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As the capital city of the People's Republic of China, Beijing is China's political and
cultural centre and, as such, the centre for international contacts. The city is preparing for the Olympics and,
unfortunately, many historic areas have fallen to the bulldozer, repeating the errors of many other countries including
Singapore.
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History: Beijing, also mispronounced as Peking, is an ancient city with a recorded
history dating more than 3,000 years ago. During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (11th Century-771 BC), the Spring and Autumn
Period (770-476 B.C.) and the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), Beijing was the capital city of the State of Yan, and
ruled by dukes or princes under the emperor.
From the Qin Dynasty
(221-207 BC) and the Han Dynasty (206 BC) to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), Beijing was a major city and also a
strategic point in northern China. When the Qidan (Khitan) people founded the Liao Dynasty (907-1125), they established
Beijing, which during their rule was called Jiuzhou, with a secondary capital of Nanjing (southern capital).
Afterwards, the
dynasties of Jin (1115-1234), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) all favoured Beijing as their
capital city. In 1928, the Nanjing-based nationalist government of the Republic of China designated Beijing as the Bei-Ping
Special Municipality. In 1930, the municipality was renamed as Bei-Ping City. On September 27, 1949, the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference decided that the newborn People's Republic of China would base its capital in
Bei-Ping and renamed the city as Beijing.
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Geography: Beijing, located in the northern part of the North China Plain - with its
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The Great Wall of China |
terrain high in the northwest and low in the southeast. Major rivers flowing through the
city include Yongding River, Chaobai River, Beiyun Canal and Juma River. With a typical continental warm temperate zone
monsoon climate, Beijing has four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature at Beijing is around 12 degrees
Centigrade while the average annual precipitation is 626 millimetres. Beijing is rich in mineral resources including
coal, iron, copper, limestone and marble as well as relatively rich in the terrestrial heat resource.
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Metro Beijing |
Administrative Districts: After 1949, Beijing now five times the original size, the
areas formed, and reformed, the jurisdiction a total 11 times as it aligned the division of administrative districts t
conform with requirements of the political, economic and social development. Today Beijing’s total land area is 16,807.8
square kilometres of which almost 40% are flat lands whilst the balance is hilly. The city core proper is 750 square
kilometres in size, having 13 districts and 5 counties under its jurisdiction.
Population
and Composition: As of 1995, the city had had a total of 12,511,000 permanent, legal, residents which includes all
the 56 ethnic groups found in China.
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The Fourth National Census conducted on 1990 July 01, a total of 1,006,000 permanent
residents in Beijing, or 9.3% of the population in the city were college graduates or higher; 2,053,000 million or 19%
of the total population were senior high school graduates (including secondary technical school graduates); 3,305,000 or
30.6% of the total population were junior high school graduates; and 2,443,000 or 22.6% of the total population, were
primary school graduates.
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Economic and Social Development: Since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China,
particularly since China initiated the reform and open policy in 1978, the economy of Beijing has kept its momentum of
sustained, rapid and healthy development.
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The Forbidden City, Beijing |
Since the beginning of
the 1990s, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the city has been growing at an annual rate of 9%, with the comprehensive
economic strength increased substantially. Beijing has established an economy comprising multi-sectors, which include
State-run and collectively-owned enterprises and also consist of Sino-Foreign joint ventures, Sino-Foreign cooperative
ventures and wholly Foreign-funded enterprises as well as individual businesses, etc.
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It has a modern industrial system under which urban industries are linked to township
industries and capital and technology intensive industries are linked to labour-intensive industries as well as large
and medium- and small-sized enterprises compete with one another in development.
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Of the 164 industrial sectors defined by China on a unified basis, Beijing has 149. The city
has gradually formed an industrial structure with a relatively complete range of sectors, which include the eight
sectors, i.e., metallurgy, chemicals, automobiles, electronics, machinery, building materials, light industry and
textiles.
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Investment Environment: Of all Chinese cities, Beijing boasts the most advanced
infrastructure. The city had nearly 1,500 kilometres of expressways, first and second grade highways by 1998. The
density of roads is 0.75 kilometre per square kilometre. In the city proper, there are 180 overpasses, and the Second
Ring Road and the Third Ring Road have been built into non-stop highways. The Beijing-Tianjin Expressway has reduced the
trip from Beijing to Tanggu Port to a mere 90 minutes.
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The Beijing West Railway Station, completed in 1996 January, is the largest in Asia. The
international calls can be made here to more than 200 countries and regions. Direct mail service has been established
with 207 cities in more than 127 countries and regions. In early 1995, the State Council granted Beijing the privilege
to enjoy all the preferential policies given to open coastal cities.
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The Beijing Opera |
Beijing
currently has a total of 33 development zones and small-scale industrial areas in various types operated by counties or
districts, including two development zones at the national level - the Beijing Economic and Technological Development
Zone and the Beijing Experimental Development Zone for New Technology Industries.
In classification by categories, there are seven zones of
the high and new technology category, 16 of the industrial category, four of the tourist real estate category and six of
the comprehensive category. In these development and industrial zones, a total of 21.72 square kilometres of land have
been developed and 20.58 square kilometres of it has been designated for inviting external investment. So far, a total
of 3,067 enterprises have been built or are being built in these zones with overseas investment invited, and 2,065 of
them have become operational. |
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