20 Interesting Facts about the city of Beijing

20 Interesting Facts about the city of Beijing

Image: Pixabay

Beijing is the capital city of China and is known for its rich history and modern architecture. It has one of the world’s greatest population with a population of over 20 million people and attracts people from all around. There is a lot to learn and enjoy the city’s sites. Here are some facts worth knowing about Beijing:

Cultural Center of China

Beijing is home to China’s most valued historic sites, large museums, and traditional architectural structures. The city attracts a tremendous number of tourists from all over the world. It preserves and explains China’s vast and diverse history. The Capital Museum, Beijing Opera Museum and the National Museum of China, which houses over a million priceless artifacts, are just a few examples of the sublime cultural features of the city.

The Largest City in China

Although it is the capital city of China, it is the second-most populous city in the country after Shanghai. There are about 21.71 million people in Beijing, and Shanghai though smaller has about 24 Million. Beijing, however, has more history and travel activities while Shanghai is more of nightlife, food and shopping experiences!

Premier Food Destination in China

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Though it is known mostly for its rich history, Beijing has a rich food culture as well. Beijing Cuisine was formed during the Ping Dynasty when top-ranking food service was provided to nobles and the wealthy in the society. The lower-income members of the society could only afford low quality food, but after the end of the dynasty, the top-ranking food service was made available to all. Original food from Beijing is mostly snacks and many dishes that are served as main dishes are derived from a variety of Chinese Halal foods, especially lamb and beef. Roast duck (Peking) is very popular among tourists and goes back almost 600 years.

A City of Many Names

Beijing is the 16th name of the city. The original name of the city was ‘Ji’. The name Beijing translates as ‘Northern Capital. Some of the former names of the city are, Nanjing (The Southern Capital), Dadu (The Great Capital), Yanjing (The Yan Capital), Zhongdu (The Central Capital) and Beiping (Central Peace). There have been multiple people in power throughout history, each claiming control over the city, thus the frequent changing of names.

City of Many Wangs

The most popular surname in Beijing is Wang. 11% of the population has this last name, so anyone visiting the city is almost sure to meet a Wang!

Home of The Great Wall of China

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Although the wall is just outside the city, it is still in the Beijing Municipality. This is one of the seven wonders of the world. It is the largest and longest wall in the world and has become a major tourist attraction in China.

The wall was built during the Ming Dynasty, between 1368 and 1644. It was built to consolidate and protect the territories of Chinese states and empires. It was then about 6000 kilometers long.

Home to Dynasties

The city was the capital of 6 remarkable dynasties over 21 centuries. These are The Yan State Capital, The Yuan Dynasty, The Ming Dynasty, The Qing Dynasty, The Republic of China Capital, and The People’s Republic of China. This is the main reason for the city’s rich culture.

Excellent Public Transport Infrastructure

The city has a great transportation system, which makes it easy to get to different points. The subway system is especially convenient for citizens living in the city. There are 14 lines running on the subway. 21 more lines are to be added by the end of this year.

The city also has 4 train stations, including one high-speed station. 9 million people ride the subway on average every day.

World’s Largest Palace

The Forbidden City in Beijing is the world’s largest palace. It was the former Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, from 1420 to 1912.

It served as the home to Chinese emperors as well as the political and ceremonial center of the Chinese government for almost 500 years.

Tiananmen Square

This is the world’s second-largest city square, located in Beijing. It was built in 1415 during the Ming Dynasty. It contains the Monument of the People’s Heroes, The Great Hall of the People, The National Museum of China and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, who proclaimed the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1st, 1949.

Second Busiest Airport on the World

Beijing International Airport is the busiest airport in Asia and the second busiest in the world after Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the USA. It was built on March 1st, 1958. It even has its own fire and police department.

One of the World’s oldest cities

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The city is 3000 years old. It is as old as London, 6 times as old as New York, 10 times as old as Sydney. This is also one of the reasons for the city’s great historical relevance to China.

Air Pollution

Although Beijing is a great city, it is also one of the most polluted cities in the world. It is speculated that breathing in the city’s air for 6 days is equivalent to smoking a cigarette. This state was attributed to coal combustion and motor vehicles in the city. However, for the last 20 years, the city has been making great strides towards cleaner air and a conducive living environment for its citizens, and there have been evident improvements.

Calligraphy

Image: Wikipedia

The city’s popular souvenirs include calligraphy brushes and ink pads. Calligraphy is regarded as sacred art and was started over 6000 years ago. According to Chinese philosophers, the benefits of calligraphy are physical as well as psychic. They claim that they find their ways through the world through the path that their brushes follow.

Beijing Dialect and Mandarin

Mandarin is the official language of China. It is based on Beijing dialect and accent. Both proper pronunciations in Standard Chinese and Mandarin Chinese are based on the Beijing dialect. Most people in Beijing do not speak English, thus it is important to know the language or have a handbook when visiting the city. Beijing is one of the best places to learn Mandarin.

Bicycle Capital

The city has over 86,000 public bicycles. There tend to be traffic jams due to the large population in the city, thus many people prefer to cycle within the city, even those working in corporate offices. A song called “Nine Million Bicycles” was produced by Mike Batt and sang by Katie Melua after visiting Beijing and being told that there are supposedly 9 million bicycles in Beijing.

Olympics

Image: Wikimedia

It has been reported that Beijing will be the first city to host both the Winter and Summer Olympics. The 2008 Summer Olympics Chinese was held in Beijing in 2008, but no country has ever hosted both seasons. This is a desirable status in many cities because it attracts people from all over the world.

Best times to travel

The best times to travel to Beijing are April, May, September, and October. This is right before and after the summer. During these months, it is neither too hot nor too cold, therefore one can comfortably walk around the city.

Chinese Theater

Beijing Opera is an essential part of Chinese traditional theater and is an integral part of the country’s culture. It comprises of singing, spoken dialogue, and acting. It is practiced by people in parks as well as in opera houses.

World’s largest steel structure.

Image: Wikimedia

The Olympic Park, built in 2008 for the Summer Olympics, is a must-see sight. It was designed by Ai Weiwei and is the most complex stadium ever constructed.