北京，中华人民共和国的首都，全国政治、文化、交通、旅游和国际交往的中心。位于北纬39°56′，东经116°20′。西拥太行、北枕燕山，东临渤海，南面华北大平原，是连接我国东北、西北和中原的枢纽，造成形似“海湾”之势，故自古就有“北京湾”之称。全市由11个区和7个县组成。为我国四大直辖市之首。 70万年前，北京人在这里繁衍生息，然后延续至燕之蓟城，又从燕之蓟城到唐之幽州，再从元之大都至明清之帝京。如今的北京历经数十代的经营，拥有众多辉煌的帝都景观和丰厚浓郁的文化底蕴，世界最大的皇宫故宫、我国最大的祭天神庙天坛、世所罕见的皇家园林颐和园、世界八大奇迹之一的长城、北京最大的古墓群明十三陵，还有周口店北京猿人遗址都已被联合国教科文组织列入世界文化遗产。 此外，北京的宗教建筑也是赫赫有名，潭柘寺正殿上的一对鸱吻是北京古建筑中最好最大的，牛街礼拜寺是北京地区历史最悠久的清真寺，雍和宫是北京地区最大的一座藏传佛教寺院，大觉寺是“西山三百寺之巨刹”，白云观曾是道教全真派的宫观，戒台寺是一座具有辽代建筑风格的寺庙，红螺寺是“京北第一古刹”……当然，还有气势非凡的天安门、皇家花园北海、景色秀丽的香山公园、竹林遍地的紫竹院、环境幽雅的玉渊潭等等虽非宗教建筑，但也都是北京的诱人之处。 来到北京，看到的、感受到的不仅是古老帝都的雄伟庄严、厚重沧桑，还有现代大都市的时尚繁华、高速便捷，浓重的现代化气息在刚踏进北京城市就已扑面而来了，伴随着2008年第二十九届奥运会的举行，北京将再一次将她迷人的魅力展现在全世界人面前。 Geography and climate Beijing is situated at the northern tip of the roughly triangular North China Plain which opens to the south and east of the city. Mountains to the north, northwest and west shield the city and northern China’s agricultural heartland from the encroaching desert steppes. The northwestern part of the municipality, especially Yanqing County and Huairou District, are dominated by the Jundu Mountains, while the western part of the municipality is framed by the Xishan Mountains. The Great Wall of China, which stretches across the northern part of Beijing Municipality, made use of this rugged topography to defend against nomadic incursions from the steppes. Mount Dongling in the Xishan ranges and on the border with Hebei is the municipality’s highest point, with an altitude of 2303 m. Major rivers flowing through the municipality include the Yongding River and the Chaobai River, part of the Hai River system, and flowing in a southerly direction. Beijing is also the northern terminus of the Grand Canal of China which was built across the North China Plain to Hangzhou. Miyun Reservoir, built on the upper reaches of the Chaobai River, is Beijing’s largest reservoir, and crucial to its water supply. The urban area of Beijing is situated in the south-central part of the municipality and occupies a small but expanding part of the municipality’s area. It spreads out in bands of concentric ring roads, of which the fifth and outermost (the Sixth Ring Road) passes through several satellite towns. Tian’anmen and Tian’anmen Square are at the centre of Beijing, and are directly to the south of the Forbidden City, former residence of the emperors of China. To the west of Tian’anmen is Zhongnanhai, residence of the paramount leaders of the People’s Republic of China. Running through central Beijing from east to west is Chang’an Avenue, one of Beijing’s main thoroughfares. The city’s climate is a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate, characterized by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and harshly cold, windy, dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Average temperatures in January are at around -7 to -4 °C (19 to 24 °F), while average temperatures in July are at 25 to 26 °C (77 to 79 °F). Annual precipitation is over 600 mm, with 75% of that in summer. Beijing also suffers from heavy pollution and poor air quality from industry and traffic. Dust from erosion of deserts in northern and northwestern China result in seasonal dust storms that plague the city. In the first four months of 2006 alone, there were no fewer than eight such storms. Efforts have been made of late to clean up Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Beijing, a metropolis in northern China, with an area of 6,500 sq mi (16,800 sq km).is the capital of the People’s Republic of China. It was formerly known in English as Peking. Beijing is also one of the four municipalities of the PRC, which are equivalent to provinces in China’s administrative structure. Beijing Municipality borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast. Beijing is recognized as the political, educational, and cultural center of the PRC, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields. History There were cities in the vicinities of Beijing by the 1st millennium BC, and the capital of the State of Yan, one of the powers of the Warring States Period (473-221 BC), Ji, was established in present-day Beijing. After the fall of the Yan, the subsequent Qin, Han, and Jin dynasties set-up local prefectures in the area. In Tang Dynasty it became the headquarter for Fanyang jiedushi, the virtual military governor of current northern Hebei area. In 936, the Later Jin Dynasty (936-947) of northern China ceded a large part of its northern frontier, including modern Beijing, to the Khitan Liao Dynasty. In 938, the Liao Dynasty set up a secondary capital in what is now Beijing, and called it Nanjing (the "Southern Capital"). In 1125, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty annexed Liao, and in 1153 moved its capital to Liao’s Nanjing, calling it Zhongdu (中都), "the central capital.” Mongol forces burned Zhongdu to the ground in 1215 and rebuilt it to the north of the Jin capital in 1267. In preparation for the conquest of all of China, Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty founder Kublai Khan made this his capital as Dadu , Daidu to the Mongols means Khanbaliq. The decision of the Khan greatly enhanced the status of a city that had been situated on the northern fringe of China proper. After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368, the city was later rebuilt by the Ming Dynasty and Shuntian prefecture(順天府) was established in the area around the city. In 1403, the third Ming Emperor Yongle moved the Ming capital from Nanjing to the renamed Beijing, the "northern capital", situated in the north. The capital was also known as Jingshi, simply meaning capital. During the Ming Dynasty, Beijing took its current shape, and the Ming-era city wall served as the Beijing city wall until modern times, when it was pulled down and the 2nd Ring Road was built in its place. It is believed that Beijing was the largest city in the world from 1425 to 1650 and from 1710 to 1825. After the Manchus overthrew the Ming Dynasty and established the Qing Dynasty in its place, Beijing remained China’s capital throughout the Qing period. Following the success of the Nationalist Party’s Northern Expedition which pacified the warlords of the north, Nanjing was officially made the capital of the Republic of China in 1928, and Beijing was renamed Beiping . During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Beiping fell to Japan on 29 July 1937. During the occupation, the city was reverted to its former name, Beijing, and made the seat of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state that ruled the ethnic Chinese portions of Japanese-occupied North China. It was later merged into the larger Wang Jingwei Government based in Nanjing. With Japan’s surrender in World War II, on 15 August 1945, however, Beijing’s name was changed back to Beiping. On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong announced in Tiananmen the creation of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing. Just a few days earlier, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference had decided that Beiping would be the capital of the new government, and that its name would be changed back to Beijing.