City Introduction

As the capital of the People's Republic of China, and a municipality directly under the central government and a national-level city in China, Beijing (Jing for short) is China's political and cultural center, the national major transportation hub and the largest airport, and the national-level economic decision-making and administration center, which is also the home to the Central People's Government of PRC and the National People's Congress. Beijing has over three thousand years of the history for being a city and more than eight hundred and fifty years of the history for being a capital. It’s originally found in the written records with the name "Ji”. During the period of the Republic of China, it’s called Peking. After the founding of New China, it serves as the capital of the People's Republic of China, referred to as "Jing", and it’s now one of China's four municipalities directly under the central government, the country's second largest city and the national political, transportation and cultural center. Beijing is located in the northern end of the North China Plain, of which the southeast part is connected to Tianjin, while the rest is surrounded by Hebei Province. It’s a distinguished gathering of Chinese culture shaped since the Yuan, Ming and Qing periods, and is rich in historical sites and cultural landscape, making it become a city with the most world cultural heritage sites in the world and with more than 147 million visitors to come annually. As one of the "eight ancient capitals" in China, Beijing has seven world heritage sites, becoming a city with the largest number of the world heritage sites in the world. With over three thousand years of the history for being a city and more than eight hundred and fifty years of the history for being a capital, Beijing is a renowned historical and cultural city having a good many historical sites and cultural landscapes. Today, Beijing has developed into a modern international metropolis.

 

 

 

 

History and Culture

When first found in the literature, Beijing was then called Ji (an enfeoffed state of Western Zhou Dynasty in about 11th century BC), and has so far had a history of over 3,000 years. During the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, it was the capital of Yan State, and then was an auxiliary capital or an important city in Liao and Jin Dynasty. In the early Yuan Dynasty, the new "Dadu" was built, when Beijing was praised by Marco Polo as "an unparalleled city in the world". Since then Beijing had become China's political center by replacing the role of such ancient capitals as Chang'an, Luoyang and Kaifeng, and maintained such position up to the Ming and Qing Dynasty. With a history of more than 850 years as a capital, Beijing once served as the capital of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties in the history. On October 1, 1949, People's Republic of China was established and Beijing became the capital of New China. From then on, it has been China's political, cultural and economic center.

Hutong and quadrangle courtyard are not only the places to live in, but also forms of culture. It is closed but friendly. The whole family live in such a courtyard happily, where tolerance, respect for hierarchy and order, and harmony are reflected. Although this traditional way of life is moving toward collapse and decline, its cultural essence is deeply rooted in the people of Beijing.

There is a colorful cultural life in Beijing, where a variety of Quyi (folk art forms in China) can be found, including storytelling, cross talk, bass drum, acrobatics, etc., showing their distinct magic power. The most famous form of Quyi is Beijing Opera. Beijing Opera is known as the "national quintessence of Chinese culture", with more than two hundred years of history, and it is characterized with gorgeous costumes, sweet singing and amazing masks. Thus it leaves a deep impression on the people at home and abroad.

Beijing is also a holy land for a large number of young people to pursue their dreams so that today there exists the term of "Beipiao” ( people who work but don’t have a fix residence in Beijing). At Sanlitun, 798, the vicinity of the major colleges and universities, and the entrances to the subway or even on the side of the streets, young dream pursuer are everywhere. Perhaps, this is a unique scene in the new Beijing.

City Positioning

As the capital of the People's Republic of China, and a municipality directly under the central government and a national-level city in China, China's political and cultural center, the national major transportation hub and the largest airport, Beijing is the national-level economic decision-making and administration center, which is also home to the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China and the National People's Congress. In the meantime, as one of the "eight ancient capitals" in China, Beijing has seven world heritage sites, becoming a city with the largest number of the world heritage sites in the world. With over three thousand years of the history for being a city and more than eight hundred and fifty years of the history for being a capital, Beijing is a renowned historical and cultural city having a good many historical sites and cultural landscapes.

 

 

 

 

Natural Environment

Beijing has a total area of 16,410.54 square kilometers. Located in the Northern Part of North China Plain, it’s adjacent to the Bohai Bay, standing close to Liaodong Peninsula to the North, and Shandong Peninsula to the South. Beijing borders on Tianjin, of which both are surrounded by Hebei Province.

There is Xishan Mountain as an extension of Taihang Mountains west of Beijing, and Jundushan as part of Yanshan Mountains north of it. These two mountains meet together at the south ditch to form a huge semicircle bight expanding to the southeast expand, known as "Beijing Bight" around which there is the small plain called “Beijing Small Plain”. As an ancient said: "the land of Youzhou is adjacent to Canghai Sea to the east, Taihang Mountains to the west, Juyongguan to the north and Heji to the south, being honesty the land of abundance." Beijing has the average elevation of 43.5 meters, with the plain altitude of 20 - 60 meters, and the mountain altitude of 1,000 - 1,500 meters.

Beijing's terrain is higher in Northwest and lower in the Southeast. In the West of Beijing, there is Xishan Mountain that is a part of Taihang Mountains, and in the North and Northeast ther is Jundushan which is a part of Yanshan Mountains. The highest peak in Beijing is Dongling Mountain located at the Mentougou District, West of Beijing. The lowest ground is the southeast boundary of Tongzhou District in Bejing.

Beijing’s natural rivers run through the five major river systems from west to east: Jumahe, Yongdinghe, Beiyunhe, Chaobaihe and Jiyunhe. Most of the five river systems originate from the northwestern mountains, run through high mountains and lofty hills, wind southeast through the plains, and at last flow into Bohai Sea respectively.

 

 

 

 

Climate

Beijing's climate is typical of the north temperate semi-humid continental monsoon climate, characterized with hot and rainy summer, cold and dry winter, and short spring and autumn. It has the frost free period of 180 - 200 days, and the shorter period in its western mountains. However, there is a very uneven seasonal distribution of precipitation in Beijing, where 80% of the annual precipitation occurs in the three months in summer of June, July and August, with heavy rain in July and August.

Major Tourism Resources

There is a colorful cultural life in Beijing, including various types of performances and international exhibitions. In some cases, the traditional Beijing Opera performances are found at the famous China's National Center for the Performing Arts, Chang'an Grand Theater, Huguang Guild Hall, Lao She Teahouse, China National Peking Opera Company, Mei Lanfang Grand Theatre, Poly Theatre and so on. Houhai, Sanlitun and Nanluoguxiang Bar Streets are good places to visit.

Beijing is the city having the biggest number of the world heritage (7) sites in the world, and is the world's first capital city to have the world geological park. Beijing is rich in tourism resources, with more than 200 tourist attractions opening up to the public. In Beijing there are the world's largest royal palace the Forbidden City, the ancient sacrificial temple Temple of Heaven and the royal gardens Beihai Park, the Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace, as well as the Badaling Great Wall and Mutianyu Great Wall and the world's largest quadrangle courtyard Prince Gong's Mansion. There are 7,309 cultural relics and historical sites, 99 national-level key cultural relic units (including the Great Wall and the Grand Canal- Beijing Section), 326 municipal-level cultural relic units, 5 national-level geological parks, and 15 national-level forest parks.

 

 

 

 

Useful Information

Traffic Information of Beijing

Beijing’s public transport systems extend in all directions, including a variety of public transport tools. Therefore, people can easily go anywhere in the city and go to other cities at home and abroad.

1. Plane

Beijing Capital International Airport called the "first national gate of China", is China's most important and the largest international airport with the most advanced equipment and the busiest transportation tasks. It is an important window for China's air gateway and external exchange.

2. Train

Beijing is the national railway hub, where there are 4 passenger train stations, namely: Beijing West Railway Station, Beijing Railway Station, Beijing South Railway Station, Beijing North Station (Xizhimen Railway Station). In addition, there are Beijing East Railway Station and Fengtai Railway Station mainly focusing on cargo tasks. At these major stations some ticket windows are established, where train tickets of that day or 3 - 12 days ahead can be available, with the pre-sale 10-day period for part of the train tickets. The railway sector has set up more than 220 train ticket agencies or outlets in Beijing, so people can go to the nearest one for advice and tickets.

3. Bus

Beijing has a total of 12 radial national roads, which lead to Shenyang, Tianjin, Harbin, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Kunming and other cities at home. Beijing has the 9 expressway: Badaling Expressway, the Capital Airport Expressway, Beijing-Shenyang Expressway, Bejing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway, Beijing-Shijiazhuang Expressway, Beijing-Zhangjiakou Expressway, Beijing-Chengde Expressway, Beijing-Harbin Expressway and Beijing-Kaifeng Expressway.

4. Local Transportation

The downtown buses are priced at segments, and the bus fares are charged at the unit of 1.0 or 0.5 yuan according to journey length. It’s recommended that bus One-Card can be applied for, with good discount rate and convenient use. Bus One-Card (IC card): Beijing Municipal Government provides that any rider using One-Card can enjoy ticket discounts. One-Card can be applied for at each subway station and some bus hubs, with the deposit of RMB 20.

Rail transit

In Beijing, the subway is the most convenient and efficient way to travel. Currently, Beijing's running subway lines include Line 1, Line 2, Line 4, Line 5, Line 6, Line 7, Line 8, Line 9, Line 10, Line 13, Line 14, Line 15, Line 16, Fangshan Line, Yizhuang Line, Daxing Line, Changping Line, Batong Line and Airport Express. The lines cover the major business areas and tourist attractions in Beijing.

Beijing subway adopts the segmented pricing system (excluding Airport Express), and for the fare information, please refer to the billboards at each station.

Information of Embassy and Consulate

Beijing embassy quarter is the area where foreign embassies in China are located in Beijing, also known as the "second border". Once seated at Dongjiaomin Lane outside Qianmen, the quarter is currently located at Jianguomenwai and Sanlitun areas.

 

 

 

 

Visa Information

Foreigners have to apply for a Chinese visa before their visit to China.

Unless the exemption of visa provided in related treaties or provisions thereof, foreigners need to obtain a Chinese visa before entering China.

Prior to their visit to China, foreigners should check whether the visa is valid. If the visa expires or there is the insufficient number of entry, they should re-apply for a new visa.

(I) Validation of Visa (EnterBefore): It means the period of validity of the visa itself, from the date of issuance of the visa to the date of its holder allowed to enter China (subject to Beijing time). If the number of entry is still not used before the expiry date (including the day), the holder may enter the country.

(II) "Entries": It means how many times the visa holder may be allowed to enter the Chinese borders during the valid period.

If entries run out or entries don’t run out but go beyond the valid period, then the visa still becomes invalid. Prior to their visit to China, they shall re-apply for a new visa. If the holder enters China with an invalid visa, he or she will be refused to enter the country.

(III) Duration of Each Stay: It means the maximum number of days for which the holder is allowed to stay in China during each entry, which is the longest duration calculated from the date of entry, to allow the holder to stay in China.

Foreigners staying in China if exceeds the permitted period of stay without handling the visa extension formalities, will be fined or punished in a violation of "The Exit and Entry Administration Law for Foreigners of People's Republic of China" and "Implementing Rules on the Exit and Entry Administration Law for Foreigners of People's Republic of China" and other relevant laws and regulations. Therefore, in case the holder stays in China beyond the permitted period of stay in the visa, he or she must apply for an extension by going to a local public security organ at county level or above prior to the expiry date of the visa (for the specific requirements, please refer to the local public security organ website) (but is not necessarily approved). Chinese embassies and consulates abroad are responsible to handle no visa extension.

 

 

 

 

Currency Exchange

Use the currency of Renmingbi. In case of currency exchange, please check real-time daily RMB foreign exchange rates.

 

 

 

 

Religion

We respect the citizens’ freedom of faith in accordance with relevant laws and regulations of PRC.

 

 

 

 

Tourism Service Number

Beijing Travel Service Hotline: 12301

Beijing Tourist Distribution Center: 010-83531111

 

 

 

 

Notes

Special Notes

Avoid illegal taxis

When Beijing tourism market is vast, but it’s also complex, non-standard situations occur from time to time. For example, illegal tourist buses or cars are repeatedly prohibited but not eradicated. Each morning at the Zoo and Qianmen, there are some tourism buses or cars to go to the Great Wall, of which a lot are illegal tourist buses or cars (the conductors and the drivers often enthusiastically peddle "15-yuan One-day tour"); so tourists should keep precautions and do not take them.

Beijing Administration for Industry and Commerce (BAIC): 12315

Beijing Tourism Administration (BTA): 12301

Reporting Hot-line for Illegal Vehicles and Tour Guides: 96310

Telephone number for Traffic enforcement Corps: 010-68351150

Tickets and Opening Hours

Opening hours of some attractions in Beijing are very complicated; in addition to the separation of peak tourist season and off-season, some scenic spots even divide the whole year into three sections, and each has different opening hours. Second, such large-scale attractions as the Forbidden City may stop ticket sales or make site-clearing for half an hour in advance. Please be sure to understand the relevant situations beforehand.

Traffic

Beijing is also well known for its poor traffic situations across the country, which is featured with the large number of vehicles, easy occurrence of traffic jams, and complex traffic control measures. Therefore, you are required to arrange the tourism time adequately prior to the visit to Beijing. In case of self-driving tour, be sure to understand in advance the day's traffic control situations so as to avoid staying on the road, or fail to travel. In addition, in the rush hour you had better consider buses or non-motor vehicles, which may take you much faster to the destinations.

Dressing advice

The temperature difference between morning and evening in Beijing is bigger, so please prepare for long-sleeved shirts, and cotton, leather and other warm clothes in advance. What’s more, the summer is hot and rainy in Beijing, so pay attention to protection from sun and rain.

 

 

 

 

Festivals(Important/Historical/Folks Ones)

As the capital of China, Beijing is the heaven of culture and art, and is full of a variety of festivals throughout the year.

Changdian Cultural Temple Fair

Date: From the first day to the sixteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar year

Wandering about for shopping at Changdian during Spring Festival, has always been a traditional way to celebrate the festival for the people of Beijing. Changdian Temple Fair began in the Ming Dynasty Jiajing, and the whole street is really bustling during the annual temple fair. The main elements of the temple fair include lion dance, traditional folk flower festival, folk arts and crafts exhibitions and so on.

Location: the South Xinhua Street and East and West Liulichang Streets as the main part, starting from the Hepingmen Crossing to the south to Hufangqiao Crossroad.

Baiyunguan Temple Fair

Date: From the first day to the nineteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar year

Baiyunguan Temple Fair is famous for flourishing incense, and the longest open hours in the capital. At the Temple Fair, there are a lot of old Beijing folk activities, such as: Touch the stone monkey (Muoshihou) and beat the copper coin of Wofengqiao (Dajinqianyan), etc. In addition, the Temple Fair is crowded with all kinds of folk snacks, traditional handicrafts, and ancient capital folk customs painting shows.

Location: Baiyunguan Temple

Grand View Garden Spring Fair

Date: From the second day to the sixteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar year

Spring Fair is held during the Spring Festival every year, where there are a lot of performances and riddles centering on the theme of "Dream of Red Mansions" (the famous Chinese classic).

Location: Guanganmenwai

Xiangshan Red Leaves Festival

Date: The best viewing period ranging from mid October to mid-November

Xiangshan Hill and surrounding hillsides West of Beijing are planted with large sumac and maple trees, where each year around the first frost, the leaves turn red and join together to cover the a whole hill like a fire, shaping a very spectacular view.

Location: Xiangshan Park

Yanqing Ice and Snow Tourism Festival

Date: From December 10 to the end of Next February

Yanqing Ice and Snow Tourism Festival is winter tourism festival with relatively larger influence in North China, which has always been famous for its rich and wonderful ice and snow landscapes, ice and snow activities and unique style of folk landscapes. The main activities include Longqingxia ice lanterns, alpine skiing, snowmobiling, snow resort spa, ice and snow temple fair and so on.

Location: Shijinglong Ski Resort, Longqingxia and so on.