Pets at Work Keep Workers Happy - Health News - Health.com

MONDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) ? Allowing employees to bring their dogs to work appears to reduce stress and boost job satisfaction levels, according to a new study.

The research was conducted at a service-manufacturing-retail company in Greensboro, N.C., which has about 550 employees and allows up to 30 pet dogs on company premises each day.

Over the course of a week, Virginia Commonwealth University researchers compared stress levels and job satisfaction among those employees who brought their dogs to work, those who didn?t bring their dogs to work, and employees without pets.

The study found that dogs in the workplace seemed to help reduce job-related stress for their owners and make work more satisfying for other employees who came into contact with the dogs.

?Although preliminary, this study provides the first quantitative study of the effects of employees? pet dogs in the workplace setting on employee stress, job satisfaction, support and commitment,? principal investigator Randolph Barker, a professor of management in the VCU School of Business, said in a university news release.

?Dogs in the workplace can make a positive difference,? he added. ?The differences in perceived stress between days the dog was present and absent were significant. The employees as a whole had higher job satisfaction than industry norms.?

The findings were published in the March issue of the International Journal of Workplace Health Management.

Stress is a major cause of absenteeism, poor morale and burnout and can lead to significant declines in productivity and resources, the researchers noted.

?Pet presence may serve as a low-cost, wellness intervention readily available to many organizations and may enhance organizational satisfaction and perceptions of support,? Barker said. ?Of course, it is important to have policies in place to ensure only friendly, clean and well-behaved pets are present in the workplace.?

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about stress.

? Robert Preidt

SOURCE: Virginia Commonwealth University, news release, March 30, 2012

Last Updated: April 02, 2012

Copyright ? 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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Bruce Willis becomes dad to fourth daughter

By Alexis L. Loinaz, E! Online

Bruce Willis is a diehard new dad once again! The star and his wife, Emma Heming, became the proud parents of a precious baby girl Sunday in L.A., per People.

Matt Sayles / AP file

Bruce Willis and Emma Heming.

We're sure the couple are beyond thrilled -- it's their first little bundle of joy together!

So what name can well-wishers start cooing as they ogle the adorable tot?

MORE: Bruce Willis to Die Hard Yet Again -- and the Title Is...

Say hello to Mabel Ray Willis!

The little angel, who weighed in at just over 9 pounds, joins Willis' three daughters from his previous marriage to Demi Moore: Rumer, 23; Scout, 20; and Tallulah, 18.

Willis, who just turned 57 two weeks ago, and Heming, 33, were married in 2009.

PHOTOS: Weirdest Celebrity Baby Names

The actor is gearing up for a busy year: He's got five (!) films hitting theaters and is set for a one-two summer-movie punch with "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and "The Expendables 2."

Congrats to the happy parents!

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My Travels,My Experiences: Health,Fitness and Weight Loss Expo ...

I think it is important to open your eyes and really see your surroundings, much as you do when you see a new city,town or country for the first time. So apart from writing about places I travel, I will be sharing information, my experiences,places to visit in Kuwait,in general life in Kuwait,shopping bargains, cultural events and happenings,sightseeing tours,restaurants,shops,shopping malls,theater and music evenings.....everything and anything on KUWAIT.

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Mali rebels attack Timbuktu amid post-coup chaos

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From the Editor's Desk: More quick hits

Phil Nickinson

It's another working weekend. Yeah, that's two in a row. For now, some more random thoughts:

  • Go download the Android Central Forums app right this second! Don't read the rest of this column until you do. (It's also available from the Amazon Appstore, too.)
  • We don't do April Fools jokes. For one, they're 99 percent not funny. (For reals. Look at the sites that try to pull them off today and tell me I'm wrong.)  For another, you can't do them as good as Google. Go ahead. Fake some screen shot. Pretend that some phone has some long-hidden feature. Whatever. You can't beat 8-bit Google Maps. (Which, by the way, should totally exist outside of April 1.) You can't beat Gmail Tap for Android  -- which, by the way, may be the greatest troll since some site tried to tell you every single phone released that year would get Froyo. (Yes, our bullshit meter goes back that far.) You can't beat the other ones Google's done today. To quote my Austrian/Russian/Brazilian/American high school soccer/Spanish/English/life coach: "If you're going to do something ... Don't."
  • Lulz at SwiftKey, though.
  • So we got an unconfirmed tip (never mind how other blogs might have misreported it) about what we might see Wednesday at the Sprint/HTC event event in New York City. On one hand, the prospect of something based off the HTC One X -- with a bigger battery and a microSD card -- sounds pretty good. That said, I'm not sold on the AMOLED screen we were told about, but stranger things have happened. We've had other people tell us it's a departure from the HTC One X. On one hand, that's cool. A bigger batter and expandable storage never is a bad thing. On the other had, that would mean a divergence from the HTC One line as we saw it at Mobile World Congress. So much for continuity?
  • The FUD got a little ridiculous this week. Yes, you can securely wipe your phone before giving it away.
  • Yes, Jerry posted a slightly NSFW video from MiKandi about its new "Adult Mobile Theater." Some folks got their panties in a bunch, and that's OK. Different strokes, consenting adults and all that. I rather enjoy that we're willing to do stories that others won't touch. If it offends you, if you don't want to read it, it's cool. Don't read it. (That said, there are a lot of crappy adult apps out there, if you'll recall.)
  • Know what offends me? When a developer's apps are rehosted and shared outside the Google Play Store without their permission. Why is that considered OK? 
  • If you didn't listen to the podcast yet, you missed out on a bunch of talk about why your phone might get a different version of Android than a similar phone.

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User:Port6sigh - WCell Wiki

From WCell Wiki

Healthy activity could automatically create you healthier that is exactly why it's advisable so you can On least create a point of training thrice a week. Keeping fit can involve different types of physical exercises ranging from swimming, cycling, body weight lifting or simply taking up a simple sports that can reduce up any extra flab. Many folks whenever referring to fitness would relate it to strenuous work-out which may include such things as load lifting. Fitness can be achieved with no really exerting force in your bone fragments and joints. The nature of fitness that does not necessarily need anyone to exert force on your own bones as well as structures can just be described as cardiovascular. Cardio exercise fitness will normally work on the performance of the heart and also lungs. Oxygen is critical when undertaking any type of work-out as well as the heart is going to normally need so you can be functioning well for anyone to do very well ab contour belt. Cardio fitness shall assistance we enhance the heart which aids in the transportation of oxygen so you can the muscle tissue. Cardiovascular fitness is a increasing type of workout as well as one shall likely probably require a good teacher to take you via the fitness process. With a great fitness instructor we are ab circle pro review capable to make certain to gain fitness effectively. Besides having a great teacher anyone would really want aerobic fitness equipment. There is of cardio fitness equipment a great deal of of that are common in the wellness club like treadmills, exercise bicycles, steppers. While from the fitness center a few of the aerobic fitness equipment you could possibly look for is like the jogging troller, simple skipping ropes, to the standard cycle. Trampolines can additionally be referred to as a cardio fitness equipment. Because taking up aerobic fitness is certainly not primarily aimed towards burning fat we would require so you can get a machine that creates up your stamina. If you adore exercising when moving around then taking up cycling would definitely work, however if you wish training from a centered place anyone are capable to take up the elliptical trainer machine, the rower, to the centralised work-out bike. The treadmill can notably be termed as the a good number of common type of aerobic fitness equipment, does ab circle pro a machine that was designed somehow you are really running even though from a centered position. With the the fitness fitness treadmill machine you could potentially tell the distance you have covered either walking, running to jogging. So you can make your exercise dynamic you can easily easily incline the home treadmill for more outcomes making the exercise more challenging. Whenever purchasing a treadmill machine right now there can be a few considerations, the budget could be a factor so you can think about whenever choosing the character of treadmill. Once stating your own budget for a treadmill you'd need to firstly explain if it is for commercial utilize or individual. Commercial utilize treadmills is going to likely wear out quickly than own treadmills. Treadmills definitely will come in different models and also the quality would certainly additionally be differ, it's advisable certainly not to go for inexpensive treadmills because they can be substandard. If the budget will not be an issue you can potentially made a decision to get an affordable fitness treadmill or maybe a higher standard home treadmill machine which would probably have different exercise designs. Hiring wellness club equipment is a highly smart move for anybody hoping to start up their have health and fitness center. This is true whether one are a tiny business hoping to offer health and fitness center facilities for clients, to regardless of whether we are someone which just would like to get access to their obtain private fitness center to save lots of themselves the transport that so usually puts folks off from doing the workout which they had planned. The thing concerning buying gym equipment is the fact that it's hugely expensive and you will likely require an awful great deal of equipment to have anything approaching a full home. Anyone cannot just purchase yourself a counter press for example, anyone as well need to purchase yourself the weight, the weights, the brackets and possibly different points too simply to be qualified to train the pecs http://gutfat.com/flex-belt-reviews-legit-or-scam/ an example. Which won't be enough - for the reason that simply workouts with the table press would probably mean that you had been merely training your own pecs, shoulders and triceps. This may mean one could not get a full body exercise and also anyone would at least will require to have dumbbell pubs too to ensure that you could do bicep curls as well as shoulder presses. Furthermore coming up with 1 exercise for every body piece very simply is deficiency of. If you simply train the pecs then having merely a counter press nonetheless wouldn't be enough - considering that you'd desire to keep mixing up the methods you trained your own pecs which would mean making use of alternative such things as pec flies etc. One cannot do a full workout at almost all then if you do not have many devices for each body part. Whenever you think about that you have: pecs, deltoids, lats, blocks, throat muscles, forearm flexors, abdominals, obliques, serratus muscles, quads, lower legs, hamstrings, glutes and that's just scratching the surface one know which anyone then need a lot of different machines so you can are able to a full exercise in your house or perhaps to offer the capability to do a full exercise in the physical fitness center. And also in case you purchase your own weights for every of these 'free weight' options which gets expensive too - anyone want so you can buy individual body weight plates and also each 1 is going to set you back a good deal cash as well as you then seriously want to stack these up if you'll fill your pubs etc. Ahead of this you may also need resistance machines. These are perfect for targeting muscle tissue particularly and also providing 'isolation' workouts. Simultaneously you can in addition benefit from these if you're new so you can working out - mostly because they are gentle and also they do not include any chance of becoming 'trapped' it is in the weights. Then you want so you can have the 'CV' - the cardiovascular work-out machines as well as that means such things as treadmills, walking machines, rowers etc etc. These devices just about all come with interactive features, LED read outs, sounds, settings as well as more and they are all highly expensive. In order to kit out a wellness club then, even a home wellness and fitness center in a basement, equipment accommodation is the most cost practical as well as quickest method to do thus.

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User:DoucetWolters591 - HaXlash Wiki

From HaXlash Wiki

The Importance of Good Negotiation Skills for your Business Being successful

Having good negotiation skills is most likely the difference somewhere between success plus failure from the business globe. Those that learn how to negotiate usually rise towards the top with whatever industry there're in. At duration, those that are not aware of how for you to negotiate are inclined to stay where they are or slide backwards.

If you wish to be successful around, a analysis of creating negotiation skills ought to be at the particular forefront of one's mind. Here are a few points to consider about that importance regarding good negotiation skills towards your business good results.

One from the primary important things about having good negotiation skills training is that you'll be able just to save money. If anyone represent your business or when you are negotiating yourself, you will be able to negotiate a cheaper amount when buying something. When doing large acquisitions, you need youngster should be negotiate with the sales representative and acquire a far better price. If you only take the purchase price that is being offered to people, it is incredibly possible that could get taken selling point of. Learning the way to negotiate will assist you to save significant amounts regarding money over a period of time.

Another important basis for developing excellent negotiation knowledge is that you'll be able to earn more income for your online business as properly. If you are attempting to sell a program or secure binding agreement, you need to negotiate to be able to make the item happen. By carrying this out, you could secure a bigger selling price tag and delay your profit margins. Increasing profit margins belongs to the biggest objectives on most businesses. If you possibly can be able to do this kind of, you is going to be invaluable to your employer which will end up being directly in connection with your company success.

In addition to being a better negotiation strategies, you may also develop several other traits which are essential running a business. Many from the same skills that you just use around negotiation can translate over to other areas of the organization.

For case in point, when knowing good settlement skills, you will learn how to be an effective listener. In order to be successful in settlement, you have kid listen to the other person to observe what they desire. This skill are going to be very valuable for your requirements in other instances of the enterprise. If you happen to be a boss, you require to listen for your employees to discover what urges them. If you happen to be dealing having customers, you need to listen to be able to what they may be telling you so that you can find a service or product that matches their requirements.

When you are aiming to obtain business good results, developing very good negotiation skills really should be at the very best of your priority record. This is by far one of the important skills that you may develop as being a businessperson. It can certainly take an individual from exactly where you at this time are to where anyone eventually desire to be.

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124 Chinese cities take part in 'Earth Hour'

NameBeijing
Official nameMunicipality of Beijing ?
Native name
Settlement typeMunicipality
Total typeMunicipality
Map captionLocation of Beijing Municipality within China
Coordinates displayinline,title
Coordinates regionCN-11
Subdivision typeCountry
Subdivision namePeople's Republic of China
Parts typeDivisions?- County-level?- Township-level
Parts16 districts, 2 counties289 towns and villages
Government typeMunicipality
Leader titleCPC Ctte Secretary
Leader nameLiu Qi
Leader title1Mayor
Leader name1Guo Jinlong
Area total km216801.25
Elevation m43.5
Population total19612368
Population as of2010
Population density km2auto
Population blank1 titleRanks in China
Population blank1Population: 26th; Density: 4th
Population demonymBeijinger
Demographics type1Major ethnic groups
Demographics1 title1Han
Demographics1 info196%
Demographics1 title2Manchu
Demographics1 info22%
Demographics1 title3Hui
Demographics1 info32%
Demographics1 title4Mongol
Demographics1 info40.3%
TimezoneChina standard time
Utc offset+8
Postal code typePostal code
Postal code100000 ? 102629
Area code10
Blank name sec1GDP
Blank info sec12010
Blank1 name sec1?- Total
Blank1 info sec1CNY 1,377.79?billion US$ 209.3?billion (13th)
Blank2 name sec1?- Per capita
Blank2 info sec1CNY 70,251 US$ 10,672 (3rd)
Blank3 name sec1?- Growth
Blank3 info sec1 10.2%
Blank4 name sec1HDI (2008)
Blank4 info sec10.891 (2nd) ? high
Blank5 name sec1License plate prefixes
Blank5 info sec1?A, C, E, F, H, J, K, L, M, N, P ?B (taxis)?G, Y (outside urban area)?O (police and authorities)?V (in red color) (military headquarters,central government)
Blank name sec2City trees
Blank info sec2Chinese arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis)
Blank1 name sec2?
Blank1 info sec2Pagoda tree (Sophora japonica)
Blank2 name sec2City flowers
Blank2 info sec2China rose (Rosa chinensis)
Blank3 name sec2?
Blank3 info sec2Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium)
Websitewww.beijing.gov.cn
Footnotes}}

Beijing (, , ), also known as Peking ( or ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, educational and military center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's largest state-owned companies. The metropolis, located in northern China, borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and a small section to the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.

Governed as a municipality under the direct administration of the national government, Beijing is divided into 14 urban and suburban districts and two rural counties. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and motorways passing through the city, and the destination of many international flights to China.

Few cities in the world have served as long as the political and cultural centre of an area as immense. Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It has been the heart of China?s history for centuries, and there is scarcely a major building of any age in Beijing that does not have at least some national historical significance. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, and huge stone walls and gates. Its art treasures and universities have long made it a centre of culture and art in China.

Etymology and names

"Beijing" means "northern capital", following the common East Asian tradition of explicitly naming capitals as such. Similarly named cities include Nanjing (??), China, meaning "southern capital"; Tokyo, Japan, and ??ng Kinh, now Hanoi, Vietnam, both meaning "eastern capital" (??); as well as Kyoto (??), Japan, and Gyeongseong (; now Seoul), Korea, both meaning "capital city".

Peking is the name of the city according to Chinese Postal Map Romanisation, and the traditional customary name for Beijing in English. It, together with its variants, is still used in many languages. The name originated with French missionaries four hundred years ago and corresponds to an older pronunciation predating a sound change in Mandarin from to . ( is represented in pinyin as j, as in Beijing. The latter is best approximated in English as "bay-DJING", rather than the hyperforeign pronunciation "bay-ZHING".) The pronunciation "Peking" is also closer to the Fujianese dialect of Amoy or Min Nan spoken in the city of Xiamen, a port where European traders first landed in the 16th century, while "Beijing" more closely approximates the Mandarin pronunciation of the city's name.

The city has been renamed several times. During the Jin Dynasty, it was known as Zhongdu (), then later, under the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, as Dadu () to the Chinese and Daidu to Mongols (also recorded as Cambuluc by Marco Polo). Twice in the city's history, the name was changed from Beijing (Peking) to Beiping (Peiping) (; Pinyin: B?ip?ng; Wade-Giles: Pei-p'ing), literally "northern peace", first under the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and again in 1928 by the Kuomintang (KMT) government of the Republic of China. On each occasion, the character meaning "capital" (?) was deleted to reflect the fact the national capital had moved to Nanjing, in Jiangsu Province. Each renaming was reverted, the first under the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who moved the capital from Nanjing back to Beijing, and again in 1949, when the Communist Party of China restored Beijing as its capital after the founding of the People's Republic of China. The abbreviation of the municipality is its second character (?) and is used on licence plates, among other things.

Yanjing (; Pinyin: Y?nj?ng; Wade-Giles: Yen-ching) is and has been another popular informal name for Beijing, a reference to the ancient State of Yan that existed here during the Zhou Dynasty. This name is reflected in the locally brewed Yanjing Beer as well as Yenching University, an institution of higher learning that was merged into Peking University.

History

Early history

The earliest traces of human habitation in the Beijing municipality were found in the caves of Dragon Bone Hill near the village of Zhoukoudian in Fangshan District, where Peking Man lived. Homo erectus fossils from the caves date to 230,000 to 250,000 years ago. Paleolithic homo sapiens also lived there more recently, about 27,000 years ago. There were cities in the vicinity of the site of present-day Beijing by the 1st millennium BC, and Ji (?/?), the capital of the state of Yan, one of the powers of the Warring States Period (473?221 BC), was established there.

After the fall of the Yan, the following Qin, Han, and Jin dynasties set up local prefectures in the area. During the fall of the Han, it was the seat of the warlord Gongsun Zan. During the Tang Dynasty, it became the headquarters for Fanyang jiedushi, the virtual military governor of what is now the northern Hebei region. The An Shi Rebellion began here in AD 755.

Medieval period

In 936, the Later Jin Dynasty (936?947) of northern China ceded a large part of its northern frontier, including the site of modern Beijing, to the Khitan Liao Dynasty. In 938, the Liao Dynasty set up a secondary capital on modern Beijing's location, and called it Nanjing (the "southern capital"). In 1125, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty conquered Liao, and moved its capital to Liao's Nanjing in 1153, calling it Zhongdu (??), the "central capital". Zhongdu was situated in what is now the area centered around Tianningsi, slightly to the southwest of central Beijing. Some of the oldest surviving relics in Beijing, such as the Tianning Temple, date to the Liao period.

Mongol forces burned Zhongdu to the ground in 1215 in what is now known as the Battle of Beijing. In 1264, in preparation for the conquest of all of China to establish the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan decided to rebuild it slightly north to the center of the Jin capital, and in 1272, he made this city his capital, renamed Dadu (??, Chinese for "great capital"), or Daidu to the Mongols, spelled Cambaluc or Cambuluc in Marco Polo's accounts. Construction of Dadu was completed in 1293. Kublai Khan's decision greatly enhanced the status of a city on the northern fringe of China proper. Dadu was centered slightly north of modern central Beijing, on what is now the northern stretch of the 2nd Ring Road, and stretched northwards to between the 3rd and 4th Ring Roads. Remnants of the Yuan-era wall still stand, and are known as the Tucheng (??, literally the "earth wall").

Ming and Qing period

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang, soon after declaring himself the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, sent an army toward Dadu, still held by the Yuan. The last Yuan emperor fled north to Shangdu, and Zhu razed the Yuan palaces in Dadu to the ground. The city was renamed Beiping (??) in the same year, and Shuntian (??) prefecture was established in the area around the city. In 1403, the new (and third) Ming emperor ? the Yongle Emperor ? renamed this city Beijing, and designated it the co-capital, alongside the (then) current capital of Nanjing. Beijing was the site of a major construction project for a new Imperial residence, the Forbidden City that lasted nearly 15 years, from 1406 to 1420. When the palace was finished, the Yongle Emperor ceremoniously took up residence. From 1421 onwards, Beijing, also known as Jingshi (??), was the "official" capital of the Ming Dynasty, while Nanjing was demoted to the status of "secondary" capital. This system of dual capitals (with Beijing being vastly more important) continued for the duration of the Ming Dynasty. Thirteen of the sixteen Ming Emperors are buried in elaborate tombs near Beijing.

By the 15th century, Beijing had essentially taken its current shape. The Ming-era city wall served as the Beijing city wall until modern times, when it was pulled down and the 2nd Ring Road was built in its place. It is believed that Beijing was the largest city in the world from 1425 to 1650 and from 1710 to 1825. Another notable building constructed during the Ming period was the Temple of Heaven (built by 1420). Tiananmen, now a state symbol of the People's Republic of China and featured on its emblem, was first built in 1420, and rebuilt several times later. Tiananmen Square was built in 1651 and enlarged in 1958. Jesuits finished building the first Beijing-area Roman Catholic church in 1652 at the Xuanwu Gate, where Italian Jesuit Matteo Ricci (1552?1610) had lived; the modern Nantang (??, Southern Cathedral) has been built over the original cathedral.

The end of the Ming came in 1644, when Li Zicheng's peasant army captured and held Beijing for 40 days, and overthrew the government. When the powerful Manchu army arrived at the outskirts, Li and his followers abandoned the city, allowing the Manchus, under Prince Dorgon, to capture Beijing without a fight.

When Dorgon established the Qing Dynasty as the direct successor of the Ming, Beijing remained China's capital. The Qing emperors made some modifications to the Imperial residence, but in large part, the Ming buildings and the general layout remained unchanged. Beijing at this time was also known as Jingshi. The classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber is set in Beijing during the early years of Qing rule at the end of the 17th century.

During the Second Opium War, Anglo-French forces captured the city, and looted and burned the Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace in 1860. Under the Convention of Peking that ended the war, Western powers secured the right to establish permanent diplomatic presences in the Beijing Legation Quarter. In 1900, Beijing was again invaded by foreign powers, this time to quell the Boxer Rebellion. Some important Imperial structures in the city were destroyed during the fighting, including the Hanlin Academy and the Summer Palace.

Republican era

The fomenters of the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 sought to replace Qing rule with a republic, and originally intended to establish the capital at Nanjing. After high-ranking Qing official Yuan Shikai forced the abdication of the Qing emperor in Beijing and ensured the success of the revolution, the revolutionaries in Nanjing accepted Yuan as the president of the new Republic of China, and the capital remained at Beijing. Yuan gradually consolidated power and became by 1915 the new emperor of China, but died less than a year into his reign.

China then fell under the control of regional warlords. The most powerful factions fought frequent wars (the Zhili-Anhui War, the First Zhili-Fengtian War, and the Second Zhili-Fengtian War) to take control of the capital. Following the success of the Kuomintang (KMT)'s Northern Expedition, which pacified the warlords of the north, Nanjing was officially made the capital of the Republic of China in 1928, and on 28 June of that year, Beijing was renamed Beiping (Peip'ing) (??), meaning "northern peace" or "north pacified".

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Beiping fell to Japan on 29 July 1937, and was made the seat of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state that ruled the ethnic Chinese portions of Japanese-occupied northern China; the government was later merged into the larger Wang Jingwei government based in Nanjing.

People's Republic

On 31 January 1949, during the Chinese Civil War, Communist forces entered Beijing without opposition. On 1 October of the same year, the Communist Party of China, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, announced in Tiananmen the creation of the People's Republic of China and renamed the city back to Beijing. Just a few days earlier, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference had decided that Beijing would be the capital of the new government.

At the time of the founding of the People's Republic, Beijing Municipality consisted of just its urban area and its immediate suburbs. The urban area was divided into many small districts inside what is now the 2nd Ring Road. The Beijing city wall was torn down to make way for the construction of the 2nd Ring Road, which was finished by 1981 in accordance with the 1982 city plan. That road was the first of a series of new ring roads intended for motor vehicles rather than bicycles.

Following the economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping, the urban area of Beijing has expanded greatly. Formerly within the confines of the 2nd and 3rd Ring Roads, the urban area of Beijing is now pushing at the limits of the recently constructed 5th and 6th Ring Roads, with many areas that were formerly farmland now developed residential or commercial districts. According to a 2005 newspaper report, the size of the newly developed Beijing was one and a half times larger than that of old Beijing within the 2nd Ring Road. Wangfujing and Xidan have developed into flourishing shopping districts, while Zhongguancun has become a major centre of electronics in China. In recent years, the expansion of Beijing has also brought to the forefront some problems of urbanization, such as heavy traffic, poor air quality, the loss of historic neighbourhoods, and a significant influx of migrants from various regions of the country, especially rural areas.

On 13 July 2001, the International Olympic Committee selected Beijing as the host for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Geography

Beijing is situated at the northern tip of the roughly triangular North China Plain, which opens to the south and east of the city. Mountains to the north, northwest and west shield the city and northern China's agricultural heartland from the encroaching desert steppes. The northwestern part of the municipality, especially Yanqing County and Huairou District, are dominated by the Jundu Mountains, while the western part is framed by the Xishan Mountains. The Great Wall of China, which stretches across the northern part of Beijing Municipality, made use of this rugged topography to defend against nomadic incursions from the steppes. Mount Dongling in the Xishan ranges and on the border with Hebei is the municipality's highest point, with an altitude of 2303?m.

Major rivers flowing through the municipality include the Yongding River and the Chaobai River, part of the Hai River system, and flow in a southerly direction. Beijing is also the northern terminus of the Grand Canal of China, which was built across the North China Plain to Hangzhou. Miyun Reservoir, built on the upper reaches of the Chaobai River, is Beijing's largest reservoir, and crucial to its water supply. The urban area of Beijing is in the south-central part of the municipality and occupies a small but expanding portion of the municipality's area. It spreads out in bands of concentric ring roads, of which the fifth and outermost, the Sixth Ring Road (the numbering starts at two), passes through several satellite towns. Tian'anmen (the Gate of Heavenly Peace) and Tian'anmen Square are at the centre of Beijing, directly to the south of the Forbidden City, the former residence of the emperors of China. To the west of Tian'anmen is Zhongnanhai, home to the paramount leaders of the People's Republic of China. Running through central Beijing from east to west is Chang'an Avenue, one of the city's main thoroughfares.

Climate

The city has a rather dry, monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (K?ppen climate classification Dwa), characterised by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and generally cold, windy, dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone.

Air quality

Joint research between American and Chinese researchers in 2006 concluded that much of the city's pollution comes from surrounding cities and provinces. On average 35?60% of the ozone can be traced to sources outside the city. Shandong Province and Tianjin Municipality have a "significant influence on Beijing's air quality", partly due to the prevailing south/southeasterly flow during the summer and the mountains to the north and northwest.

In preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics and to fulfill promises to clean up the city's air, nearly US$17?billion was spent. Beijing also implemented a number of air improvement schemes for the duration of the Games, including stopping work on all construction sites, closing many factories in and around Beijing, closing some gas stations, and cutting motor traffic by half by limiting drivers to odd or even days (based on their license plate numbers) Two new subway lines were opened and thousands of old taxis and buses were replaced to encourage residents to use public transport. The Beijing government encouraged a discussion to keep the odd-even scheme in place after the Olympics, and although the scheme was eventually lifted on 21 September 2008, it was replaced by new restrictions on government vehicles and a new restriction that does not allow the use of a car once a week. In addition, staggered office hours and retail opening times have been encouraged to avoid the rush hour, and parking fees were increased.

Beijing became the first city in China to require the Chinese equivalent to the Euro 4 emission standard. Some 357,000 "yellow label" vehicles ? those that have too high emission levels ? have been banned from Beijing altogether.

The government regularly uses cloud-seeding measures to increase the likelihood of rain showers in the region to clear the air prior to large events as well as to combat drought conditions in the area.

According to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), China has spent $17?billion over the last three years on a large-scale green drive. Beijing has added 3,800 natural gas buses, one of the largest fleets in the world. Twenty percent of the Olympic venues' electricity comes from renewable energy sources. The city has also planted hundreds of thousands of trees and increased green space in an effort to make the city more livable.

One year after the 2008 Olympics, Beijing's officials reported that the city was enjoying the best air quality this decade because of the measures taken during the Games. Nonetheless, Beijing still faces air pollution problems. The US embassy recorded levels of pollution beyond measurable levels on the 21 February 2011, and advised people to stay indoor as a thick smog was covering the city.

Dust storms

Dust from the erosion of deserts in northern and northwestern China results in seasonal dust storms that plague the city; the Beijing Weather Modification Office sometimes artificially induces rainfall to fight such storms and mitigate their effects. In the first four months of 2006 alone, there were no fewer than eight such storms. In April 2002, one dust storm alone dumped nearly 50,000?tons of dust onto the city before moving on to Japan and Korea.

Politics and government

Municipal government is regulated by the local Communist Party of China (CPC), led by the Beijing CPC Secretary (??????). The local CPC issues administrative orders, collects taxes, manages the economy, and directs a standing committee of the Municipal People's Congress in making policy decisions and overseeing the local government.

Government officials include the mayor and vice-mayor. Numerous bureaus focus on law, public security, and other affairs. Additionally, as the capital of China, Beijing houses all of the important national governmental and political institutions, including the National People's Congress.

Administrative divisions

Subdivisions

Beijing Municipality comprises 16 administrative county-level subdivisions governed directly by the municipality (second-level divisions). Of these, 14 are districts and two are counties. On 1 July 2010, Congwen () and Xuanwu Districts () were merged into Dongcheng and Xicheng Districts respectively. The urban and suburban areas of the city are divided into six districts: Dongcheng District Xicheng District Chaoyang District Haidian District Fengtai District Shijingshan District

The following six districts encompass the more distant suburbs and satellite towns of the metropolitan area: Mentougou District Fangshan District Tongzhou District Shunyi District Changping District Daxing District Huairou District Pinggu District

The remaining two districts and the two counties located further out govern semi-rural and rural areas: Miyun County Yanqing County

Towns

Towns within Beijing Municipality but outside the urban area include (but are not limited to): Changping Huairou Miyun Liangxiang Liulimiao Tongzhou Yizhuang Tiantongyuan Beiyuan Xiaotangshan

Several place names in Beijing end with m?n (), meaning "gate", as they were the locations of gates in the former Beijing city wall. Other place names end in c?n (), meaning "village", as they were originally villages outside the city wall.

Beijing's 18 districts and counties are further subdivided into 273 lower third-level administrative units at the township level: 119 towns, 24 townships, 5 ethnic townships and 125 subdistricts.

Neighbourhoods

Neighbourhoods may extend across multiple districts. Major neighbourhoods in urban Beijing include:

Qianmen Tian'anmen Di'anmen Chongwenmen Xuanwumen Fuchengmen Xizhimen Deshengmen Andingmen Sanlitun Dongzhimen Chaoyangmen Yongdingmen Zuo'anmen You'anmen Guangqumen Guang'anmen Dongbianmen Xibianmen Hepingmen Fuxingmen Jianguomen Gongzhufen Fangzhuang Guomao Hepingli Ping'anli Beixinqiao Jiaodaokou Kuanjie Wangjing Wangfujing Dengshikou Wudaokou Xidan Dongdan Zhongguancun Panjiayuan Beijing CBD Yayuncun

Economy

Beijing is amongst the most developed cities in China, with tertiary industry accounting for 73.2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP); it was the first post industrial city in mainland China. Beijing is home to 26 Fortune Global 500 companies, the third most in the world behind Tokyo and Paris.

Finance is one of the most important industries. By the end of 2007, there were 751 financial organizations in Beijing generating revenue of 128.6?billion RMB, 11.6% of the total financial industry revenue of the entire country. That also accounts for 13.8% of Beijing's GDP, the highest percentage of any Chinese city.

In 2010, Beijing's nominal GDP reached 1.37?trillion RMB. Its per capita GDP was 78,194 RMB. In 2009, Beijing's nominal GDP was 1.19?trillion RMB (US$174?billion), a growth of 10.1% over the previous year. Its GDP per capita was 68,788 RMB (US$10,070), an increase of 6.2% over 2008. In 2009, Beijing's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth 11.83?billion RMB, 274.31?billion RMB, and 900.45?billion RMB respectively. Urban disposable income per capita was 26,738 yuan, a real increase of 8.1% from the previous year. Per capita pure income of rural residents was 11,986 RMB, a real increase of 11.5%. The Engel's coefficient of Beijing's urban residents reached 31.8% in 2005, while that of the rural residents was 32.8%, declining 4.5 and 3.9 percentage points respectively compared to 2000.

Beijing's real estate and automobile sectors have continued to boom in recent years. In 2005, a total of of housing real estate was sold, for a total of 175.88?billion RMB. The total number of cars registered in Beijing in 2004 was 2,146,000, of which 1,540,000 were privately owned (a yearly increase of 18.7%).

The Beijing central business district (CBD), centred on the Guomao area, has been identified as the city's new central business district, and is home to a variety of corporate regional headquarters, shopping precincts, and high-end housing. Beijing Financial Street, in the Fuxingmen and Fuchengmen area, is a traditional financial centre. The Wangfujing and Xidan areas are major shopping districts. Zhongguancun, dubbed "China's Silicon Valley", continues to be a major centre in electronics and computer-related industries, as well as pharmaceuticals-related research. Meanwhile, Yizhuang, located to the southeast of the urban area, is becoming a new centre in pharmaceuticals, information technology, and materials engineering. Shijingshan, on the western outskirts of the city, is among the major industrial areas. Specially designated industrial parks include Zhongguancun Science Park, Yongle Economic Development Zone, Beijing Economic-technological Development Area, and Tianzhu Airport Industrial Zone.

Agriculture is carried on outside the urban area, with wheat and maize (corn) being the main crops.

The development of Beijing continues at a rapid pace, and the vast expansion has created a multitude of problems for the city. Beijing is known for its smog as well as the frequent "power-saving" programmes instituted by the government. To reduce air pollution, a number of major industries have been ordered to reduce emissions or leave the city. Beijing Capital Steel, once one of the city's largest employers and its single biggest polluter, has been relocating most of its operations to Tangshan, in nearby Hebei Province. Residents and tourists alike frequently complain about the water quality and the cost of the basic services such as electricity and natural gas.

Demographics

The registered population of Beijing Municipality consists of people holding either Beijing permanent residence hukou permits or temporary residence permits. The 2010 census revealed that the total population in Beijing had reached 19.6?million. In 2006, the population of the urban core was 13.33?million, 84.3 percent of the total municipal population, which officially stood at 15.81?million. Urban sprawl continues at a rapid pace.

After Chongqing and Shanghai, Beijing is the third largest of the four directly controlled municipalities of the People's Republic of China. In the PRC, a directly controlled municipality (??? in pinyin: zh?xi?sh?) is a city with status equal to a province.

According to the statistical yearbook issued in 2005 by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, out of a total population in 2004 of 14.213?million in Beijing, 1.415?million (9.96%) were 0?14 years old, 11.217?million (78.92%) were 15?64 and 1.581?million (11.12%) 65 and over.

Most of Beijing's residents belong to the Han Chinese majority. Ethnic minorities include the Manchu, Hui, and Mongol. A Tibetan-language high school exists for youth of Tibetan ancestry, nearly all of whom have come to Beijing from Tibet expressly for their studies. A sizable international community resides in Beijing, many attracted by the highly growing foreign business and trade sector, others by the traditional and modern culture of the city. Many of these foreigners live in the areas around the Beijing CBD, Sanlitun, and Wudaokou. In recent years, there has been an influx of South Koreans, an estimated 200,000 in 2009, predominantly for business and study. Many of them live in the Wangjing and Wudaokou areas.

Culture

People native to urban Beijing speak the Beijing dialect, which belongs to the Mandarin subdivision of spoken Chinese. This speech is the basis for putonghua, the standard spoken language used in mainland China and Taiwan, and one of the four official languages of Singapore. Rural areas of Beijing Municipality have their own dialects akin to those of Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing Municipality.

Beijing or Peking opera (J?ngj?, ??), is a traditional form of Chinese theatre well known throughout the nation. Commonly lauded as one of the highest achievements of Chinese culture, Beijing opera is performed through a combination of song, spoken dialogue, and codified action sequences involving gestures, movement, fighting and acrobatics. Much of Beijing opera is carried out in an archaic stage dialect quite different from Modern Standard Chinese and from the modern Beijing dialect.

Beijing cuisine is the local style of cooking. Peking Roast Duck is perhaps the best known dish. Fuling Jiabing, a traditional Beijing snack food, is a pancake (bing) resembling a flat disk with a filling made from fu ling, a fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine. Teahouses are common in Beijing.

The cloisonn? (or Jingtailan, literally "Blue of Jingtai") metalworking technique and tradition is a Beijing art specialty, and is one of the most revered traditional crafts in China. Cloisonn? making requires elaborate and complicated processes which include base-hammering, copper-strip inlay, soldering, enamel-filling, enamel-firing, surface polishing and gilding. Beijing's lacquerware is also well known for its sophisticated and intrinsic patterns and images carved into its surface, and the various decoration techniques of lacquer include "carved lacquer" and "engraved gold".

Younger residents of Beijing have become more attracted to the nightlife, which has flourished in recent decades, breaking prior cultural traditions that had practically restricted it to the upper class.

Places of interest

At the historical heart of Beijing lies the Forbidden City, the enormous palace compound that was the home of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties; the Forbidden City hosts the Palace Museum, which contains imperial collections of Chinese art. Surrounding the Forbidden City are several former imperial gardens, parks and scenic areas, notably Beihai, Shichahai, Zhongnanhai, Jingshan and Zhongshan. These places, particularly Beihai Park, are described as masterpieces of Chinese gardening art, and are popular tourist destinations with tremendous historical importance; in the modern era, Zhongnanhai has also been the political heart of various Chinese governments and regimes and is now the headquarters of the Communist Party of China. From Tiananmen Square, right across from the Forbidden City, there are several notable sites, such as the Tiananmen, Qianmen, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, the Monument to the People's Heroes, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong. The Summer Palace and the Old Summer Palace both lie at the western part of the city; the former, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains a comprehensive collection of imperial gardens and palaces that served as the summer retreat for the Qing emperors.

Among the best known religious sites in the city is the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan), located in southeastern Beijing, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties made visits for annual ceremonies of prayers to Heaven for good harvest. In the north of the city is the Temple of Earth (Ditan), while the Temple of the Sun (Ritan) and the Temple of the Moon (Yuetan) lie in the eastern and western urban areas respectively. Other well-known temple sites include the Dongyue Temple, Tanzhe Temple, Miaoying Temple, White Cloud Temple, Yonghe Temple, Fayuan Temple, Wanshou Temple and Big Bell Temple. The city also has its own Confucius Temple, and a Guozijian or Imperial Academy. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, built in 1605, is the oldest Catholic church in Beijing. The Niujie Mosque is the oldest mosque in Beijing, with a history stretching back over a thousand years.

Beijing contains several well-preserved pagodas and stone pagodas, such as the towering Pagoda of Tianning Temple, which was built during the Liao Dynasty from 1100?1120, and the Pagoda of Cishou Temple, which was built in 1576 during the Ming Dynasty. Historically noteworthy stone bridges include the 12th century Lugou Bridge, the 17th century Baliqiao bridge, and the 18th century Jade Belt Bridge. The Beijing Ancient Observatory displays pre-telescopic spheres dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Fragrant Hills (Xiangshan) is a popular scenic public park that consists of natural landscaped areas as well as traditional and cultural relics. The Beijing Botanical Garden exhibits over 6,000 species of plants, including a variety of trees, bushes and flowers, and an extensive peony garden. The Taoranting, Longtan, Chaoyang, Haidian, Milu Yuan and Zizhu Yuan parks are some of the notable recreational parks in the city. The Beijing Zoo is a center of zoological research that also contains rare animals from various continents, including the Chinese giant panda.

There are over one hundred museums in Beijing. In addition to the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City and the National Museum of China, other major museums include the National Art Museum of China, the Capital Museum, the Beijing Art Museum, the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution, the Geological Museum of China, the Beijing Museum of Natural History and the Paleozoological Museum of China.

Located at the outskirts of urban Beijing, but within its municipality are the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty, the lavish and elaborate burial sites of thirteen Ming emperors, which have been designated as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The archaeological Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian is another World Heritage Site within the municipality, containing a wealth of discoveries, among them one of the first specimens of Homo erectus and an assemblage of bones of the gigantic hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris. There are several sections of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Great Wall of China, most notably Badaling, Jinshanling, Simatai and Mutianyu.

Architecture

Three styles of architecture predominate in urban Beijing. First, there is the traditional architecture of imperial China, perhaps best exemplified by the massive Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace), which remains the People's Republic of China's trademark edifice, the Forbidden City, the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Temple of Heaven. Next, there is what is sometimes referred to as the "Sino-Sov" style, with structures tending to be boxy and sometimes poorly constructed, which were built between the 1950s and the 1970s. Finally, there are much more modern architectural forms, most noticeably in the area of the Beijing CBD and Beijing Financial Street.

In the early 21st century, Beijing has witnessed tremendous growth of new building constructions, exhibiting various modern styles from international designers. A mixture of both old and new styles of architecture can be seen at the 798 Art Zone, which mixes 1950s design with the new.

Beijing is famous for its siheyuans, a type of residence where a common courtyard is shared by the surrounding buildings. Among the more grand examples are the Prince Gong Mansion and Residence of Soong Ching-ling. These courtyards are usually connected by alleys called hutongs. The hutongs are generally straight and run east to west so that doorways face north and south for good Feng Shui. They vary in width; some are so narrow only a few pedestrians can pass through at a time. Once ubiquitous in Beijing, siheyuans and hutongs are rapidly disappearing, as entire city blocks of hutongs are replaced by high-rise buildings. Residents of the hutongs are entitled to live in the new buildings in apartments of at least the same size as their former residences. Many complain, however, that the traditional sense of community and street life of the hutongs cannot be replaced, and these properties are often government owned.

Media

Television and radio

Beijing Television broadcasts on channels 1 through 10. Three radio stations feature programmes in English: Hit FM on FM 88.7, Easy FM by China Radio International on FM 91.5, and the newly launched Radio 774 on AM 774. Beijing Radio Stations is the family of radio stations serving the city.

Press

The well-known Beijing Evening News (Beijing Wanbao, ????), covering news about Beijing in Chinese, is distributed every afternoon. Other newspapers include The Beijing News (Xin Jing Bao, ???), the Beijing Star Daily, the Beijing Morning News, and the Beijing Youth Daily (Beijing Qingnian Bao), as well as English-language weeklies Beijing Weekend and Beijing Today (the English-language edition of Youth Daily). The People's Daily and the China Daily (English) are published in Beijing as well.

Publications primarily aimed at international visitors and the expatriate community include the English-language periodicals Time Out Beijing, City Weekend, Beijing This Month, Beijing Talk, That's Beijing.

Sports

Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics. City officials relocated 350,000 people for the construction of the Beijing National Stadium, which was completed on 28 June 2008. Professional sports teams based in Beijing include:
  • Chinese Super League
  • * Beijing Guoan
  • Chinese Football Association Jia League
  • * Beijing Baxy
  • * Beijing Institute of Technology FC
  • Chinese Basketball Association
  • * Beijing Ducks
  • Women's Chinese Basketball Association
  • * Beijing Shougang
  • Asia League Ice Hockey
  • * China Sharks
  • China Baseball League
  • * Beijing Tigers
  • The Beijing Olympians of the American Basketball Association, formerly a Chinese Basketball Association team, kept their name and maintained a roster of primarily Chinese players after moving to Maywood, California in 2005.

    Transportation

    With the growth of the city in the wake of economic reforms, Beijing has evolved as the most important transport hub in the People's Republic of China, and within the larger East Asian region. Encircling the city are five ring roads, nine expressways and city express routes, eleven China National Highways, several railway routes, and an international airport.

    Rail & High-speed rail

    Beijing is one of the largest hubs in China's railway network. Eight conventional rail lines radiate from Beijing to Shanghai (Jinghu Line), Guangzhou (Jingguang Line), Kowloon (Jingjiu Line), Harbin (Jingha Line), Baotou (Jingbao Line), Qinhuangdao (Jingqin Line), Chengde (Jingcheng Line) and Yuanping, Shanxi (Jingyuan Line). In addition, Beijing has two high-speed rail lines: the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, which opened in 2011, and the Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway, which opened in 2008.

    The city's main railway stations are the Beijing Railway Station, which opened in 1959; the Beijing West Railway Station, which opened in 1996; and the Beijing South Railway Station, which was rebuilt into the city's high-speed railway station in 2008. As of 1 July 2010, Beijing Railway Station had 173 trains arriving daily, Beijing West had 232 trains and Beijing South had 163. The Beijing North Railway Station, first built in 1909 and expanded in 2009, had 22 trains.

    Smaller stations in the city including Beijing East Railway Station and Qinghuayuan Railway Station which handle mainly commuter passenger traffic. The Fengtai Railway Station has been closed for renovation. In outlying suburbs and counties of Beijing, there are over 40 railway stations.

    From Beijing, direct Direct passenger train service is available to most large cities in China. International train service is available to Mongolia, Russia, Vietnam and North Korea. Passenger trains in China are numbered according to their direction in relation to Beijing.

    Roads and expressways

    :See Expressways of Beijing and China National Highways of Beijing for more related information.

    Beijing is connected by road links to all parts of China as part of the National Trunk Road Network. Nine expressways of China serve Beijing, as do eleven China National Highways. Beijing's urban transport is dependent upon the five "ring roads" that concentrically surround the city, with the Forbidden City area marked as the geographical center for the ring roads. The ring roads appear more rectangular than ring-shaped. There is no official "1st Ring Road". The 2nd Ring Road is located in the inner city. Ring roads tend to resemble expressways progressively as they extend outwards, with the 5th and 6th Ring Roads being full-standard national expressways, linked to other roads only by interchanges. Expressways to other regions of China are generally accessible from the 3rd Ring Road outward.

    Within the urban core, city streets generally follow the checkerboard pattern of the ancient capital. Many of Beijing's boulevards and streets with "inner" and "outer" are still named in relation to gates in the city wall, though most gates no longer stand. Traffic jams are a major concern. Even outside of rush hour, several roads still remain clogged with traffic.

    Exacerbating Beijing's traffic problems is its relatively underdeveloped mass transit system. Beijing's urban design layout further exacerbates transportation problems. The authorities have introduced several bus lanes, which only public buses can use during rush hour. In the beginning of 2010, Beijing had 4 million registered automobiles. By the end of 2010, the government forecast 5 million. In 2010, new car registrations in Beijing averaged 15,500 per week.

    Towards the end of 2010, the city government announced a series of drastic measures to tackle traffic jams, including limiting the number of new license plates issued to passenger cars to 20,000 a month and barring cars with non-Beijing plates from entering areas within the Fifth Ring Road during rush hour.

    Air

    Beijing's primary airport is the Beijing Capital International Airport (IATA: PEK; near Shunyi), which is about northeast of the city centre. It is currently the second busiest airport in the world (after Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) and the busiest in Asia. After renovations for the 2008 Olympics, the airport now boasts three terminals, with Terminal 3 being one of the largest in the world. Most domestic and nearly all international flights arrive at and depart from Capital Airport. it is the main hub for Air China and a hub for China Southern and Hainan Airlines. The airport links Beijing with almost every other Chinese city with regular air passenger service.

    The Airport Expressway links the airport to central Beijing; it is a roughly 40-minute drive from the city centre during good traffic conditions. Prior to the 2008 Olympics, the 2nd Airport Expressway was built to the airport, as well as a light rail system, which now connects to the Beijing Subway.

    Other airports in the city include Liangxiang, Nanyuan, Xijiao, Shahe and Badaling. These airports are primarily for military use and less well-known to the public. Nanyuan serves as the hub for only one passenger airline. A second international airport is currently being built in Daxing District, and is expected to be open by 2017.

    Public transit

    The Beijing Subway opened in 1971, and had only two lines until Line 13 began operating in 2002. Since then, the subway has expanded to fourteen lines. Line 1 and the Batong Line, its eastern extension, cross almost all of urban Beijing from east to west. Lines 4 and 5 serve as two north-south lines. The fare is a flat 2 yuan, with unlimited transfers except for the Airport Express line, which costs 25 yuan per trip. There are nearly 700 bus and trolleybus routes, including three bus rapid transit routes. All public transport can be accessed with the Yikatong card, which uses radio frequencies scanned at subway stations and on public transit buses.

    In May 2010, Beijing's municipal government announced plans to add 21 subway lines by 2020. The plan calls for 30 subway lines and 450 stations in Beijing, reaching in length. When implemented, residents within the region encompassed by the Fourth Ring Road will be able walk to a station in 10 to 15 minutes. The suburbs will be connected by new radial lines.

    Registered taxis can be found throughout Beijing, as well as a large number of unregistered ones. As of 30 June 2008, all fares on legal taxis start at 10 Renminbi for the first and 2.00 Renminbi per additional kilometer (0.6 mile), not counting idling fees. Most taxis are Hyundai Elantras, Hyundai Sonatas, Peugeots, Citro?ns and Volkswagen Jettas. After , the base fare increases by 50% (but is only applied to the portion over that distance). Between 11?pm and 5?am, there is also a 20% fee increase, starting at 11 RMB and increasing at a rate of 2.4 RMB per?km. Rides over 15?km and between 11?pm and 6?am incur both charges, for a total increase of 80%.

    Bicycles

    Beijing has long been well known for the number of bicycles on its streets. Although the rise of motor traffic has created a great deal of congestion and bicycle use has declined, bicycles are still an important form of local transportation. Large numbers of cyclists can be seen on most roads in the city, and most of the main roads have dedicated bicycle lanes. Beijing is relatively flat, which makes cycling convenient. The rise of electric bicycles and electric scooters, which have similar speeds and use the same cycle lanes, may have brought about a revival in bicycle-speed two-wheeled transport. It is possible to cycle to most parts of the city and, compared to many western cities, conditions are relatively safe. Because of the growing traffic congestion, the authorities have indicated more than once that they wish to encourage cycling, but it is not clear whether there is sufficient will to translate that into action on a significant scale.

    Education

    Beijing is home to a great number of colleges and universities, including several well-regarded universities of international stature, including Peking University and Tsinghua University (two of the National Key Universities). Owing to Beijing's status as the political and cultural capital of China, a larger proportion of tertiary-level institutions are concentrated here than in any other city in China (at least 70). Many international students from Japan, Korea, North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere come to Beijing to study every year, some through third party study abroad providers such as IES Abroad and others as part of an exchange program with their home universities. The schools are administered by China's Ministry of Education.

    International relations

    Twin towns and sister cities

    Beijing has numerous twin towns and sister cities around the world, many of them the capitals of their respective countries:
    * Tokyo, Japan (1979) * Belgrade, Serbia (1980) * New York, United States (1980) * Lima, Peru (1983) * Washington D.C., United States (1984) * Madrid, Spain (1985) * Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1986) ?le-de-France (region)>?le-de-France, France (1987) * K?ln, Germany (1987) * Algiers, Algeria (1989) * Amman, Jordan (1990) * Ankara, Turkey (1990) * Cairo, Egypt (1990) * Jakarta, Indonesia (1992) * Riga, Latvia * S?o Paulo, Brazil Islamabad, Pakistan (1993) * Bangkok, Thailand (1993) * Buenos Aires, Argentina (1993) * Kiev, Ukraine (1993) * Seoul, South Korea (1993) * Amsterdam, Netherlands (1994) * Berlin, Germany (1994) * Brussels, Belgium (1994) * Hanoi, Vietnam (1994) * Moscow, Russia (1995) * Gauteng (Johannesburg and Pretoria), South Africa (1998) * Ottawa, Canada (1999) * Canberra, Australia (2000) * Athens, Greece (2005) * Bucharest, Romania (2005) * Budapest, Hungary (2005) * Havana, Cuba (2005) * Manila, Philippines (2005) * Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2006) * Astana, Kazakhstan (2006) * Helsinki, Finland (2006) * London, United Kingdom (2006) * Tel Aviv, Israel (2006) * Wellington, New Zealand (2006) * Lisbon, Portugal (2007) * Tirana, Albania (2007) * Doha, Qatar (2008) Santiago de Chile>Santiago, Chile (2008) * San Jos?, Costa Rica (2009) * Caracas, Venezuela (2010) * Dublin, Ireland (2011)

    Partner cities

    Beijing has two partner cities, both in Europe:
    * Paris, France (1997) * Rome, Italy (1998)

    See also

  • Large Cities Climate Leadership Group
  • List of hospitals in Beijing
  • List of mayors of Beijing
  • Tourist attractions of Beijing
  • 2045 Peking ? the name of an asteroid
  • Notes and references

    Further reading

  • Cammelli, Stefano Storia di Pechino e di come divenne capitale della Cina, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2004. ISBN 9788815099105
  • Harper, Damian, Beijing: City Guide, 7th Edition, Oakland, California: Lonely Planet Publications, 2007.
  • Harper, Damian, Beijing: City Guide, 6th Edition, Oakland, California : Lonely Planet Publications, 2005. ISBN 1740597826.
  • External links

    Beijing Government website and
  • Economic profile for Beijing at HKTDC
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