BEIJING

BEIJING - THE CHINESE FAMOUS CITY

Beijing, a metropolis in Northern China, is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC). King Wu was the first to declare Beijing the capital city in 1057 BC. It is also known in English as Peking. Beijing or Peking means "northern capital". Beijing is China's second largest city, after Shanghai. Beijing is recognised as the political, educational, and cultural center of the People's Republic of China, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields. The city will host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Beijing has a whole area of 16808 sq km (about 6500 sq mi), stretching 160 kilometres from east to west and over 180 kilometres north to south. She has 18 districts and counties with Dongcheng, Xicheng, Xuanwu, Chongwen, Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai and Shijingshan in the surburbs and Fangshan, Mengtougou, Changping, Tongxian, Shunyi, Daxing, Huairou, Miyun, Pinggu and Yianqing in the outer suburbs. Population in Beijing is about 12 million.

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

The Great Wall is a symbol of Chinese civilization, and one of the wonders that the Chinese people have created. In 1988, it was enlisted in the World Cultural Heritage Directory by UNESCO. July 7, 2007 has once again witnessed the worldwide reputation that the Great Wall gained: it was listed among the New Seven Wonders of the World. The Great wall originally functioned as a fortification. Great Wall to protect China's borders from the intrusion of the northern nomadic tribes. Badaling Great Wall was the earliest part of the great Wall opened to tourists. It has drawn tens of millions of tourists both from home and abroad. More than 370 foreign leaders and celebrities have visited there.

THE BEIJING NATIONAL STADIUM (THE BIRD'S NEST)

The Beijing National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest" for its architecture, is a stadium finished for the Olympic Green in Beijing, China that has so far been completed as of March 2008. The stadium will host the main track and field competitions for the 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. It is located east of the Beijing National Aquatics Centre. The stadium can seat as many as 91,000 spectators during the Olympics. The capacity will then be reduced to 80,000 after the Games. The stadium is 330 metres long by 220 metres wide, and is 69.2 metres tall. The stadium uses 258,000 square metres of space and has a usable area of 204,000 square metres. It was built with 36 km of unwrapped steel, with a combined weight of 45,000 tonnes. The stadium has some 11,000 square metres of underground rooms with waterproof walls. The stadium will cost up to 3.5 billion yuan.

THE BEIJING NATIONAL AQUTIC CENTER (THE WATER CUBE)

The Beijing National Aquatics Center, also known as the Water Cube or abbreviated, is an aquatics center that was built alongside Beijing National Stadium in the Olympic Green for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

BEIJING NATIONAL GRAND THEATER

The National Centre for the Performing Arts known as the National Grand Theatre and colloquially described as The Egg, is an opera house in Beijing, China. The Centre, an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 6,500 people in three halls and is 200,000 m² in size.