Beijing

Beijing is the capital of China and a major political, cultural and educational center. It lies in northern China, at the northern edge of the North China Plain, with mountains to the west, north and northeast. The municipality covers about 16,410 square kilometres. Beijing has a temperate continental monsoon climate: summers are generally hot and rainy, while winters are cold and dry.

Its position between the mountains and the plain has influenced the city’s growth and links with northern China. At the end of 2024, the municipality had about 21.8 million permanent residents. Mandarin Chinese is the main language used in everyday life and public administration. Beijing has a long history as a center of political power.

It became the capital of the Yuan dynasty in the thirteenth century and later remained an imperial capital under the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City, built in the early fifteenth century, was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing rulers and is now an important heritage site. The Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace are also major historic landmarks.

The Great Wall passes through the mountains around Beijing and forms part of a much larger defensive system across northern China. Today, Beijing is a major center for government, science, technology, education, finance and international exchange.