China Plain, it is 150 km southeast of the Bohai Sea, and has an area of 16,800 sq km and a population of 12.59 million. It has a history of more than 3,000 years, and has long been 2 key city in North China. It was the provisional capital during Liao Dynasty (907-1125), a period that saw con-frontations between the Liao rulers and the Northern Song Dynasty (60-1127). Since then it has been China's political center-during the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. And it was chosen the capital of the PRC in 1949.
It has features typical of an ancient oriental capital, with an axis running from north to south. The Palace Museum (Forbidden City), the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing rulers, is situated in the center of the city. The north-south axis runs through its front and back gates, as well as its front and back halls, The throne of emperor at the center of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the main hall in the Forbidden City, is right on the north-south axis. A group of building was built on both sides of the axis in a planned manner. Most of the crisscrossing streets and lanes in Beijing run from north to south or from east to west, creating a chess-board-like urban road structure. Such an imperial-power dominated architectural layout is rare in rest of the world.
As an ancient capital, Beijing has preserved a vast number of its ancient buildings and historical relics. The Forbidden City, one of the world's largest and most spectacular palaces, built during Ming and Qing dynasties, has been developed into the National Palace Museum. The Tian'anmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) in front of the Palace Museum, the original southern gate of the imperial city, has been rebuilt to serve as the symbol of Beijing. In front of the Tian'anmen Gate is the world's largest public square, the Tian'anmen Square, At its center is the Monument to the People's He-roes and Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. On either side of the Palace Museum are Zhongshan Park and Beijing Working People's Culture Palace. Behind it are Jingshan Park and Beihai Park, which jointly create a complete build-ing group. Stepping into the Palace Museum, one cannot but appreiate taditional Chinese architecture and relive the old days of China's history.
The Summer Palace, China's largest imperial garden in the northwestern suburb of Beijing, and the Ruins of Yuan-mingyuan nearby, are famous tourit destinations, too.
The Beijing dialect, with its characteristic clear pronuncia-tion and mellow voice, developed into Mandarin, the stan-dard Chinese language. Beijing is also the birthplace of the Beijing Opera, China's most famous opera. Traditional Bei-jing cuisine not only embodies features of Central China's dishes, but also integrates the food typical of the Man and Mongolian minorities of the northern areas, with the famous Peking Duck and instant-boiled mutton being cases in point. Beijing's Siheyuan, a kind of courtyard with houses on four sides, is beautifully designed and uniquely built, and the Hutongs, wide and narrow, are symbols of life led by ordi-nary people. Beijing also offers exquisite traditional handi-crafts, with traditional products such as cloisonnes, jade sculptures and carpets that are valued highly both at home and abroad.
But the capital is also a modern city and China's largest sci-entific and cultural center. It has the country's biggest library, the National Library of China, the largest sports facilities and frstclasss hospitals. It is the center of China's press, and is home to dozens of State-level art groups. It has 120 mu-seums, earning it the name of "City of Museums." Blessed with rich resources and a huge pool of talented people, Bei-jing has about 100 different types of universities The Peking Universty Tsinghua Universty and other top universities have trained large groups of talented people and attracted many forign students. China's largest sientit & research institutions, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, have their head-quarters and most of their 100-plus affiliated research institu-tions in Beijing. As a meeting place for talent and technology, Zhongguancun plays host to brilliant minds from Peking and Tsinghua universities and research institutes affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It has seen high-tech industries flourish since 1980s, and is rightly called "China’s Silicon Valley."
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Wangfujing Pedestrian Street
Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, on the northern side of the East Chang'an Averue in the center of Beijing, is a famous commercial street with hun-dreds of years of history. its name derives from the eight royal mansions and one built for a princess that were situated there during the Qing Dy-nasty, and a sweet-water well dug later to supply water to the royal family members. After the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Dong'an Market helped Wangfujing Street develop gradually into one of the four commercial districts of Beijing. After the PRC was founded, the Chinese government chose to develop the street as one of the key commercial districts. The 810-m-long street today plays host to many famous shops such as the Wangfujing Department Building Foreign Languages Bookstore, Danyao Plaza, Gongmei Emporium, Wangfujing Women's Department Building, Muslim Mansion and the Sun Dong An Plaza, as well as time-honored brands like Shengxifu, Tongshenghe, Donglaishun, Quanjude, Silian Hair-dressing and Beauty Center and Baicao Drugstore.
Beijing has an extremely strong industrial foundation with diversified sectors, including iron & steel, coal, machinery, petrochemical, electronics and textiles. But the government began making iron & steel, chemical and textile and other traditional industries more technology-intensive since the 1990. On the other hand, high-tech industries that suit the modern character of the capital such as electronic commu- nication, optical, mechanical and electronic integration, bio-engineering, as well as new pharmaceuticals, have been developed into key sectors.
Beijing is the hub of China's railways, highways and air-lines. It is connected to other parts of the country through a multiple network of train lines, roads and flights. The Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway has made Beijing’s acces-sibility to a port easier. The Beijing Capital International Air-port has developed into China's largest airport, with flights linking the capital with all major cities at home and abroad.
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[1] The Great Wall from the Ming Dynasty spans more than 6,300 km, running from west to east across high mountains, vast deserts and grasslands.