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Beijing, the capital of
the People's Republic of China, is the nation's political and cultural centre. Some 690,000 years
ago, Peking Man lived at Zhoukoudian,
48 kilometers southwest of Beijing.
A small town appeared on
the present site of southwestern Beijing in 1045 B. C. It was named Ji and then changed to
Yan.At the beginning of the 10th century,it was the second capital of the
Liao Dynasty. From then on,the city had been the capital of the
Jin,Yuan,Ming and Qing dynasties until 1911.In the early twenties, Beijing
became the cradle of China's new democratic revolution. The May Fourth
Movement against imperialism and feudalism began here in 1919.
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| Beijing is
situated at 40 degrees north latitude and 116 degrees east longitude. It
is 43 meters above sea level and |
| 183 kilometers from the sea,and 38% of Beijing is
flat land and 62% mountains. |
| Beijing has a
continental climate.Annual rainfall averages nearly 700 millimeters,most of it
comes in July and August. |
| Winter is dry and cold and has little snow; the
frost-free period is 185 days.The best time to visit Beijing is May, |
| September and October, when people enjoy bright sunny
sky. |
| King Wu was the
first to declare Beijing the capital city in 1057 BC. Subsequently, the city
has gone by the names of Ji, |
| Zhongdu, Dadu, and finally Beijing
when the Ming Dynasty Emperor Cheng Zu chose the name in
1421. Beijing was also known
as Peking by the Western world before
1949. |
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south. She has 18 districts and counties
with Dongcheng, Xicheng, Xuanwu, Chongwen,
Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai
and Shijingshan in the surburbs and
Fangshan, Mengtougou, Changping,
Tongxian, Shunyi, Daxing, Huairou,
Miyun, Pinggu and Yianqing in the outer
suburbs. |
