Beijing began its history as a frontier trading town for the Mongols, Koreans and tribes from Shandong and central China. King Wu was the first to declare Beijing the capital city in 1057 BC. Subsequently, the city has gone by the names of Ji, Zhongdu, Dadu, and finally Beijing when the Ming Dynasty Emperor ChengZu chose the name in 1421. Beijing was also known as Peking by the Western world before 1949.

Beijing City is an independently administered municipal district situated in the north-eastern part of China at an elevation of 43.5m above sea level. The climate in Beijing is of the continental type, with cold and dry winters and hot summers. January is the coldest month (-4 Celsius), while July the warmest (26 Celsius).

Beijing covers a large area of 16808 sq km (about 6500 sq mi), stretching 160 kilometres from east to west and over 180 kilometres north to south. Population in Beijing is about 13 million.

The capitalist-style reforms of the last quarter of the 20th century have transformed Beijing into a modern city. Recent years have seen large scale projects to clean up huge areas of the city and experimental new buildings being developed. Today the city is a captivating mix of skyscrapers, slick shopping malls, busy flyovers, vast apartment blocks and office buildings competing for space with the traditional old 'Hutong' areas.

Beijing will host the 2008 Olympic Games which will further transform the capital. The north of the city will house the 1215-hectare Olympic Green with an Olympic Village capable of housing 18000 people.

How to Get There

Beijing Capital International Airport is 28km north-east of the centre of Beijing. Beijing has direct air connections to most major cities in the world. Domestic flights leave from the same airport to all major cities in China.

Where to Stay

Novotel Peace Hotel, 3 Jinyu Hutong, Tel 6512 8833, $80

Grand Hyatt, 1 Dongchang'an Jie, Tel 8518 1234, Doubles $170-300.