Beijing

placed in the category: Cities

The capital of People's Republic of China, Beijing, is the country's second largest city next to Shanghai. Beijing is a metropolis found in the northern part of China, and it is considered to be the cultural, educational, and political center of the country, while Hong Kong and Shanghai are the centers of the economic field. More than 17 million people reside in this municipality, which is a province-level administrative unit with urban and suburban districts summing up to 16, and 2 rural areas. The urban areas comprise the 13 million residents of the whole city. Beijing is considered to be one of the great cities of the world, being an integral part of the country's history for many centuries.

Many major structures in the city have some level of historical significance. Beijing is famous for its temples, lavish palaces, huge gates and stone walls. More buildings were added to the city since it hosted the 2008 Olympic Games. The universities and the art treasures kept by the city have made the city a centre for art and culture in China.

The 18 districts of Beijing are subdivided further into 273 third-level administrative units, with 125 sub-districts, 119 towns, 24 townships and 5 ethnic townships. Many places in Beijing end their names with "men" or "cun". "Men" means "gate" as some they the gates' locations in the former city wall of Beijing. On the other hand "cun" means village, and they were originally villages found outside the walls of the city.

Beijing is one of China's most developed cities, and it was the mainland's first post-industrial city. The city considers finance as one of its most important industries, with 73.2% of the GDP accounted by tertiary industry.

Three architectural styles predominate in the urban city of Beijing. The first architectural style is that of the traditional imperial China which remains as the trademark edifice of the People's Republic of China. It is exemplified by the Temple of Heaven, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Forbidden City. The next one is the buildings made between the 1950's and 1970's, with the architecture of the buildings were bland, boxy, and somewhat poorly made. Finally, the modern structures of china for example, are the very noticeable in the Financial Street of Beijing and the Beijing CBD.