- Beijing is the second largest city in China after Shanghai.Beijing is the capital city of China (People’s Republic of China).
- The term 'Beijing' literally means ‘Northern Capital’.
- Beijing was known as Peking in Imperial China.
- In 2006, the population of Beijing's urban core was 13.33 million, 84.3 percent of the municipality's total population, which officially stood at 15.81 million at that time.
- People native to urban Beijing speak the Beijing dialect, which belongs to the Mandarin subdivision of spoken Chinese.
- Beijing was renamed Beiping in 1928, but given back its original name in 1937.
- Average temperatures in January are at around 19 to 24 °F (-7 to -4 °C), while average temperatures in July are at 77 to 79 °F (25 to 26 °C).
- Air pollution levels on an average day in Beijing are nearly five times above World Health Organization standards for safety.
- In Beijing, like most of other places in China, the two major ball games are Football (soccer) and Basketball.
Fast facts about Beijing
