Climate. Demographics

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1 Beijing Briefing Beijing (Peking in Roman) is the capital of the People s Republic of China. The population as of 2013 was 21,150,000, making Beijing one of the most populous cities in the world. The capital, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government, with 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. Beijing Municipality is surrounded by the Hebei Province. As the second largest city in China, Beijing is seen as the nation s political, cultural, and educational center. The majority of China s state-owned companies are headquartered in Beijing. The city is also a major hub for the national highway, expressway, railway, and high-speed rail networks. This briefing includes information about Beijing s: History Geography Climate Demographics Economy Government and Politics Social Issues Transportation Culture

2 History Beijing has a history of more than 3,000 years and the city was named Beijing, which means Northern Capital. As early as the 7 th Century BC, the Great Wall of China was constructed outside of Beijing to protect the Chinese Emperor. During the Ming Dynasty, , Beijing raised in prominence and many of the city s landmarks were built, including: The Forbidden City, which was built as the imperial residence, Temple of Heaven, Tian'anmen, and what is left of the Great Wall. Throughout the 15 th, 16 th, 17 th and 18 th century, Beijing was considered to be the largest city in the world. The Qing Dynasty, , seized control of Beijing from the Ming Dynasty. The Summer Palace, Old Summer Palace and many of the other botanical gardens were built during this time. In 1911, the Chinese revolution began and by February of 1912, the imperial Qing Dynasty ended. Over the next forty years, China was open to many wars as different warlords and to Japan. The People s Republic of China was established by Mao Zedong from the top of Tian'anmen on October 1, 1949 and Beijing became the capital. Beijing began to grow during the 1950s and expanded outside of the walled city and parts of the wall were torn down for the construction of the subway. The Cultural Revolution, , was set in motion by Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Community Party, to enforce communism throughout the country by removing cultural elements, such as old customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas, and removing capitalism. All of the schools throughout Beijing were closed and over a million Red Guards were gathered in Beijing to enact the Revolution. The leaders of the Revolution, also known as the Gang of Four, were arrested in 1976 and the Revolution came to an end. Beijing saw great expansion in the 1980s as the urban area grew and the 2 nd, 3 rd, 4 th, 5 th and 6 th Ring Roads were completed that surround the city. Beijing continued to develop and became one and a half times larger than before. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident, was a student led demonstration to hold the government accountable and for freedom of press, speech, and workers' control over industry. The crackdown broke out after seven week of protests on June 4 th as troops inflicted casualties against unarmed civilians who tried to block advances into the heart of Beijing at Tiananmen Square. After the mobilization by the military, widespread searches and arrests were conducted against protestors, their supporters, foreign journalists, and officials deemed sympathetic. Most of China s political and economic reforms did not happen until 1992, when Deng Ziaoping, a reformist leader who is believed to have backroom control of the government, went around southern China in support of economic reform. The city has flourished into a major metropolitan community with shopping districts and electronic hubs. Beijing is now the second largest city, with a population of 21,150,000, and is seeing the effects of urbanization with pollution, traffic and loss of historic neighborhoods. Most recently, Beijing was the host of the 2008 Summer Olympics and will be the host of the 2015 World Championship in Athletics. Geography Covering an area of more than 17,000 square kilometers, Beijing is in northern China, neighboring the Tianjin Municipality in the east and the Hebei Province on the north, west, and south. Mountains to the north, northwest, and west shield the city from the desert. In fact, the Great Wall of China was built along the rugged, northern part of Beijing Municipality to defend against nomadic incursions from the desert. Other parts of the municipality are protected by China s own topography. The northern part of the municipality, particularly Yanqing County and Huairou District, are dominated by the Jundu Mountains, while the western part is framed by Xishan (the Western Hills). 2

3 Highest point: Moung Dongling, in the Western Hills and on the border with Hebei. Mount Dongling has an altitude of 2,3030 meters (7,566 feet) Largest reservoir: The Miyun Reservoir, on the upper reaches of the Chaobai River, is the largest reservoir within the municipality. Beijing is the northern start of the Grand Canal to Hongzhou River, 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 Yangtse River basin to the municipality. Other major rivers include the Chaobai, Yongding, and Juma tributaries, all leading into Hai River system. Most of the rivers in Beijing originate from mountainous areas in the northwest, cut through mountains and zigzag through the plain in the southeast before emptying into the Bohai Sea. The urban area of Beijing is on the plains in the south-central of the municipality, with elevation of meters. The focal point of the urban area of Beijing is the Forbidden City, the largest palace in the world that houses the most-preserved and most complete collection of imperial architecture in China. The city of Beijing is laid out like a target with ring roads revolving around a bull s eye the Forbidden City with Chang an Jie (Eternal Peace Street) traversing the middle and serving as the city s main east-west avenue. The city s concentric rings roads are its main arteries. 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 directly to the south of the Forbidden City. The west of Tian anmen is Zhongnanhai, where China s current leaders reside. Air Quality Despite the steps taken to clean-up Beijing s air quality in advance of the 2008 Summer Olympics, the city s air quality is poor, especially in winter. In mid-january 2013, Beijing s air quality corresponded to a PM2.5 density of 886 micrograms per cubic meter, which went off the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency s air quality index. The concentration of toxic small particles in January-February 2014 was at highest 26 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization. Smog is widespread and dangerous. Many people regularly wear face masks. Climate The best time to visit Beijing is spring or early fall, when the weather is pleasant and crowds are a bit smaller. In spring, one can see sandstorms blowing in from the Gobi Desert, across the Mongolian Steppe. However, these sandstorms often bring rapidly warming, but generally dry, conditions. Fall, like spring, sees little rain, and is crisp and short. The weather in Beijing is at its best in September and October, with a good chance of sunny days and mile temperatures. Winters are cold, but it rarely snows. July is marked with excruciating humidity and greater chances of rain. Three-fourths of the annual precipitation falls between June and August. The monthly daily average temperature in January is -3.6 ₒ C (25.3 ₒ F) and in July it is 26.2 ₒ C (79.2 ₒ F). Demographics 3

4 It is estimated that Beijing has a population of 20,693,000, with a population density of 3,300 people per square mile, and is the second largest city in China. The largest ethnic group is the Han Chinese and make up 96% of the population with the Manchu, Hui, and Mongol people making up the remaining population. Seventy-nine percent of the population is between 15 and 64 years old, 10% of the population is under the age of 14, and 11% is 65 years and older. Due to the age of the population and the average life expectancy at 81 years old, Beijing will see a huge increase in the elderly and in the health care that is needed. Economy Behind only Shanghai, Beijing is the second most industrialized urban area in the People s Republic of China. With a city-wide GDP of CNY1.41 Trillion, and annual GDP growth of 10.3%, Beijing s economy revolves primarily around its status as the political capital of China. Beijing is home to 41 of the Fortune Global 500 companies in addition to almost all of the largest state-owned companies. Its economy is based on the high-end manufacturing and service sectors. The tourism, media and IT industries are particularly prosperous in the Chinese capital. Although it does not have any exchanges for securities or other financial derivatives, Beijing is where China's market watchdogs and regulators are based. Financial organizations play a large role in the local economy, as they comprise roughly 13.8% of Beijing s GDP. Beijing s Central Business District is located in the Guomao area, slightly east of the city, while many financial institutions are located on Beijing Financial Street on the western side of the city. Zhongguancun, located northwest of the city center, serves as the country s technological and pharmaceutical hub, and is often referred to as China s silicon valley. On the western outskirts of the city, Shijingshan is the major industrial park. Although Beijing is very industrialized, agriculture still serves as an important industry in the rural outskirts of the city, with corn and wheat as the main crops. The city promotes agriculture in order to decrease the dependence on imported crops from the Yangtze River valley, and to promote local food security. Beijing also boasts a rather large industry for pirated goods. Anything from designer clothing to luggage to jewelry can be found in shops catering mainly to international visitors and expatriates. The Silk Market, located in the Chaoyang district, is home to over 1,700 of these counterfeit vendors, and attracts roughly 20,000 visitors a day. Government and Politics Beijing, as in all other cities in China, is structured as a dual party-government system. The major governing body at the municipal level is the People's Congress of Beijing Municipality, which has budget, taxation, and administrative responsibilities. Its members also elect the officials of the executive branch. Known as the Beijing People's Government, it consists of a mayor, several vice mayors, and the heads of various bureaus. Each district has its own mayor, and within each district some civic duties are assumed at the neighborhood level as well. The mayor of the municipal government, Wang Anshun, has the same order of precedence as provincial governors as Beijing is administered as a provincial-level municipality (one of only three cities to do this, the others being Tientsin and Shanghai). Though Wang is the highest ranking official in the People s Government of Beijing, he is subservient to Guo Jinlong, the Beijing Communist Party of China Municipal Committee Secretary. This position is one of great authority and is 4

5 usually held by a very high ranking Party member. Historically, the Secretary has also been involved in major decision making for national events, such as the Cultural Revolution, Olympic Games, etc. Social Issues Beijing has a number of pressing social issues that affect the larger nation as well. One of Mayor Wang s stated goals in Beijing is to address the major wealth gap between the central urban wealthy elite and the larger group of poor district citizens with sub-standard access to the developing infrastructure. Overpopulation is an acute problem in Beijing due to the rising density of urban development and the slowed pace of economic growth that fails to match the population increase. Along with overpopulation, there is a Male-female ratio disparity from sex-selective abortion and other problems associated from the One-child policy, such as the 4:2:1 generation support system that arises when one grandchild is responsible for the care of six others, two parents and four grandparents. Finally, there has been a steady increase in cases of AIDS, with the World Health Organization noting that AIDS cases have grown from 430,000 per year in 2005 to over 2.5million per year in Transportation Beijing has a complex transportation system that is considered to be the hub for all of China. The Beijing Airport, which is located 20 miles outside of the city, is the busiest in all of Asia and was ranked the 6 th busiest airport in the world for passenger flights and 13 th for cargo shipments. Beijing also has a very complex highway and road system. The six Ring Roads surround the city and there are 12 national highways that radiate from Beijing to the rest of China. It is estimated that there are 5 million registered cars on the roads in Beijing, leading to traffic congestion and inside the city is often gridlocked. The public transportation system is very vast and includes the subway, buses, trolleybuses and rail. The subway has 16 lines and 275 miles of track with an average of five million people riding the subway daily. The subway is undergoing expansion to 19 lines which will make it the largest subway system in the world. The subway is economical with a flat fare of 2 with unlimited transfers. The bus and trolleybus is owned by the city and operates more than 28,300 buses and trolleys carrying over 13 million people/trips a day. Culture Beijing is a city that is rich in history, but is trying to reinvent itself as a more modernized urban area after hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics. Beijing s culture can be best described as East meets West. Unlike Shanghai, which has developed in the past few decades, Beijing still retains evidence of ancient China from centuries past. The Forbidden City, built in the early 15 th century, is seemingly surrounded by modern high rise buildings, with the Beijing Financial Street to its immediate west, and the Beijing Central Business District to its east. The Forbidden City is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Evidence of centuries past can also be seen in the Hutongs, or narrow alleys, that occupy the areas immediately surrounding the Forbidden City. These narrow alley ways are comprised of rows of traditional courtyard residences, or siheyuan, which showcase elements of traditional Beijing life. 5

6 Hutongs have fallen victim to urban development, although preservation efforts have resulted in approximately 1,000 hutongs still in existence today. Tiananmen Square, the world s largest public square is directly south of the Forbidden City, and is flanked by grand buildings, including the Great Hall of the People, the Museum of Chinese History, the Museum of the Chinese Revolution, and the Qianmen Gate. It also showcases the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the Monument to the People s Martyrs, and was the site of the infamous 1989 massacre of student activists. There are many religions practiced in Beijing, although not always freely. Freedom of religion is actually in the Chinese constitution, but throughout recent history, suspensions have occurred that have made it hard to practice certain faiths. With all of this, the religious diversity within Beijing is vast, encompassing Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. With many temples throughout the city, visitors can get a real feeling of some of the area s practiced religions. The largest Buddhist temple in Beijing is Tanzhe Temple whose history dates back to the Jin Dynasty (3rd century AD). The White Cloud Temple is the largest Taoist temple in the city, which was once the religious center of Northern China. Within the arts, Beijing s Opera house is known as the finest in China. Additionally, the 14 th Annual Meet in Beijing Arts Festival will take place from April 28-May 25, and will feature dance, music, drama, outdoor music festivals, and an art exhibition by artists from over 30 countries. 6