Beijing china Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Beijing china - Essay Example These signs of Beijing being the cradle of civilization made many travelers to visit the city, considered the capital of the East’s civilization. This speech intends to give you overview information on Beijing, so that you may appreciate not only the role of the city in ancient civilization but also its central role in shaping the economy, politics, culture and social spheres of modern civilization. In this speech, Beijing’s history, location, population, administration, economic development, education, health, culture religion language hotels, climate, travel tips, transportation shopping and nightlife are explored. This information is not only important for visitors to the city such as international students but also to local students interested in the rich history and economic development of the city. Fact about Beijing In Chinese, Beijing means the city to the north. As mentioned earlier, Beijing’s history can be traced to more than eight centuries ago, durin g the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). Built as Beijing by the Jin Dynasty, the city would later be named Zhongdu, after being seized by Mongol armies in 1215 (Li et al., 2007). The city was later renamed the Great Capital (Dadu) by the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) later renamed it Beiping, the Northern Peace on August 2, 1368 (Tourbeijing.com, 2012). From this brief history of the city, it is clear that despite Beijing being started by the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), it was actually immensely reconstructed during the reign of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911). After these two dynasties, the city was transformed into an architectural masterpiece and emerged as the undisputed capital of the Chinese empire. Beijing’s location is the other aspect of the city worth knowing. Generally, Beijing covers approximately16, 800 square kilometers with 38% of it being flat land and 62% mountains. It is located 40 degrees north latitude and 116 degrees of longitudes (Tourbeijing.com, 2012). It is to the northern parts of China and borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and to a small extent, the east. It borders Tianjin Municipality to the southeast. As of 2009, Beijing’s population was 20 million people with about 5 million living within the city center and the rest on the peripheries. For administrative purposes, the city is divided into two counties and fourteen districts with Fengtai, Dongcheng, Chaoyang, Haidian, Xicheng and Shijingshan being closer to the city while Tongzhou, Pinggu, Mentougou, Shunyi, Changping, Daxing, Huairou and Fangshan are on the outskirts. Economic Development, Health and Education A speech on Beijing would not be complete without mentioning the city’s economic development since its emergence. Of particular importance is the economic development of the city since the mid-20th century. In this period, Beijing transformed from a consumer city to a major industrial and global city. Currently, it does not only rank among the centers of power in China; Beijing is among the top Chinese investment hubs. In fact, with the current reforms in China, Beijing has managed to open up to improved urban construction. This development record saw the city host the Olympics Games in 2008 during which Beijing