Language

Mandarin Chinese is the country's official language.

The history of Beijing is punctuated by greatness, turmoil, power and intrigue. Located neither by an ocean, not by a great river, the original city was strategically placed at a major divide between nomadic herding lands to the north and agricultural lands to the south. These two opposing forces have shaped much of the city’s history.

Beijing Cave Man

It is believed that the first human settlement in Beijing goes back to as far as 780,000 years ago, perhaps even earlier.

The oldest fossil records of "Peking Man" were found in the Zhoukoudian, Fangshan district, in the city's southwestern suburbs in the 1920s. These dated to about 500,000 years ago. More recent finds are dated back to between 18,000 and 11,000 BC.

During construction of the Oriental Plaza in Central Beijing's Wanfujing area in 1999, a Palaeolithic (early Stone Age) settlement was discovered.

Figures on Beijing Cave Man

Average life span: No more than 30 years of age

Average height: 156 cm (male), 144 cm (female)

Brain capacity: 1,088 milliliters, 80 percent of modern humans

Explore history

1.Zhoukoudian Relics Museum

Address: 1 Zhoukoudian Dajie, Fangshan district

Tel: +86 10 6930 1278/1080

Traffic: Take bus No. 917 to Liangxiangximen, and transfer to bus No. 38

Open: 8:30 am-4:30 pm

2.Palaeoanthropology Cultural Relics Museum

Address: Oriental Plaza, Dong Chang'an Jie, Dongcheng district

Tel: + 86 10 8518 6306

Traffic: Take bus Nos 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 37 or 728; or Subway Line 1.

Open: 10:00 am-4:00 pm

Yanjing—the most important city of the Yan

Records concerning Beijing's existence date to 11th century BC.