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176-538: Beijing , previously romanized as Peking , is the capital city of China . With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city after Shanghai . It is located in Northern China , and is governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the State Council with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts . Beijing
352-546: A conference held in 1906 in Shanghai . Instead, the conference formally adopted Nanking syllabary. This decision allowed the post office to continue to use various romanizations that it had already selected. Wade–Giles romanization is based on the Beijing dialect , a pronunciation standard since the 1850s. The use of Nanking syllabary did not suggest that the post office considered Nanjing pronunciation to be standard. Rather, it
528-468: A considerable portion for steel and cement making. Power plants in the coal-mining regions of Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Shaanxi, where coal consumption has tripled since 2000, and Shandong also contribute to air pollution in Beijing. Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei and Inner Mongolia, respectively rank from first to fourth, among Chinese provinces by coal consumption. There were four major coal-fired power plants in
704-440: A different floor plan. The gate tower at Zhengyangmen was the tallest and the most imposing Inner city gate tower. Chongwenmen and Xuanwumen were slightly smaller than Zhengyangmen. Dongzhimen and Xizhimen were smaller still, and Deshengmen, Andingmen, Chaoyangmen, are Fuchengmen were the smallest. Each gate tower had two floors. Soldiers could climb to the upper level to have a better view of approaching enemies. Each gate tower had
880-417: A few pedestrians can pass through at a time. Once ubiquitous in Beijing, siheyuans and hutongs are rapidly disappearing, as entire city blocks of hutongs are replaced by high-rise buildings. Residents of the hutongs are entitled to live in the new buildings in apartments of at least the same size as their former residences. Many complain, however, that the traditional sense of community and street life of
1056-511: A flat instrument that produced a "tang" sound. Thus arose the saying that of "nine gates, eight tangs, one old bell". This story is a possible etymological origin of zhongdian to refer to the hour in the Beijing dialect. In the past there were many distilleries in the southern Daxing District . Carts would carry newly brewed spirits through Chongwenmen. This is the origin of the saying, "Chongwenmen has carts carrying spirits entering; Xuanwumen has carts carrying prisoners leaving". When Chongwenmen
1232-428: A gap in the wall at Dongzhimen and Chaoyangmen, but failed because the soldiers could not get close enough to light the fuse without being shot. The barbicans, enemy sight towers, and corner guard towers proved to be quite effective at deterring enemy attacks. For example, on the night of 13 August, Russian troops succeeded in invading Dongbianmen's watchtower, but suffered heavy casualties in the barbican. It wasn't until
1408-543: A long-time customs manager, was appointed postal secretary in 1901. Appointing a French national to the top position fulfilled an 1898 commitment by China to "take into account the recommendations of the French government" when selecting staff for the post office. Until 1911, the post office remained part of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service , which meant that Hart was Piry's boss. To resolve
1584-474: A major center of electronics in China. In recent years, the expansion of Beijing has also brought to the forefront some problems of urbanization, such as heavy traffic , poor air quality , the loss of historic neighborhoods, and a significant influx of migrant workers from less-developed rural areas of the country. Beijing has also been the location of many significant events in recent Chinese history, principally
1760-591: A military frontier command center. During the An-Shi Rebellion and again amidst the turmoil of the late Tang, local military commanders founded their own short-lived Yan dynasties and called the city Yanjing , or the "Yan Capital." Also in the Tang dynasty, the city's name Jicheng was replaced by Youzhou or Yanjing. In 938, after the fall of the Tang, the Later Jin ceded the frontier territory including what
1936-401: A move of his capital from Nanjing to Beijing. At that time, Beijing was just the capital of the dependency of the kingdom of Yan ; therefore it did not have very extensive fortifications. Extensive expansion and reconstruction work would be needed to meet the defence requirements of the new capital for it to withstand the sporadic Mongol incursions from the north. This marked the beginning of
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#17327753877112112-611: A new capital for his Yuan dynasty to the northeast of the Zhongdu ruins. The construction took from 1264 to 1293, but greatly enhanced the status of a city on the northern fringe of China proper . The city was centered on the Drum Tower slightly to the north of modern Beijing and stretched from the present-day Chang'an Avenue to the northern part of Line 10 subway . Remnants of the Yuan rammed earth wall still stand and are known as
2288-489: A number of romanizations, including Tongyong Pinyin and postal romanization. Beijing city fortifications The Beijing city fortifications were a series of walls with towers and gates constructed in the city of Beijing , China in the early 1400s until they were partially demolished in 1965 for the construction of the 2nd Ring Road and Line 2 of the Beijing Subway . The original walls were preserved in
2464-466: A pancake" ( tan da bing ). This pattern of development is frequently cited as a reason for Beijing's urban problems. Beijing has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate ( Köppen : Dwa ), bordering on a cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSk ) in the south and in the northwest, characterized by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon , and brief but cold, dry winters that reflect
2640-573: A period of 39 years. Also required was the execution or exile of government supporters of the Boxers and the destruction of Chinese forts and other defenses in much of northern China. Ten days after the treaty was signed the foreign armies left Beijing, although legation guards would remain there until World War II . With the treaty signed the Empress Dowager Cixi returned to Beijing from her "tour of inspection" on 7 January 1902 and
2816-407: A second city wall of rammed earth to the south of the original northern city wall. The new wall was later covered with stones and bricks. In 1372 the original northern city wall was completely dismantled and the materials used to reinforce the new wall. The perimeter of the original Imperial city was measured at that time as 1,206 zhang (approximately 4,020 metres). The perimeter of the southern city
2992-477: A single missing brick—was swiftly reported to the authorities and repaired. Much damage was done to the fortifications during the Boxer Rebellion (1898–1901). The Righteous Harmony Society burned down the gate tower at Zhengyangmen , and its watchtower was destroyed by Indian troops . The watchtowers at Chaoyangmen and Chongwenmen were destroyed by artillery fire from Japanese and British forces, and
3168-694: A southeasterly direction. The Miyun Reservoir, on the upper reaches of the Chaobai River, is the largest reservoir within the municipality. Beijing is also the northern terminus of the Grand Canal to Hangzhou , which was built over 1,400 years ago as a transportation route, and the South–North Water Transfer Project , constructed in the past decade to bring water from the Yangtze River basin. The urban area of Beijing, on
3344-707: A stamp that gave the city of origin in Latin letters, often romanized using Giles's system. In 1896, the Customs Post was combined with other postal services and renamed the Chinese Imperial Post . As a national agency, the Imperial Post was an authority on Chinese place names. When the Wade–Giles system became widespread, some argued that the post office should adopt it. This idea was rejected at
3520-426: A total of 600 million people. After this "pollution shock" air pollution became an important economic and social concern in China. After that the government of Beijing announced measures to reduce air pollution, for example by lowering the share of coal from 24% in 2012 to 10% in 2017, while the national government ordered heavily polluting vehicles to be removed from 2015 to 2017 and increased its efforts to transition
3696-627: A true representation of the varieties of Chinese orthoepy as evinced by the Post Office's repeated desire to transcribe according to "local pronunciation" or "provincial sound-equivalents". At the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation in 1913, the idea of a national language with a standardized trans-regional phonology was approved. A period of turmoil followed as President Yuan Shikai reversed course and attempted to restore
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#17327753877113872-431: A watchtower directly in front of it. They were all unique. The watchtower at Zhengyangmen was 38 metres high, 52 metres wide, and 32 metres deep, constructed on a raised platform 12 metres high. This gate, named "Qianmen", was for the exclusive use of the emperor. Built in multi-eaved Xieshanding style, it had grey tubed roof tiles with green glazed tiles at the top. The southern side had seven rooms with 52 arrow slits , and
4048-497: Is one of the oldest cities in the world , with a rich history dating back over three millennia. As the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China , Beijing has been the political center of the country for most of the past eight centuries, and was the largest city in the world by population for much of the second millennium CE . With mountains surrounding the inland city on three sides, in addition to
4224-728: Is 27.2 °C (81.0 °F). Precipitation averages around 528.0 mm (20.8 in) annually ( Haidian and Chaoyang has an average annual precipitation of 584.2 mm (23.0 in)), with close to three-quarters of that total falling from June to August. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 42% in July to 62% in January and February, the city receives 2,490.5 hours of bright sunshine annually. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −27.4 °C (−17.3 °F) on 22 February 1966 to 41.9 °C (107.4 °F) on 24 July 1999 (unofficial record of 42.6 °C (108.7 °F)
4400-498: Is a center for Beijing's economic expansion , with the ongoing or recently completed construction of multiple skyscrapers . Beijing's Zhongguancun area is a world leading center of scientific and technological innovation as well as entrepreneurship. Beijing has been ranked the city with the largest scientific research output by the Nature Index since the list's inception in 2016. Beijing hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as
4576-445: Is causing harm and danger to the population. The air pollution does directly result in significant impact on the morbidity rate of cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease in Beijing. Exposure to large concentrations of polluted air can cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems, emergency room visits, and even death. Dust from the erosion of deserts in northern and northwestern China results in seasonal dust storms that plague
4752-581: Is home to the headquarters of most of China's largest state-owned companies and houses the largest number of Fortune Global 500 companies in the world, as well as the world's four biggest financial institutions by total assets. It is also a major hub for the national highway , expressway , railway , and high-speed rail networks. For a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic , the Beijing Capital International Airport
4928-550: Is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province and neighbors Tianjin to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jing-Jin-Ji cluster . It is ranked as the 10th most important city in the world by Knight Frank . Beijing is a global city and one of the world's leading centres for culture , diplomacy , politics , finance , business and economics , education , research , language , tourism , media , sport , science and technology and transportation and art. It
5104-766: Is now Beijing to the Khitan Liao dynasty, which treated the city as Nanjing , or the "Southern Capital", one of four secondary capitals to complement its "Supreme Capital" Shangjing (modern Baarin Left Banner in Inner Mongolia ). Some of the oldest surviving pagodas in Beijing date to the Liao period, including the Tianning Pagoda . The Liao fell to the Jurchen Jin dynasty in 1122, which gave
5280-462: Is what is sometimes referred to as the "Sino-Sov" style, with structures tending to be boxy and sometimes poorly constructed, which were built between the 1950s and the 1970s. Finally, there are much more modern architectural forms, most noticeably in the area of the Beijing CBD in east Beijing such as the new CCTV Headquarters , in addition to buildings in other locations around the city such as
5456-460: The APEC China 2014 and the 2015 China Victory Day Parade , respectively. During and prior to these events, Beijing's air quality improved dramatically, only to fall back to unhealthy levels shortly after. On 8 and 9 December 2015 Beijing had its first smog alert which shut down a majority of the industry and other commercial businesses in the city. Later in the month another smog "red alert"
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5632-914: The Beijing National Stadium and National Center for the Performing Arts . Since 2007, buildings in Beijing have received the CTBUH Skyscraper Award for best overall tall building twice, for the Linked Hybrid building in 2009 and the CCTV Headquarters in 2013. The CTBUH Skyscraper award for best tall overall building is given to only one building around the world every year. In the early 21st century, Beijing has witnessed tremendous growth of new building constructions, exhibiting various modern styles from international designers, most pronounced in
5808-520: The Beijing dialect that is taught in the Chinese education system. After the Kuomintang (KMT) party came to power in 1927, the capital was moved from Peking ('northern capital') to Nanking ('southern capital'). Peking was renamed to "Peiping" ('northern peace'). The Customs Post, China's first government-run post office, opened to the public and began issuing postage stamps in 1878. This office
5984-756: The Boxers to eradicate this presence, as well as Chinese Christian converts, led to Beijing's reoccupation by eight foreign powers . During the fighting, several important structures were destroyed, including the Hanlin Academy and the (new) Summer Palace . A peace agreement was concluded between the Eight-Nation Alliance and representatives of the Chinese government Li Hongzhang and Yikuang on 7 September 1901. The treaty required China to pay an indemnity of US$ 335 million (over US$ 4 billion in current dollars) plus interest over
6160-680: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led by the Beijing CCP Secretary . The Municipal CCP Committee issues administrative orders, collects taxes, manages the economy, and directs a standing committee of the Municipal People's Congress in making policy decisions and overseeing the local government. Since 1987, all CCP Secretary of Beijing is also a member of the Politburo . Government officials include
6336-549: The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference just a few days earlier. In the 1950s, the city began to expand beyond the old walled city and its surrounding neighborhoods, with heavy industries in the west and residential neighborhoods in the north . Many areas of the Beijing city wall were torn down in the 1960s to make way for the construction of the Beijing Subway and the 2nd Ring Road . During
6512-576: The Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, the Red Guard movement began in Beijing and the city's government fell victim to one of the first purges. By the autumn of 1966, all city schools were shut down and over a million Red Guards from across the country gathered in Beijing for eight rallies in Tian'anmen Square with Mao. In April 1976, a large public gathering of Beijing residents against
6688-881: The Forbidden City , the Imperial City , the Inner city, and the Outer city. Fortifications included gate towers , gates, archways, watchtowers, barbicans , barbican towers, barbican gates, barbican archways, sluice gates, sluice gate towers, enemy sighting towers, corner guard towers , and a moat system. It had the most extensive defense system in Imperial China . After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Beijing's fortifications were gradually dismantled. The Forbidden City has remained largely intact, and has become
6864-797: The Gang of Four and the Cultural Revolution in Tiananmen Square was forcefully suppressed . In October 1976, the Gang was arrested in Zhongnanhai and the Cultural Revolution came to an end. In December 1978, the Third Plenum of the 11th Party Congress in Beijing under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping reversed the verdicts against victims of the Cultural Revolution and instituted the "policy of reform and opening up". Since
7040-486: The Hongwu (1368–1398) and Yongle (1402–1424) eras. The walls were formed from rammed earth covered with rocks and a finishing layer of bricks on both the interior and exterior. The average height was 12 to 15 metres. The northern and southern sections, built in the early Ming dynasty, were thicker than the eastern and western sections, built during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). The thicker sections averaged 19 to 20 metres at
7216-487: The Ming dynasty captured the city from the last Yuan emperor, Emperor Shun . Xu Da decided that Dadu's fortification system was too large to defend during a siege, so he ordered the city's northern walls rebuilt 2.8 kilometres (1.7 miles) to the south of the original location. This construction pre-empted the planned northern expansion of the city. The new wall was constructed with an extra layer of bricks, further strengthening
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7392-564: The Mongols . In 1476 construction of an outer city was proposed. In 1553, a large rectangular outer city wall and moat system was completed to the south of the original city, forming a shape similar to the "凸" character. This defensive perimeter was maintained for nearly 400 years. The wall and moat defense system was retained unchanged by the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). However, the Imperial city
7568-576: The Palace Museum . Some fortifications remain intact, including Tiananmen , the gate tower and watchtower at Zhengyangmen , the watchtower at Deshengmen , the southeastern corner guard tower, and a section of the Inner city wall near Chongwenmen . The latter two components now form the Ming City Wall Relics Park . None of the Outer city remains intact. Yongdingmen was completely reconstructed in 2004. The city of Dadu ,
7744-464: The People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the majority of the moats and gate towers were extant, albeit in a dilapidated state. In 1949 Beijing became the capital of the newly founded Communist government. Government-sponsored city planning studies showed that the remaining wall and moat structures were hindering traffic flow and were a barrier to expansion and development. The Outer city wall
7920-470: The Qianmen area. Arches for trains were cut in the city walls near Hepingmen , Jianguomen , Fuxingmen and several other minor gates. The walls of the Imperial city were fully dismantled, except for the south to southwest section. The gate towers, watchtowers, and corner towers of the major gates of both the Inner city and Outer city were dismantled over time due to lack of funds for maintenance. But when
8096-668: The Second Opium War , Anglo-French forces captured the outskirts of the city, looting and burning the Old Summer Palace in 1860. Under the Convention of Peking ending that war, Western powers for the first time secured the right to establish permanent diplomatic presences within the city. From 14 to 15 August 1900 the Battle of Peking was fought. This battle was part of the Boxer Rebellion . The attempt by
8272-522: The Siege of Peking ; it was completely dismantled in 1920. The barbican was dismantled in 1950 and the gate tower in 1966. Chongwenmen was a "sighting gate", with the connotation of "a bright and prosperous future". Its symbol was the Chongwen iron turtle. Due to its close proximity to the busy Tonghui river, it was the busiest gate in Beijing. Entry and departure taxes were charged at Chongwenmen throughout
8448-507: The Temple of Earth and Xiannong Temple were built in what was then the southern suburbs. Some sources indicate that the central axis of the city was moved eastwards to subdue the previous dynasty's Qi (new Qi comes from the east, where the sun rises daily). A second expansion of the city occurred between 1436 and 1445, on the orders of Emperor Ying of the Ming dynasty. Major works included
8624-531: The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 . The city has also hosted major international events, including the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2015 World Championships in Athletics , and the 2022 Winter Olympics , making it the first city to ever host both Winter and Summer Olympics. Beijing is situated at the northern tip of the roughly triangular North China Plain , which opens to the south and east of
8800-536: The Yongle era (1402–1424), they were organized into three groups, called Wujunying (consisting of the majority of the army), Sanqianying (consisting of mercenary and allied Mongol troops), and Shenjiying (consisting of troops using firearms). The three ying were further divided into 72 wei, organised into five groups named Zhongjun (centre), Zuoyejun (left middle), Youyejun (right middle), Zuoshaojun (left guard), and Youshaojun (right guard); these were collectively known as
8976-582: The guard tower at the southeast corner of the Inner city was spared, because the metro line veered towards the Beijing railway station . The tops of the walls were dismantled, making it no longer possible to walk along the top of them. Beginning in 1972, in order to pave the 2nd Ring Road above the Metro, and to serve high-rise apartments and hotels in the Qianmen area, Beijing's eastern, southern, and western moats were covered and converted to sewers. In 1979,
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#17327753877119152-448: The hutongs cannot be replaced, and these properties are often government owned. Beijing had a long history of environmental problems . Between 2000 and 2009 Beijing's urban extent quadrupled, which not only strongly increased the extent of anthropogenic emissions, but also changed the meteorological situation fundamentally, even if emissions of human society are not included. For example, surface albedo , wind speed and humidity near
9328-505: The mayor ( Chinese : 市长 ) and vice-mayor. Numerous bureaus focus on law, public security, and other affairs. Additionally, as the capital of China, Beijing houses all of the important national governmental and political institutions, including the National People's Congress . Chinese postal romanization Postal romanization was a system of transliterating place names in China developed by postal authorities in
9504-414: The old inner and outer city walls , Beijing was strategically poised and developed to be the residence of the emperor and thus was the perfect location for the imperial capital. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, parks, gardens, tombs, walls and gates . Beijing is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world. In 2018, Beijing was the second highest earning tourist city in
9680-399: The 1960s, relations between China and the Soviet Union soured. After the Sino-Soviet split , people felt that war with the Soviet Union was inevitable. Underground bomb shelters, underground "supply cities", and an underground railway—the Beijing Metro —were commissioned. Work on the Metro began on 1 July 1965. The construction technique used was cut-and-cover : wherever the path of the metro
9856-438: The 1980s) of the two characters as they are pronounced in Standard Mandarin . An older English spelling, Peking , was used by Jesuit missionary Martino Martini in a popular atlas published in Amsterdam in 1655. Although Peking is no longer the common name for the city, some of the city's older locations and facilities, such as Beijing Capital International Airport , with the IATA code PEK, and Peking University , still retain
10032-495: The American press adopted pinyin in 1979. The International Organization for Standardization followed suit in 1982. Postal romanization remained official in Taiwan until 2002, when Tongyong Pinyin was adopted. In 2009, Hanyu Pinyin replaced Tongyong Pinyin as the official romanization (see Chinese language romanization in Taiwan ). While street names in Taipei have been romanized via Hanyu Pinyin, municipalities throughout Taiwan, such as Kaohsiung and Tainan , presently use
10208-403: The Beijing area. Beijing's annual average concentration of major airborne fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, declined to 30 micrograms per cubic meter in 2022, the best air quality for the city since 2013. Due to Beijing's high level of air pollution, there are various readings by different sources on the subject. Daily pollution readings at 27 monitoring stations around the city are reported on
10384-416: The Beijing circum-city railway was built in 1915, the sight towers at the northeast and southeast corners were dismantled and the side walls of the guard towers at these corners had arches built as passageways for trains. The barbican and sluice gates at Deshengmen , Andingmen , Chaoyangmen, and Dongzhimen were dismantled for the passage of trains. The barbican at Zhengyangmen was dismantled to ease traffic in
10560-421: The Boxer Rebellion and Eight-Nations Alliance attack during the Qing dynasty. All but the Eight-Nations Alliance were successfully defended against. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, the barbicans at Zhengyangmen, Chaoyangmen, Xuanwemen , Dongzhimen, and Andingmen were dismantled, along with Dong'anmen and the city walls of the Imperial city, to improve traffic flow and to allow for construction of
10736-670: The CBD region. A mixture of both 1950s design and neofuturistic style of architecture can be seen at the 798 Art Zone , which mixes the old with the new. Beijing's tallest building is the 528-meter China Zun . Beijing is famous for its siheyuans , a type of residence where a common courtyard is shared by the surrounding buildings. Among the more grand examples are the Prince Gong Mansion and Residence of Soong Ching-ling . These courtyards are usually connected by alleys called hutongs . The hutongs are generally straight and run east to west so that doorways face north and south for good Feng Shui . They vary in width; some are so narrow only
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#173277538771110912-421: The Dongsi Shitiao archway), North Bell Tower Avenue archway, Xinjiekou archway, West Guanyuan archway, and Songhe'an alley archway. Beijing's Inner city wall had gate towers that sat atop rectangular platforms 12 to 13 metres high integrated into the city walls. Each gate entranceway, centred under the middle of its gate tower platform, had two giant red wooden gates that opened outwards. Iron bulbs were fitted on
11088-404: The Imperial city and the Forbidden city. Later the Imperial guards were joined by the Jinyiwei and the Tengxiangwei, whose commanders included "Mianyiwei Dahan General", "Hongkui General", "Mingjia General", "Bazong Director", and several others. A guard post in the Imperial city called "Hongpu" was formed. The city gates were closed at night and no one was allowed in or out unless special permission
11264-403: The Inner city had a perimeter of 24 kilometres. It was roughly square, with the east and west walls slightly longer due to the north and south walls being moved from their original positions. The northwestern section lacked a vertex; on a map it looks as if the corner had been bitten off. In the Chinese mythological story of Nüwa mending the heavens, "the heavens were missing in the northwest, and
11440-429: The Inner city walls, 106 of which were for military equipment such as direction flags, cannons, gunpowder, and guns. In 1835, 241 houses of three rooms each were added to the nine gates of the Inner city, as the original straw and earthen barracks were deteriorating. Twenty-eight store rooms were added, as well as 3,616 Outer city barracks. During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), the Xiaoqiying soldiers usually lived outside
11616-439: The Japanese ousted A. M. Chapelain, the last French head of the Chinese post. The post office had been under French administration almost continuously since Piry's appointment as postal secretary in 1901. In 1958, Communist China announced that it was adopting the pinyin romanization system. Implementing the new system was a gradual process. The government did not get around to abolishing postal romanization until 1964. Even then,
11792-477: The Ming and Qing dynasties included city walls, moats, gate towers, barbicans, watchtowers, corner guard towers, enemy sight towers, and military encampments both outside and inside the city. The mountains immediately north of the city and the interior Great Wall sections on those mountain ranges also acted as a defensive perimeter. During the Ming dynasty, troops under permanent encampment in and around Beijing were called Jingjun or Jingying ("capital troops"). During
11968-416: The Ming dynasty, Qing dynasty, and early Republican eras. The Empress Dowager Cixi 's "cosmetic spending" and the early Republican China president 's annual salary came directly from taxes levied at this gate. In 1924, Feng Yu xiang initiated a coup, after which the taxation at Chongwenmen was stopped. Only Chongwenmen had bells announcing the closure of the gates at the end of the day. The other gates used
12144-454: The Post Office, quietly ordered a return to Nanking syllabary "until such time as uniformity is possible." Although the Soothill-Wade period was brief, it was a time when 13,000 offices were created, a rapid and unprecedented expansion. At the time the policy was reversed, one third of all postal establishments used Soothill-Wade spelling. The Ministry published a revised pronunciation standard based strictly on Jilu Mandarin in 1932. In 1943,
12320-408: The Qianfengying, Hujunying, Bujun Xunbuying, Jianruiying, Huoqiying (in charge of artillery), Shenjiying (first begun in 1862), and the Huqiangying (in charge of guns). From the Yongzheng era (1722–1735) onwards, the Eight Banner guard troops in charge of protecting the imperial leisure parks were camped in the area around the Old Summer Palace and Fragrant Hills . The same system of Eight Banners
12496-414: The Righteous Sun'), completed in 1419, was located at the centre of the southern wall of the Inner city. It was constructed in the triple-eaved Xieshanding style, with green glazed tiles. Originally called Lizhengmen ("Gate of the Beautiful Portal"), the name was changed during the Zhengtong era (1435–1449). Each Inner city barbican contained a temple, and the barbican at Zhengyangmen had two: Guandimiao in
12672-529: The Ten Kings, residences of the imperial princes, residences of the officials and the Drum and Bell Towers were built at this time. The southern city walls were moved south by 0.8 kilometres (0.50 mi) to allow more space for the future Imperial City complex. In 1421 the capital of Ming dynasty China was officially moved from Nanjing ("southern capital") to Beijing ("northern capital"). The Temple of Heaven ,
12848-602: The Tucheng. In 1368, soon after declaring the new Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty , the rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang captured Dadu/Khanbaliq and razed the Yuan palaces to the ground. Since the Yuan continued to occupy Shangdu and Mongolia , Dadu was used to supply the Ming military garrisons in the area and renamed Beiping ( Wade–Giles : Peip'ing, "Northern Peace"). Under the Hongwu Emperor's feudal policies, Beiping
13024-461: The Wade–Giles method of transliteration. This system had been created by Thomas Francis Wade in 1867. It is based on pronunciation in Beijing. Giles's dictionary also gives pronunciation in the dialects of various other cities, allowing the reader to create locally based transliteration. From January 1893 to September 1896, local postal services issued postage stamps that featured the romanized name of
13200-511: The Wade–Giles system to be specific to English. Atlases explaining postal romanization were issued in 1907, 1919, 1933, and 1936. The ambiguous result of the 1906 conference led critics to complain that postal romanization was idiosyncratic. According to modern scholar Lane J. Harris: What they have criticized is actually the very strength of postal romanization. That is, postal romanization accommodated local dialects and regional pronunciations by recognizing local identity and language as vital to
13376-629: The Wujunying ("five troops"). The majority of the Jingjun were headquartered outside of west Deshengguan. Some camped in the rural districts of the capital area, at Nanyuan, Tonzhou, Lugouqiao, Changping, and the Juyongguan interior Great Wall. During the Tumu Crisis in 1449, the entire Jingjun was destroyed, a loss of some 500,000 men. Yu Qian then changed the organisational structure of
13552-594: The Xianghong banner and Yongdingmen the Zhenglan banner. In 1728 permanent barracks were built for the eight banners in the Inner city, excepting Zhengyangmen. Each gate had barracks of 460 rooms for a ying, 90 rooms for a ban, and 15 rooms for a geng, for a total of 3,680 rooms. Outside the city walls were an additional 16,000 rooms, with each banner having 2,000 rooms. Manchu troops were allocated 1,500 rooms and Han troops 500 rooms. There were also 135 storage rooms atop
13728-870: The Xianghuang banner at Andingmen, the Zhenghuang banner at Deshengmen, the Zhengbai banner at Dongzhimen, the Xiangbai banner at Chaoyangmen, the Zhenghong banner at Xizhimen, the Xianghong banner at Fuchengmen , the Zhenglan banner at Chongwenmen and the Xianglan banner at Xuanwumen. Each banner had an office hall, several troop barracks, a patrol station and a warehouse. In addition to the Xiaoqiying, troops permanently encamped in and around Beijing included
13904-486: The Yongle era (1402–1424), the southern, eastern, and western walls were reinforced with stones and bricks. In 1435 construction began on gate towers, watchtowers, barbicans, sluice gates, and corner guard towers for the nine city gates. In 1439 bridges were built leading to the gates. In 1445 the interior walls of the city were reinforced with bricks. The wall and moat system of the Inner city was thus complete. The walls of
14080-419: The Zhenghong banner, Chongwenmen the Xianghuang banner, Xuanwumen the Zhenghuang banner and Zhengyangmen rotated between the eight banners. The Outer city's seven gates were manned by Han troops from the following banners: Dongbianmen the Xianghuang banner, Xibianmen the Zhenghuang banner, Guangqumen the Zhengbai banner, Guang'anmen the Zhenghong banner, Zuo'anmen the Xianglan and Xiangbai banners, You'anmen
14256-502: The Zhengtong era (1435–1449) the gate was called Shunchengmen ('Shun Cheng Gate'), while commoners referred to it as Shunzhimen. The gate tower was completely rebuilt during the Zhengtong era, and a barbican, sluice gate tower, and watchtower were added. The name was changed to Xuanwu ("martial advocacy"), from a quotation from Zhang Heng 's Dongjing Fu : "the martial integrity is to announce 武节是宣 wu jie shi xuan ". The watchtower
14432-457: The addition of an extra layer of bricks on the interior side of the city walls, creating the southern end at Taiye Lake , construction of gate towers, barbicans and watchtowers at nine major city gates, construction of the four corner guard towers, setting up a Paifang on the outside of each major city gate and replacing wooden moat bridges with stone bridges. Sluices were built under the bridges and revetments of stone and brick were added to
14608-500: The barbican at Suqingmen is also still visible today. In 1370, Hongwu Emperor granted his fourth son, Zhu Di (later Yongle Emperor ) the title 'King of the Yan dependency', whose capital was at Beiping (present-day Beijing ). In 1379, the new palace was completed, and Zhu Di moved in the subsequent year. In 1403, Zhu Di changed the name of the city from Beiping ("northern peace") to Beijing ("northern capital"). In 1406, he began planning
14784-460: The base and 16 metres at the top, with parapets at the top. The Inner city wall had nine gates and a tower at each corner. There were three sluice gates, 172 enemy sighting towers, and 11,038 battlements . Immediately outside the city walls were deep moats 30 to 60 metres in width. The city walls of Dadu were used as the foundation for the Inner city walls of Beijing. In 1368, after Ming troops entered Dadu, General Xu Da directed Hua Jilong to build
14960-401: The capital to Nanjing . After the Qing general Yuan Shikai forced the abdication of the last Qing emperor and ensured the success of the revolution, the revolutionaries accepted him as president of the new Republic of China . Yuan maintained his capital at Beijing and quickly consolidated power, declaring himself emperor in 1915. His death less than a year later left China under the control of
15136-474: The caves date to 230,000 to 250,000 years ago. Paleolithic Homo sapiens also lived there more recently, about 27,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found neolithic settlements throughout the municipality, including in Wangfujing , located in central Peking. The first walled city in Beijing was Jicheng , the capital city of the state of Ji which was built in 1045 BC. Within modern Beijing, Jicheng
15312-482: The center of Beijing, directly to the south of the Forbidden City , the former residence of the emperors of China. To the west of Tian'anmen is Zhongnanhai , the residence of China's current leaders. Chang'an Avenue , which cuts between Tiananmen and the Square, forms the city's main east–west axis. Beijing's pattern of development from the old inner city to its urban fringe are frequently described as "spreading like
15488-611: The circum-city railway. In 1924 a new gate was created at Hepingmen to improve traffic flow. Many other gates and archways, such as the Qimingmen (the present Jianguomen ) and Chang'anmen (the present Fuxingmen ), were opened during this period. After 1949, the Chinese Communist Party ordered the demolition of the city walls on a giant scale. During the Korean War , in order to ease traffic density, six new archways were built: Dayabao alley archway, Beimencang archway (now called
15664-440: The city burned 26.3 million tons of coal, 73% of which for heating and power generation and the remainder for industry. Much of the city's air pollutants are emitted by neighboring regions. Coal consumption in neighboring Tianjin is expected to increase from 48 to 63 million tons from 2011 to 2015. Hebei Province burned over 300 million tons of coal in 2011, more than all of Germany, of which only 30% were used for power generation and
15840-464: The city gates rather than on the city walls. This proved to be easier for defending the city during a siege. Only when the emperor was leaving the city for Yuanmingyuan or the Temple of Heaven did the soldiers station themselves atop the walls. An exception was Xuanwumen; as the only gate that stayed open at night, the top of the wall was continually manned. Cannons were fired at noon atop Xuanwumen to mark
16016-575: The city in 1644, he ordered that the Ming Imperial palace complex and the major city gates be set afire. But in 1960, when the walls were finally dismantled, the workers realized that the Dongzhimen and Chongwenmen towers and gate sections were the Ming originals. The wall and moat systems were well maintained during the Ming and Qing dynasties, right up until 1900. No holes were allowed to be drilled, no arches made. Any damage—even if just
16192-456: The city is Pehking . The irregular oo in "Soochow" is to distinguish this city from Xuzhou in northern Jiangsu. The other postal romanizations are based on "Southern Mandarin", the historical court dialect based on the Nanjing dialect , which used to be the imperial lingua franca of the late Ming and early Qing court. Pinyin spellings are based on Standard Chinese , a form based on
16368-521: The city they served using local pronunciation. An imperial edict issued in 1896 designated the Customs Post a national postal service and renamed it the Chinese Imperial Post . The local post offices in the Treaty Ports were incorporated into the new service. The Customs Post was smaller than other postal services in China, such as the British. As the Imperial Post, it grew rapidly and soon became
16544-499: The city to provide electricity as well as heating during the winter. The first one (Gaojing Thermal Power Plant) was shut down in 2014. Another two were shut in March 2015. The last one (Huaneng Thermal Power Plant) would be shut in 2016. Between 2013 and 2017, the city planned to reduce 13 million tons of coal consumption and cap coal consumption to 15 million tons in 2015. The government sometimes uses cloud-seeding measures to increase
16720-589: The city to the Song dynasty and then retook it in 1125 during its conquest of northern China . In 1153, the Jurchen Jin made Beijing their "Central Capital", or Zhongdu . The city was besieged by Genghis Khan 's invading Mongolian army in 1213 and razed to the ground two years later. Two generations later, Kublai Khan ordered the construction of Dadu (or Daidu to the Mongols, commonly known as Khanbaliq ),
16896-495: The city walls and moats to beautify the environment. Pro-keep supporters included Redologist Yu Pingbo , then Department of Culture Vice Minister Zheng Zhenduo and many Soviet city planners then in the country. The pro-keep contingent was silenced by political pressure, and by the end of the Great Leap Forward (1958–1961), the Outer city wall was completely dismantled and the Inner wall was halved in length. During
17072-466: The city's defenses. The original northern walls were abandoned after 1372, but were still used as a secondary defense during the Ming dynasty. During the rebellion of An Da, there were some Ming troops stationed at those gates. Only a small part of the northern and western sections of the Dadu city walls remain, as well as parts of the moat system in those areas. The southern half of the rammed earth wall of
17248-452: The city's fortifications volunteered to participate in the demolition. After construction began on the metro system, troops were brought in to help with the demolition work to increase the speed and efficiency of the process. The first section of walls to be removed were the southern portion of the Inner city wall, Xuanwumen, and Chongwenmen, leaving behind a 23.6 km (14.7 mi) ditch. The second stage began at Beijing railway station in
17424-556: 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 District and Huairou District , are dominated by the Jundu Mountains , while the western part is framed by Xishan or the Western Hills . The Great Wall of China across the northern part of Beijing Municipality
17600-717: The city. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident triggered the Second Sino-Japanese War , World War II as it is known in China. During the war, Beijing fell to Japan on 29 July 1937 and was made the seat of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China , a puppet state that ruled the ethnic-Chinese portions of Japanese-occupied northern China . This government was later merged into the larger Wang Jingwei government based in Nanjing. In
17776-583: The city; the Beijing Weather Modification Office sometimes artificially induces rainfall to fight such storms and mitigate their effects. In the first four months of 2006 alone, there were no fewer than eight such storms. In April 2002, one dust storm alone dumped nearly 50,000 tons of dust onto the city before moving on to Japan and Korea. The municipal government is regulated by the Municipal Committee of
17952-499: The co-capital. (A 1425 order by Zhu Di's son, the Hongxi Emperor , to return the primary capital to Nanjing was never carried out: he died, probably of a heart attack, the next month. He was buried, like almost every Ming emperor to follow him, in an elaborate necropolis to Beijing's north.) By the 15th century, Beijing had essentially taken its current shape. The Ming city wall continued to serve until modern times, when it
18128-722: The construction of the Ming sections of Beijing's fortifications. Construction work on the Xinei ("inner west") began in 1406, upon the foundations of the Yan King's Palace. It was finished the following year. In 1409, Jianshouling was completed at Mount Tianshou in the Changping District . In 1416 construction of the Forbidden City complex began, in a style that imitated the original Nanjing Imperial Palace. The Forbidden City's halls, palaces, and pavilions, such as Taimiao , Ancestor Hall, Mount Wansui, Taiye Lake , residences of
18304-446: The decision to use Nanking syllabary was not intended to suggest that the post office recognized any specific dialect as standard. The Lower Yangtze Mandarin dialect spoken in Nanjing makes more phonetic distinctions than other dialects. A romanization system geared to this dialect can be used to reflect pronunciation in a wider variety of dialects. Southern Mandarin is widely spoken in both Jiangsu and Anhui . In Giles' idealization,
18480-424: The dominant player in the market. In 1899, Hart, as inspector general of posts, asked postmasters to submit romanizations for their districts. Although Hart asked for transliterations "according to the local pronunciation", most postmasters were reluctant to play lexicographer and simply looked up the relevant characters in a dictionary. The spellings that they submitted generally followed the Wade–Giles system, which
18656-470: The dynasty, but he and his Shun court abandoned the city without a fight when the Manchu army of Prince Dorgon arrived 40 days later. Dorgon established the Qing dynasty as a direct successor of the Ming (delegitimising Li Zicheng and his followers) and Beijing became China's sole capital. The Qing emperors made some modifications to the Imperial residence but, in large part, the Ming buildings and
18832-419: The early 1980s, the urban area of Beijing has expanded greatly with the completion of the 2nd Ring Road in 1981 and the subsequent addition of the 3rd , 4th , 5th and 6th Ring Roads . According to one 2005 newspaper report, the size of newly developed Beijing was one-and-a-half times larger than before. Wangfujing and Xidan have developed into flourishing shopping districts, while Zhongguancun has become
19008-416: The earth was sinking in the southeast". According to scientific investigations done with remote sensing , this area originally had city walls, built in swamps and wetlands. The wall was abandoned in favour of a diagonal connection, placing a small triangle of land outside the city. Beijing's Inner city came under siege many times; for example, the invasions of Anda Khan and Houjin during the Ming dynasty and
19184-490: The embankment of the moat. The newly expanded city wall and moat system was 45 lis (22.5 kilometres (14.0 mi)) around the perimeter, providing formidable defence. The Imperial Tombs were built on the outskirts of the city. Changping city , a supply city, interior sections of the Great Wall and other distant fortifications were built for the protection of Beijing during a siege. The city faced many invasions from
19360-549: The emperor. Additional housing was built in the Inner city for imperial relatives, along with Buddhist temples of the Gelug sect. The "Three Mounts Five Gardens" park in the western suburbs was also built at this time. When the British first arrived Beijing during the Qing dynasty, they recorded the four parts of city on newspaper as: Chinese City (Outer City), Tartar City (Inner City), Imperial City and Forbidden City. Historical records indicate that when Li Zicheng retreated from
19536-491: The energy system to clean sources. Joint research between American and Chinese researchers in 2006 concluded that much of the city's pollution comes from surrounding cities and provinces. On average 35–60% of the ozone can be traced to sources outside the city. Shandong Province and Tianjin Municipality have a "significant influence on Beijing's air quality", partly due to the prevailing south/southeasterly flow during
19712-520: The exterior side of the gates and gilt copper bulbs on the interior side. When the gates were closed they were locked with giant tree-trunk-sized wooden beams. The Inner city gate towers were built during the Zhengtong era of the Ming dynasty (1435–1449) in the multi-eaved Xieshanding style. The roofs were covered with grey tubed roof tiles and green glazed tiles. Zhengyangmen's gate tower was seven rooms in length and five rooms in width; Chaoyangmen and Fuchengmen were three rooms in width. Each gate tower had
19888-538: The final phases of the Chinese Civil War , the People's Liberation Army seized control of the city peacefully on 31 January 1949 in the course of the Pingjin Campaign . On 1 October that year, Mao Zedong announced the creation of the People's Republic of China from atop Tian'anmen . He restored the name of the city, as the new capital, to Beijing, a decision that had been reached by
20064-513: The force, bringing approximately 100,000 well-trained troops from several different camps into one supergroup: the 10-battalion supergroup. This was raised to 12 battalions during the reign of Emperor Xian of the Ming dynasty. These were commanded from within the Inner city at Dongguanting and Xiguanting. Drilling and training fields outside of the city walls could also be used as temporary encampments. The original Wujunying, Sanqianying, and Shenjiying were converted to guard units in charge of protecting
20240-734: The forerunner of Beijing in the Ming and Qing dynasties, was built in 1264 by the Yuan dynasty . Dadu had 11 city gates. The eastern, southern, and western sides had three gates per side, and the northern wall had two gates. The three eastern gates, from north to south, were called Guangximen ( 光熙门 ), Chongrenmen ( 崇仁门 ), and Qihuamen ( 齐化门 ). The three western gates, from north to south, were called Suqingmen ( 肃清门 ), Heyimen ( 和义门 ), and Pingzemen ( 平则门 ). The three southern gates, from west to east, were called Shunchengmen ( 顺承门 ), Lizhengmen ( 丽正门 ), and Wenmingmen ( 文明门 ). The two northern gates, from west to east, were called Jiandemen ( 健德门 ) and Anzhenmen ( 安贞门 ). In August 1368 General Xu Da of
20416-557: The former romanization. The single Chinese character abbreviation for Beijing is 京 , which appears on automobile license plates in the city. The official Latin alphabet abbreviation for Beijing is "BJ". The earliest traces of human habitation in the Peking municipality were found in the caves of Dragon Bone Hill near the village of Zhoukoudian in Fangshan District , where Peking Man lived. Homo erectus fossils from
20592-420: The gate tower, forcing them to abandon their plan. Thus even in the modern era of the 1930s and 1940s, the dilapidated fortifications were still useful defensively. Beijing's Inner city is also called Jingcheng ("capital city") or Dacheng ("big city"). The eastern and western sections were originally part of the Yuan city of Dadu, while the northern and southern sections were built during the early Ming dynasty in
20768-453: The gates, thus allowing Alliance troops into the Imperial city. In an incident on 25 July 1937, a battalion of Japanese troops camped at Fengtai District , declaring that they intended "to protect Japanese immigrants" and "to protect Dongjiaomin Street's Embassy district", tried to advance into Beijing. When they began entering Guang'anmen, around twenty Chinese soldiers fired on them from atop
20944-599: The general layout remained unchanged. Facilities for Manchu worship were introduced, but the Qing also continued the traditional state rituals. Signage was bilingual or Chinese. This early Qing Beijing later formed the setting for the Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber . Northwest of the city, Qing emperors built several large palatial gardens including the Old Summer Palace and the Summer Palace . During
21120-477: The government called off the demolition of the remaining city walls and named them cultural heritage sites. By this time, the only intact sections were the gate tower and watchtower at Zhengyangmen, the watchtower at Deshengmen , the guard tower at the southeast corner, the northern moats of the Inner city, the section of the Inner city wall south of the Beijing railway station, and a small section of Inner city wall near Xibianmen. The defense system of Beijing during
21296-551: The guard tower at the northwest corner of the Inner city was destroyed by Russian cannon. British troops tore down the western section of the Outer City walls at Yongdingmen and the city walls surrounding the Temple of Heaven. They moved the terminus of the Beijing–Fengtian Railway from Majiapu , outside the city, to the grounds of the Temple of Heaven, where the British and American forces were headquartered. This
21472-943: The headquarters of many organizations, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Silk Road Fund , the Chinese Academy of Sciences , the Chinese Academy of Engineering , the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences , the Central Academy of Fine Arts , the Central Academy of Drama , the Central Conservatory of Music , and the Red Cross Society of China . Over
21648-722: The influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone . Spring can bear witness to sandstorms blowing in from the Gobi Desert across the Mongolian steppe , accompanied by rapidly warming, but generally dry, conditions. Autumn, similar to spring, is a season of transition and minimal precipitation. From 2001 to 2024, the hottest period in Beijing is early August, and the coldest period is late January. According to China's seasonal division standard, Beijing enters spring on 26 March, summer on 20 May, autumn on 13 September, and winter on 31 October. The average annual temperature in
21824-434: The inner walls and outer walls by a structure called a barbican. The barbicans of Dongzhimen or Xizhimen were square; the ones at Zhengyangmen and Deshengmen were rectangular; at Dongbianmen and Xibianmen they were semicircular. Most of the Inner city barbicans had rounded corners, which provided better sight lines and were more difficult to climb or destroy. Each Inner city barbican had a unique design. Zhengyangmen ('Gate of
22000-523: The largest fleets in the world. Beijing became the first city in China to require the Chinese equivalent to the Euro 4 emission standard . Coal burning accounts for about 40% of the PM 2.5 in Beijing and is also the chief source of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide. Since 2012, the city has been converting coal-fired power stations to burn natural gas and aims to cap annual coal consumption at 20 million tons. In 2011,
22176-508: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. For many cities, the corresponding postal romanization was the most common English-language form of the city's name from the 1890s until the 1980s, when postal romanization was replaced by pinyin , but the system remained in place on Taiwan until 2002. In 1892, Herbert Giles created a romanization system called the Nanking syllabary . The Imperial Maritime Customs Post Office would cancel postage with
22352-456: The late morning of 14 August that they conquered the gate tower at Dongbianmen, a mere 50 metres (160 ft) away. Even after the Outer City and Inner City fell to Alliance forces, the Imperial city's defenses still held. On the morning of 15 August, American forces used several guns to try to destroy the Tiananmen gates, but they held. Japanese troops used ladders to scale the wall and open
22528-461: The likelihood of rain showers in the region to clear the air prior to large events, such as prior to the 60th anniversary parade in 2009 as well as to combat drought conditions in the area. More recently, however, the government has increased its usage of such measures as closing factories temporarily and implementing greater restrictions for cars on the road, as in the case of " APEC blue " and "parade blue", short periods during and immediately preceding
22704-497: The most notable being the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Paralympics Games. In 2022, Beijing became the first city ever to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics , and also the Summer and Winter Paralympics . Beijing combines both modern and traditional style architectures , with one side of the city being modernized and renovated to fit the times, and the other half still offering traditional hutong districts. Beijing
22880-463: The narrow alleys between siheyuans, are major tourist attractions and are common in urban Beijing. Beijing's public universities make up more than one-fifth of Double First-Class Construction universities, and many of them consistently rank among the best in the Asia-Pacific and the world. Beijing is home to universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University . Beijing CBD
23056-537: The new imperial residence, the Forbidden City , took from 1406 to 1420; this period was also responsible for several other of the modern city's major attractions, such as the Temple of Heaven and Tian'anmen . On 28 October 1420, the city was officially designated the capital of the Ming dynasty in the same year that the Forbidden City was completed. Beijing became the empire's primary capital, and Yingtian, also called Nanjing ("Southern Capital"), became
23232-414: The northern side had five rooms with 21 arrow slits. The eastern and western sides each had 21 arrow slits. The other Inner city watchtowers had exterior designs similar to that of Qianmen, with multi-eaved Xieshanding-style gate towers in the front and a series of five rooms in the back. Both the upper and lower levels of the watchtowers were equipped with arrow slits. The watchtowers were connected to both
23408-435: The past 3,000 years, the city of Beijing has had numerous other names . The name Beijing , which means "Northern Capital" (from the Chinese characters 北 běi for north and 京 jīng for capital ), was applied to the city in 1403 during the Ming dynasty to distinguish the city from Nanjing (the "Southern Capital"). The English spelling Beijing is based on the government's official romanization (adopted in
23584-471: The plains in the south-central of the municipality with elevation of 40 to 60 metres (130–200 feet), occupies a relatively small but expanding portion of the municipality's area. The city spreads out in concentric ring roads . The Second Ring Road traces the old city walls and the Sixth Ring Road connects satellite towns in the surrounding suburbs. Tian'anmen and Tian'anmen Square are at
23760-598: The port city of Tientsin (now Tianjin ) in the event of the need to retreat. British troops also tore down the eastern section of the Outer city wall near Dongbianmen for the construction of the Beijing Dongbianmen-Tongzhou feeder railway. The Imperial government of Qing China collapsed in 1911. Between 1912 and 1949, the Republic of China Beiyang government and Nationalist government all undertook minor deconstruction and adjustment work. When
23936-466: The post office did not adopt pinyin, but merely withdrew Latin characters from official use, such as in postal cancellation markings. Mapmakers of the time followed various approaches. Private atlas makers generally used postal romanization in the 1940s, but they later shifted to Wade–Giles. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency used a mix of postal romanization and Wade–Giles. The U.S. Army Map Service used Wade–Giles exclusively. The U.S. government and
24112-481: The romanization issue, Piry organized an Imperial Postal Joint-Session Conference in Shanghai in the spring of 1906. This was a joint postal and telegraphic conference. The conference resolved that existing spellings would be retained for names already transliterated. Accents, apostrophes, and hyphens would be dropped to facilitate telegraphic transmission. The requirement for addresses to be given in Chinese characters
24288-535: The rule of the Qing dynasty over China was restored, albeit much weakened by the defeat it had suffered in the Boxer Rebellion and by the indemnity and stipulations of the peace treaty. The Dowager died in 1908 and the dynasty imploded in 1911. The fomenters of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 sought to replace Qing rule with a republic and leaders like Sun Yat-sen originally intended to return
24464-469: The southeast corner of the Inner City and passed through the sites of Jianguomen , Andingmen, Xizhimen , and Fuxingmen . Towers and walls were removed and another 16.04 kilometres (9.97 mi) of ditch was created. A section of wall near Xibianmen about 100 metres (330 ft) long was used as a storage area for raw materials, and thus was spared from demolition. Another section from Chongwenmen to
24640-471: The southeastern part of the city, just south of the Beijing railway station . The entire perimeter of the Inner and Outer city walls stretched for approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi). Beijing was the capital of China for the majority of the Yuan , Ming , and Qing dynasties, as well as a secondary capital of the Liao and Jin dynasties. As such, the city required an extensive fortification system around
24816-473: The speaker consistently makes various phonetic distinctions not made in Beijing dialect (or in the dialect of any other specific city). Giles created the system to encompass a range of dialects. For the French-led post office, an additional advantage of the system was that it allowed "the romanization of non-English speaking people to be met as far as possible," as Piry put it. That is to say, Piry considered
24992-788: The summer and the mountains to the north and northwest. In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics and to fulfill promises to clean up the city's air, nearly US$ 17 billion was spent. Beijing implemented a number of air improvement schemes for the duration of the Games, including halting work at all construction sites, closing many factories in Beijing permanently, temporarily shutting industry in neighboring regions, closing some gas stations, and cutting motor traffic by half by limiting drivers to odd or even days (based on their license plate numbers) , reducing bus and subway fares, opening new subway lines, and banning high-emission vehicles. The city further assembled 3,800 natural gas -powered buses, one of
25168-426: The surface were decreased, whereas ground and near-surface air temperatures , vertical air dilution and ozone levels were increased. Because of the combined factors of urbanization and pollution caused by burning of fossil fuel , Beijing is often affected by serious environmental problems, which lead to health issues of many inhabitants. In 2013 heavy smog struck Beijing and most parts of northern China, impacting
25344-553: The teaching of Literary Chinese . Yuan died in 1916 and the Ministry of Education published a pronunciation standard now known as Old National Pronunciation for Guoyu in 1918. The post office reverted to Wade's system in 1920 and 1921. It was the era of the May Fourth Movement , when language reform was the rage. The post office adopted a dictionary by William Edward Soothill as a reference. The Soothill-Wade system
25520-413: The time. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the principal defensive weapons were firelocks, cannons, and bows and arrows. In 1629, Houjin troops attacked Beijing, and in 1644, Li Zicheng's troops laid siege to Beijing. Troops atop the city walls used cannons extensively during both sieges. During the Second Opium War (1856–1860), invading troops stationed outside the city walls gave up, because Beijing
25696-729: The town, placing the prefectural seat in neighboring Zhuozhou . During the Sixteen Kingdoms period when northern China was conquered and divided by the Wu Hu , Jicheng was briefly the capital of the Xianbei Former Yan Kingdom. After China was reunified by the Sui dynasty in 581, Jicheng, also known as Zhuojun , became the northern terminus of the Grand Canal . Under the Tang dynasty , Jicheng as Youzhou , served as
25872-399: The urban area of Beijing is 12.9 °C (55.2 °F) to 13.3 °C (55.9 °F), of which the average daily minimum temperature is 7.7 °C (45.9 °F) to 8.4 °C (47.1 °F), and the average daily maximum temperature is 18.5 °C (65.3 °F) to 18.9 °C (66.0 °F). The monthly daily average temperature in January is −2.7 °C (27.1 °F), while in July it
26048-605: The warlords commanding the regional armies. Following the success of the Kuomintang 's Northern Expedition , the capital was formally moved to Nanjing in 1928. On 28 June the same year, Beijing's name was returned to Beiping (written at the time as "Peiping"). On 7 July 1937, the 29th Army and the Japanese army in China exchanged fire at the Marco Polo Bridge near the Wanping Fortress southwest of
26224-411: The website of the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau (BJEPB). The American Embassy of Beijing also reports hourly fine particulate (PM2.5) and ozone levels on Twitter. Since the BJEPB and US Embassy measure different pollutants according to different criteria, the pollution levels and the impact to human health reported by the BJEPB are often lower than that reported by the US Embassy. The smog
26400-436: The west and Guanyinmiao in the east. Guandimiao had Ming original statues, including the "three treasures" of Guandimiao: a precious sword, a Guandi painting, and a white jade horse statue. The Qing emperor would visit Guandimiao and light some incense each time he returned from a visit to the Temple of Heaven. The temples of Guandimiao and Guanyinmiao were dismantled during the Cultural Revolution. The watchtower at Zhengyangmen
26576-419: The world after Shanghai . Beijing is home to many national monuments and museums and has eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites —the Forbidden City , Temple of Heaven , Summer Palace , Ming Tombs , Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site , Beijing Central Axis and parts of the Great Wall and the Grand Canal —all of which are popular tourist locations. Siheyuans , the city's traditional housing style, and hutongs ,
26752-409: Was Asia's busiest airport (2009–2019) and the second busiest airport in the world (2010–2019). In 2020, the Beijing subway was the fourth busiest and second longest in the world . The Beijing Daxing International Airport , Beijing's second international airport, is the largest single-structure airport terminal in the world. The city has hosted numerous international and national sporting events,
26928-493: Was 5,328 zhang (approximately 17,760 metres). The southern city consisted of the remnants of the Jin dynasty capital, Zhongdu . After the capital was moved to Beijing in 1406, the southern city wall was moved south by 2 li (about a kilometre). The original Dadu city walls were not destroyed, except for a small section that overlapped the planned Ming Imperial city. Nevertheless, Dadu's southern city walls were gradually torn down by people looking for free bricks and stones. During
27104-565: Was an attempt to accommodate a variety of Mandarin pronunciations with a single romanization system. The spelling "Amoy" is based on pronunciation of Xiamen in the neighboring Zhangzhou dialect of Hokkien 廈門 ; Ēe-mûi , which historically contributed to the formation of the local Amoy dialect of Hokkien in Xiamen . "Peking" is carried over from the d'Anville map which also came from older texts, such as Italian Jesuit Martino Martini 's De Bello Tartarico Historia (1654) and Novus Atlas Sinensis (1655). In Nanking syllabary,
27280-401: Was built in 1419. The name was changed during the Zhengtong era (1435–1449). The new name was taken from Zuo Zhuan : "崇文德也"('It is a virtue to respect civility'). The barbican, sluice gates, and a watchtower were built in the Zhengtong era. The gate tower was built in multi-eaved Xieshanding style, with grey and green glazed tiles. In 1900 the gate tower was destroyed by artillery fire during
27456-400: Was built on the rugged topography to defend against nomadic incursions from the steppes. Mount Dongling , in the Western Hills and on the border with Hebei , is the municipality's highest point, with an altitude of 2,303 metres (7,556 ft). Major rivers flowing through the municipality, including the Chaobai , Yongding , Juma , are all tributaries in the Hai River system, and flow in
27632-438: Was completely dismantled in the 1950s, and the inner walls were torn down starting in 1953. Meanwhile, a debate was raging as to whether to keep or to dismantle the remaining city walls. Architect Liang Sicheng was a leading advocate for keeping the walls. He recommended cutting more arches to accommodate new roads that would serve increased traffic needs, and suggested building a giant circum-city public park immediately outside
27808-427: Was completely redesigned. Many houses that had been used as residences by Ming dynasty inner cabinet officials were converted into housing for commoners, as were many imperial official's offices, servant's quarters, warehouses, and hay storage barns. The Han Chinese were forced to live in the Outer city or outside the city, as the Inner city residences became exclusively homes for the Eight Banners — Manchus related to
27984-439: Was damaged by fire in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion . The Hui and Dongxiang Muslim Kansu Braves under Muslim General Ma Fulu engaged in fierce fighting during the Battle of Peking (1900) at Zhengyangmen against the Eight-Nation Alliance . Ma Fulu and 100 of his fellow Hui and Dongxiang soldiers from his home village died in that battle. Indian soldiers used wood from the damaged tower as firewood that winter. The gate
28160-475: Was danger of enemy attack were soldiers stationed atop the city walls. During the Ming dynasty, Beijing was often under siege by Mongol and Manchu forces. The city of Beijing was totally closed many times, with commoners forbidden entrance into the city. During the Qing dynasty, Beijing's defense forces mainly relied on the Xiaoqiying, who were scattered in encampments within the Inner city, then mainly inhabited by Manchus. They were organized into Eight Banners:
28336-416: Was dismantled during the Cultural Revolution, workers discovered that the gate was the original Ming structure, using phoebe puwennensis wood. Some of the recovered wood was used during reconstruction work in the Forbidden city and Tiananmen. Xuanwumen ('Gate of Advocated Martiality') was located on western section of the southern wall. It was built in 1419 when Beijing's southern walls were expanded. Before
28512-427: Was dropped. For new transliterations, local pronunciation would be followed in Guangdong as well as in parts of Guangxi and Fujian . In other areas, a system called Nanking syllabary would be used. Nanking syllabary is one of several transliteration systems presented by Giles to represent various local dialects. Nanjing had once been the capital and its dialect was, like that of Beijing, a pronunciation standard. But
28688-432: Was given though one exception was the carts that continually brought spring water from Mount Yuquan. The city streets had guards on constant patrol at night. Some streets had barricades erected at night to keep traffic away. The city walls normally had no soldiers on station, day or night. Most lived under the walls in encampments, with a few doing night shifts at gate towers, watchtowers and enemy sight towers. Only when there
28864-488: Was given to his son Zhu Di , who was created " Prince of Yan ". The early death of Zhu Yuanzhang 's heir led to a succession struggle upon his death, one that ended with the victory of Zhu Di and the declaration of the new Yongle era . Since his harsh treatment of the Ming capital Yingtian (modern Nanjing ) alienated many there, he established his fief as a new co-capital. The city of Beiping became Beijing ("Northern Capital") or Shuntian in 1403. The construction of
29040-402: Was in place for the nine gates of the Inner city. The troops consisted of an equal distribution of Manchu, Mongol, and Han soldiers. The soldiers of the Chengmenling, in charge of protecting the city gates, came from these banners: Andingmen the Zhenglan banner, Deshengmen the Xianglan banner, Dongzhimen the Xiangbai banner, Xizhimen the Xianghong banner, Chaoyangmen the Zhengbai banner, Fuchengmen
29216-606: Was issued. According to Beijing's environmental protection bureau's announcement in November 2016, starting from 2017 highly polluting old cars will be banned from being driven whenever Smog "red alerts" are issued in the city or neighboring regions. In recent years, there has been measurable reductions in pollutants after the "war on pollution" was declared in 2014, with Beijing seeing a 35% reduction in fine particulates in 2017 and further reduction by 2020. The primary factors behind this reduction were replacing coal power with natural gas and cleaning up polluting industrial facilities in
29392-437: Was located around the present Guang'anmen area in the south of Xicheng District . This settlement was later conquered by the state of Yan and made its capital. After the First Emperor unified China in 221 BC, Jicheng became a prefectural capital and during the Three Kingdoms period , it was held by Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao before falling to the Wei Kingdom of Cao Cao . The AD third-century Western Jin demoted
29568-561: Was part of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service , led by Irishman Robert Hart . By 1882, the Customs Post had offices in twelve Treaty Ports : Shanghai , Amoy , Chefoo , Chinkiang , Chungking , Foochow , Hankow , Ichang , Kewkiang , Nanking , Weihaiwei , and Wuhu . Local offices had postmarking equipment so mail was marked with a romanized form of the city's name. In addition, there were companies that provided local postal service in each of these cities. A Chinese-English Dictionary by Herbert Giles, published in 1892, popularized
29744-437: Was pulled down and the 2nd Ring Road was built in its place. It is generally believed that Beijing was the largest city in the world for most of the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The first known church was constructed by Catholics in 1652 at the former site of Matteo Ricci 's chapel; the modern Nantang Cathedral was later built upon the same site. The capture of Beijing by Li Zicheng 's peasant army in 1644 ended
29920-477: Was reconstructed in the latter years of the Qing dynasty. Internal Affairs minister Zhu Qiqian ordered the barbican dismantled in 1915 to ease traffic congestion. The watchtower and gate tower were saved from demolition in 1965 on the orders of then premier Zhou Enlai . Chongwenmen ('Gate of Respectful Civility'), commonly called "Hademen", was located on the eastern section of the Inner city southern wall. Originally called "Wenmingmen ('The Door of Civilization'), it
30096-434: Was set on 15 June 1942). See or edit raw graph data . Three styles of architecture are predominant in urban Beijing. First, there is the traditional architecture of imperial China, perhaps best exemplified by the massive Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace), which remains the People's Republic of China's trademark edifice, the Forbidden City , the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Temple of Heaven . Next, there
30272-414: Was the first time since the Ming dynasty that the city walls had been breached. In 1901 British troops tore down the eastern section of the Outer city walls at Yongdingmen to allow an extension of the railway eastwards to Zhengyangmen. This enabled the construction of the Zhengyangmen East railway station (the present Qianmen Station ). Here, British embassy and consulate staff could board trains to travel to
30448-476: Was the standard method of transliteration at this time. The post office published a draft romanization map in 1903. Disappointed with the Wade-based map, Hart issued another directive in 1905. This one told postmasters to submit romanizations "not as directed by Wade, but according to accepted or usual local spellings." Local missionaries could be consulted, Hart suggested. However, Wade's system did reflect pronunciation in Mandarin-speaking areas. Théophile Piry,
30624-445: Was to go, everything on the surface had to be demolished. Since demolishing houses and relocating people would have been such a great undertaking, the decision was made to build the metro line where the city walls and moats were located. The demolition work, which began in 1965, was under the supervision of Beijing city government's roads and development department. People and factories that hoped to gain access to building materials from
30800-427: Was too extensively protected. Between 13 August and 15 August 1900, when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing, the fortifications withstood bombardment by cannon attacks for two full days before being overrun. The Qing forces took full advantage of their higher elevation and the protection of the thick walls to shoot Alliance troops. Russian and Japanese forces attempted several times to use nitrocellulose to blow
30976-428: Was used for newly created offices. Existing post offices retained their romanizations. Critics described the Ministry's standard, now called Old National Pronunciation , as a mishmash of dialects, bookish, and reminiscent of previous dynasties. While drawing phonetic features from Beijing dialect, many phonological features of Southern Mandarin had been retained. In December 1921, Henri Picard-Destelan , co-director of
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