Play

Beijing

Capital of ChinaBeijing sits at the northern tip of the North China Plain, with the Western Hills to the west and the Yan Mountains to the north. The Bohai Sea is about 150 km away to the south-east, beyond Tianjin.

Why it's the capital

Kublai Khan built a new capital here, called Dadu or Khanbaliq, for his Yuan dynasty. In 1420 the city became the capital of the Ming dynasty, and on 1 October 1949 Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen and made Beijing its capital.

Fun facts

  1. Beijing means 'Northern Capital', and an older English spelling of the name was Peking.
  2. Building the Forbidden City, the emperors' palace, took 14 years, from 1406 to 1420.
  3. In 2022 Beijing became the first city to host both the Summer and the Winter Olympic Games.

Finding it on the globe

Find the Bohai Sea on China's north-east coast and move about 150 km inland to the north-west, to the spot where the flat plain meets the mountains.

Easy to mix up

Shanghai is China's largest city, but the capital is Beijing, far to the north.

Sources: Wikipedia: Beijing, Wikipedia: Geography of Beijing