Conservation Center protects the Chinese giant salamander, Amur stickleback and mandarin duck on the Huaijiu and

Huaisha Rivers in Huairou District. The Beijing Milu Park south of the city is home to one of the largest herds of Pre David's deer, now extinct in the wild. The Beijing barbastelle, a species of vesper bat discovered in caves of Fangshan District in 2001 and identified as a distinct species in 2007, is endemic to Beijing. The mountains of Fangshan are also habitat for the more common Beijing mouse-eared bat, large myotis, greater horseshoe bat and Rickett's big-footed bat.

The city flowers are the Chinese rose and chrysanthemum. The city trees are the Chinese arborvitae, an evergreen in the cypress family and the Pagoda Tree, also called the Chinese scholar tree, a deciduous tree of the Fabaceae family. The oldest scholar tree in the city was planted in what is now Beihai Park during the Tang Dynasty, 1,300 years ago.

NATURE

TRANSPORTATION

F OOD

C ULTURE

Nature & wildlife

Beijing Municipality has 20 nature reserves that have a total area of 1,339.7 km2 (517.3 sq mi). The mountains to the west and north of the city are home to a number of protected wildlife species. The Beijing Aquatic Wildlife Rescue and

Beijing is an important transport hub in North China with five ring roads, nine expressways, eleven National Highways, nine conventional railways, and two high-speed railways converging on the city.

Religion

Public Transportation

There are many religions practiced in Beijing, although not always freely. The religious diversity within Beijing is vast, encompassing Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity.

The Beijing Subway, which began operating in 1969, now has 17 lines, 227 stations, and 456 km (283 mi) of track and is the second longest subway system in the world and third in annual ridership with 2.46 billion rides delivered in 2012. With a flat fare of 2.00 per ride with unlimited

With many temples throughout the city, visitors can get a real feeling of some of the areas 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.

Beijing food is famous for its diversity and style. Beijing cuisine is unique in China because foods from all parts of China can be found there, as well as a huge variety of Western foods. No other place in China has the diversity of cuisine that Beijing has. Besides food from other areas, Beijing has also been developing its own style of cuisine for almost 5,000 years and come up with some amazing local Beijing foods.

Peking Roast Duck

Peking Roast Duck is a famous Beijing specialty served at many restaurants, but there are quite a few restaurants dedicated to the art of roasting the perfect duck. Expect to pay around 40 per whole duck at budget-range establishments, and 160-200 at high-end restaurants. Beijing duckis served with thin pancakes, plum sauce and slivers of scallions and cucumbers. You spread the sauce on the pancake, put a few pieces of duck, cucumber, and scallions.The end result is a mouthwatering combination of the cool crunchiness of the cucumber, the sharpness of the scallions, and the rich flavors of the duck.

City flowers

transfers on all lines except the Airport Express, the subway is also the most affordable rapid transit in China. Tresidents inside the Fourth Ring Road will be able walk to a station in 15 minutes. Beijing Suburban Railway provides commuter rail service to outlying suburbs of the municipality.

Architecture
Three styles of architecture predominate in urban Beijing. First, there is the traditional architecture of imperial China, perhaps best exemplified by the Forbidden City, the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Temple of Heaven. Next, there 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 and Beijing Financial Street.

Cycling
Beijing has long been well known for the number of bicycles on its streets.Beijing is relatively flat, which makes cycling convenient. The rise of electric bicycles and electric scooters, which have similar speeds and use the same cycle lanes, may have brought about a revival in bicycle-speed two-wheeled transport. It is possible to cycle to most parts of the city. Because of the growing traffic congestion, the authorities have indicated more than once that they wish to encourage cycling, but it is not clear whether there is sufficient will to translate that into action on a significant scale.

Candied haw berries

A winter specialty, candied haw berries are dipped in molten sugar which is left to harden in the cold and sold on a stick. You can also find variations with oranges, grapes, strawberries, and bananas, or dipped in crumbled peanuts as well as sugar. This sweet snack can also sometimes be found in the spring and the summer, but the haw berries are often from last season's crop

red leaves

traditional architecture in Beijing

Ancient times Beijing Official Portal Management Center

8/F, Digital Beijing Building, Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, PRC 100013 Fax: 8610-8437 1700 Email: service@ebeijing.gov.cn

Beijing literally means Northern Capital, a role it has played many times in China's long history. Beijing's history dates back several thousand years but it first became notable in Chinese history after it was made the capital of the State of Yan under the name Yanjing. From 1264 Beijing served as the capital of a united China under Kublai Khan. His victorious Mongol forces renamed the city, Great Capital . From there, Kublai and his decedents ruled their empire from a northern location closer to the Mongol homelands. After the fall of the Mongol-founded Yuan dynasty in 1368, the capital was initially moved to Nanjing. The Ming period was Beijing's golden era. The Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and many other Beijing landmarks were built in this period. The capital developed into a huge city becoming the religious and cultural center of Asia. In 1644, the Manchus overthrew the declining Ming dynasty and established China's last imperial line - the Qing. Beijing remained the capital. The Manchu imperial family moved into the Forbidden City and remained there until 1911.

WELCOME to
Beijing is the capital of the most populous country in the world, the People's Republic of China, and also its second largest city after Shanghai. It was also the seat of the Ming and Qing dynasty emperors until the formation of a republic in 1911. Beijing is the political, educational and cultural centre of the country and as such it is rich in historical sites and important government and cultural institutions. The city is well known for its flatness and regular construction. There are only three hills to be found in the city limits (in Jingshan Park to the north of the famous Forbidden City). Like the configuration of the Forbidden City, Beijing has concentric "ring roads", which are actually rectangular, that go around the metropolis.

HISTORY

BEIJING

Beijing Foreign Affairs Office

No.2, Zhengyi Road, Dongcheng District, Beijing, PRC 100744 Fax: 8610-6519 2775 Email: information@bjfao.gov.cn

Modern times
The Qing dynasty fell in 1911. Beijing remained a center for education and culture throughout the Republican Era. When the Kuomintang was defeated by the Communists in 1949, the new government proclaimed a People's Republic with its capital at Beijing.

BEIJING

Beijing was host to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games