| cl | | | | Rich in history, Beijing has been Chinaâs |
| | | | primary capital for more than seven centuries. |
| As the capital of China, Beijing is one of the | | | | Chinaâs imperial past and political present |
| world's truly imposing cities, with a 3,000-year | | | | meet at Tiananmen square, where the Forbidden |
| history and 15.3 million people (2005). Covering | | | | City palace of the emperors gives way to the |
| 16,808 square kilometers in area, it is the political, | | | | Great Hall of the People congress building and the |
| cultural and economic center of the | | | | mausoleum of Chairman Mao Zedong. The old city |
| Peopleâs Republic. | | | | walls have been replaced by ring roads, and many |
| Situated in northeast China, Beijing adjoins the | | | | of the old residential districts of alleys and |
| Inner Mongolian Highland to the northwest and the | | | | courtyard houses have been turned into high-rise |
| Great Northern Plain to the south. Five rivers run | | | | hotels, office buildings, and department stores. |
| through the city, connecting it to the eastern | | | | Beijing, a dynamic city where the old and new |
| Bohai Sea. Administratively, the Beijing municipality | | | | intermingle, remains a magnet for visitors from |
| equals the status of a province, reporting directly | | | | inside and outside China. |
| to the central government. | | | | |