Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the northern part of China. The city is surrounded by mountains on three sides and has four distinct seasons.

Modern Beijing is China's political center, cultural center, international exchange center and the center of technological innovation. In the long river of history, Beijing is a shining pearl: as the capital of China's six dynasties and the contemporary capital, it has a very long history yet still preserves a relatively complete ancient architectural structure, allowing people to feel its glorious history.

Tian’anmen Square, which is the center of the capital city of the People’s Republic of China, is the landmark of Beijing. The traditional central axis of Beijing City passes through the center of the majestic gate of Tiananmen, located on one side of the square. Tian’anmen Square was originally the main gate entrance of the Imperial City of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was built in 1420 and later renamed Tian’anmen in 1651. On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China held a solemn founding ceremony here. Tian’anmen Square is one of Beijing’s most important landmarks, and its image is incorporated into the design of the National Emblem.

The building on the west side of Tian'anmen Square is the Great Hall of the People. The National People's Congress of China is held here. It is also the place where Chinese national leaders hold political, diplomatic and cultural activities.

Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is located on the southern side of the Monument to the People’s Heroes in the Tian’anmen Square. It was built to commemorate China's great leader Mao Zedong (1893—1976). In this hall is placed the body of Chairman Mao Zedong, the founder of the People's Republic of China. Every day, there are many Chinese national and foreign guests coming here to visit.

Beijing has a rich history, as represented by the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City in Beijing, or the Beijing Palace Museum, is located in the center of Beijing City; historically, it was the royal palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The beautiful buildings of the Forbidden City are the representative of ancient Chinese architecture, and the Forbidden City itself is one of the largest and best preserved sites of ancient architecture in the world. It has more than 70 palaces that are large and small in size, and more than 9,000 houses. The three grand halls, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, are the center. The Forbidden City covers an area of about 720,000 square meters. It is a rectangular city surrounded by a city wall more than ten meters high and has a wide moat around it, which constitutes the “city within the city” scenic views.

Located on the northern side of Beijing, the Summer Palace is one of the largest and best preserved imperial gardens in China. The center of the Summer Palace contains the Kunming Lake and the Wanshou Mountain which were designed after the West Lake in Hangzhou according to the design method of the Jiangnan Gardens, ss it is built to be a large natural landscape garden. The Summer Palace is currently the most intact imperial palace in China. The scenery here is beautiful in every season, and it is called an “Imperial Garden Museum”.

There is also a unique ancient architectural complex south of Beijing the Temple of Heaven, which was built in 1420. There are two existing Temples of Heaven in China, and the other is in Xi’an; they used to be the place emperors visited to worship the heaven and pray for the harvest of grain. The Beijing Temple of Heaven has a unique structure and is beautifully decorated. It is one of the representatives of ancient Chinese architecture.

As an ancient city, Beijing is also full of modern atmosphere. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the construction of the city as the capital is in a constant state of change. In this world-class modern city, modern buildings mushroom from the ground, such as the National Stadium (the Bird's Nest), the National Grand Theatre, Beijing South Railway Station, etc. In addition, modern Beijing has great strength in science and technology-, for it boasts famous scientific research institutions and universities, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peking University, and Tsinghua University.

Beijing is a characteristic city. There are many traditional courtyards and “hutong” in the center of the city, attracting many tourists every day. “Siheyuan” is a traditional residence of Beijingers. It is a traditional courtyard on a rectangular plan, with houses on all sides surrounding a central space. The narrow alley formed between the courtyards of the blue tiles and ash bricks is the famous “hutong” of old Beijing. "Hutong" originated more than 700 years ago; at their peak there were more than 6,000 of them, Beijing's "hutong" has a long history and is one of Beijing's special features.

Cultural Notes

The Capital of Six Dynasties

Beijing was the capital of the six dynasties of Yan, Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing. Beijing is known as one of the six ancient cultural capitals of China, together with Nanjing, Xi'an, Luoyang, Hangzhou and Kaifeng.

The Three Grand Halls of the Forbidden City

The three grand halls refer to the Taihe (Supreme Harmony) Hall, the Zhonghe (Central Harmony) Hall, and the Baohe (Preserving Harmony) Hall in the Forbidden City. They are the palaces used by the ancient emperors to exercise their power or to celebrate. Among them, the Taihe Hall is the largest, and the Zhonghe Hall is the smallest. The three grand halls are decorated in bright colors, with sensible layout and exquisite structure; they are the essence of Chinese palace architecture.