Beijing

Beijing is the capital city of China, located in the northern part of the country. It is one of the largest cities in the world, with more than 21 million people living there. That is more than the population of New York City and Los Angeles combined. The city has been an important center of Chinese life for more than 800 years.

Beijing has been the capital of China, off and on, since the 1200s. The Mongol leader Kublai Khan made it his capital in 1271. Later, emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties ruled China from Beijing for almost 500 years. The name "Beijing" means "northern capital" in Mandarin Chinese.

The heart of old Beijing is the Forbidden City. It is a huge palace complex with bright red walls and golden roofs. Chinese emperors lived there for nearly 500 years, from 1420 to 1912. Regular people were forbidden from entering, which is how it got its name. Today it is a museum, and millions of visitors walk through its gates each year.

Just outside the Forbidden City is Tiananmen Square, one of the biggest public squares in the world. It can hold about one million people. The square has been the site of many important moments in modern Chinese history, including celebrations, parades, and protests.

Beijing sits near the famous Great Wall of China, which winds through the mountains north of the city. People can take a short trip from downtown Beijing to walk along parts of the wall that are more than 500 years old.

The city has two very different sides. Old Beijing is full of narrow alleys called hutongs, where families have lived for generations in courtyard homes. New Beijing has shiny skyscrapers, giant shopping malls, and wide highways packed with cars. The two sides exist right next to each other.

Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008 and the Winter Olympics in 2022. This made it the first city ever to host both. For the 2008 games, China built a stadium called the Bird's Nest, which looks exactly like what its name suggests.

Beijing's weather can be harsh. Summers are hot and humid. Winters are cold and dry, with biting winds that blow down from the Gobi Desert. Sometimes huge dust storms sweep through the city, turning the sky yellow. Air pollution has been a serious problem too, though the government has worked to clean it up in recent years.