Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. Its name means Northern Capital (Nanjing foron the other hand means Southern Capital). Beijing has more than three thousand years of history and today is a city directly governed by the government, which means that it is directly subordinate to the central government and thus equated with provinces, autonomous regions and special administrative areas. The entire 16.807 square kilometers administrative area of Beijing has 21.5 million inhabitants. It is not a contiguous urban area, with its dominating rural settlement structure, it is more comparable to a province. Of the total population, there are 11.8 million registered permanent residents and 7.7 million temporary residents with temporary residence permits If the core city (high density and closed city form) is taken as the basis, live in Beijing 7.7 million people with primary residence (2007). The metropolitan area (including suburbs) has 11.8 million inhabitants (2007).
The center of the city is the Forbidden City, around which the city
extends in a ring. The old city core includes the four inner city
districts, these are
Dongcheng, the real heart of the city with the
Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square
Xicheng, the center of state
power, in Zhongnanhai is the seat of government and the seat of the
Communist Party
Xuanwu
Chongwen, here the most famous attraction
is the Temple of Heaven and the Hall of Harvest Offerings.
The
city districts follow outwards around this center
Chaoyang with the
2008 Olympic Center and the Bird's Nest
fengtai
Shijingshan
Haidian with the Summer Palace
Other quarters are grouped around
it, of which Shunyi is of interest because of the airport and Changping
because of the 13 Ming tombs. The Great Wall of China runs along the
northern edge of Beijing, worth seeing in the district of Huairou and
especially in the district of Yanqing in the town of Badaling.
Beijing has a continental climate with very cold winters and very hot summers. The best time to travel to Beijing is autumn. Then the weather is pleasant and the main season is already over. Spring is also a good time to travel, when it rains little but strong winds from north and west often occur. These are occasionally burdened with unpleasant ground dust that is blown in from the arid regions of Inner Mongolia. From May, temperatures begin to climb above 30 degrees Celsius. During the summer months, most of the annual precipitation falls during the summer monsoon and temperatures can reach over 40 degrees Celsius. Storms and heavy precipitation also occur regularly. Summer is one of the peak travel times and hotels are particularly expensive. The winter is very cold with up to minus 20 degrees Celsius, but the weather is mostly sunny with persistent high pressure. In the winter months, inversion weather conditions occur again and again, which are accompanied by high levels of air pollution (smog). Despite everything, the snow on the roofs of the Forbidden City and on the Great Wall radiates a very special atmosphere that makes a visit attractive even in winter.
The following are just brief descriptions of some of the major
attractions. Further sights and detailed information are listed in
the district articles.
Hutong
A hutong is usually just a
narrow alleyway. The traditional houses stood in the streets. The
color was mostly a dull gray, corresponding to the building material
of cheap bricks. The arrangement of the dwelling houses around an
inner courtyard was a w:Siheyuan, access was usually only through a
gate.
Of course you can still find hutongs in Beijing, also
right in the city center, for example in the district of Dongcheng
near the bell and drum towers. There are also hutongs in the Xicheng
district near the government district, as well as in many other
parts of the city center.
However, many hutongs no longer exist
in their original form. Instead, one often finds new old-style
courtyards, which are mainly used for tourism, and mostly include
small shops and restaurants. And quite often there are bicycle
rickshaws just around the corner ready to organize a hutong tour for
little money, which almost certainly ends in a shop.
Palaces
Forbidden City internet (故宫). The Forbidden City, now officially
known as the Palace Museum, was the seat of the Chinese emperors of
the Ming and Qing dynasties. Construction began in 1406 and was
inhabited by 24 emperors until the last emperor was deposed in 1905.
There are 9,000 rooms and halls on an area of 720,000 square meters.
The Forbidden City has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
How to get there: Subway Tiananmen Dong. More.. Open: 8:30am -
3:30pm October - April, 8:30am - 4:00pm May - September. Price:
Admission: 60 yuan, recommended audio guide 40 yuan.
Summer
Palace (Chinese: 颐和园/頤和園 Yíhéyuán), in the Haidian district. One of
the main attractions of the city.
Old Summer Palace. Also located
in Haidian District.
Temple
Temple of Heaven (Tiantan), in
the Chongwen district.
Lama Temple (Yonghegong), in the Dongcheng
district.
Temple of the White Pagoda, in Xicheng District. Price:
Entrance fee 20 yuan for Beihai Park.
Buildings
Great Hall
of the People (人民大会堂), in Tiananmen Square
Gate of Heavenly
Peace, Tiananmen Square.
Imperial Tombs of the Ming Dynasty
Great Wall at Badaling
Observatory. Literature tip: Julia
Rosenberger: Beijing's great moments. In: In Asia, Vol.3 (May/June)
(2010), pp.18–23 (German).
Great Wall at Jinshanling and Simatai
Monuments
Mao Zedong Mausoleum
Monument to the People's
Heroes (人民英雄纪念碑)
The Mao Mausoleum is located in Tiananmen
Square. Queues form in front of the entrance not only on public
holidays. It should also be noted that rucksacks and larger bags are
not permitted.
Museums
National Museum
naturehistorical
Museum
Beijing Art Museum
Streets and squares
Tiananmen
Square. Tiananmen Square - Tiananmen Square - is the world's largest
fortified square. Up to a million people can gather on it. The
square played an important role in post-imperial Chinese politics.
The square gained notoriety through the government's bloody
crackdown on the democracy movement on June 4, 1989. On the square
is the mausoleum of Mao Zedong, who died in 1976. The Monument to
the People's Heroes is also on the square. Around the square are u.
a. the Gate of Heavenly Peace, the Great Hall of the People, the
National Museum, the new National Theater and an old city gate to
the south. How to get there: Subway Tiananmen Xi, Tiananmen Dong or
Qianmen.
Parks
Beihai Park, in Xicheng District. Price:
Admission 20 yuan.
Jingshan Park, behind the Forbidden City in
Dongcheng District. With a beautiful view from the hill over
downtown and the Forbidden City. Good to visit after visiting the
Forbidden City. Price: Admission 2 yuan.
Ditan Park
Olympic
Park, in Chaoyang District. A large park, partly wooded, with a lake
and jogging trails, right next to the Olympic venues. Subway 4
"South Gate of Forest Park". Price: Admission free.
Various
Zoo
- Walk through the old town alleys (hutongs) and around the central
lakes.
- Rent a bike for a few hours or even days and explore the
city by bike. A refreshing pleasure, especially in the old town alleys
and around the central lakes, but also very easy in the rest of the city
due to the wide streets that are usually arranged at right angles.
By plane
Beijing Daxing (PKX)
Beijing Daxing
Airport, the world's largest by area, opened at the end of September
2019. All SkyTeam alliance flights and a number of Oneworld partner
flights land here. The domestic airlines China United, China Eastern and
China Southern have moved their hubs here.
The airport can be
reached by six bus lines, long-distance trains via Beijing West and a
subway line that connects to the urban network in Caoqiao.
Beijing Capital Airport (PEK)
Since 2019, Beijing Capital Airport
(Shoudu Jichang) has only been served by Star Alliance members. It is
about 20 kilometers northeast of downtown. The airport is a hub for
domestic air traffic.
The airport has the usual facilities such
as various banks offering currency exchange, ATMs, luggage storage,
hotel reservation desks, a relatively useless tourist information center
and very expensive restaurants and souvenir shops.
The way from
the plane to the exit of the airport can sometimes be a little long;
After getting off you first pass the border control (the officials
sometimes take a lot of time for the control despite "stop watches" at
the counters and it can take up to an hour to pass depending on the
rush) and then you take a cable car to the main terminal and to the
baggage claim. There is no fast track for international business or
first class passengers.
When leaving the country, you should also
be prepared for very strict controls - on the way from check-in to the
plane, the boarding pass is checked and stamped several times, and you
shouldn't be surprised at the fact that screenshots of the X-ray of
"suspicious" hand luggage ( especially electronics such as laptops) are
temporarily stored together with the boarding pass data and lighters are
rigorously confiscated.
There is the Airport Express Train
(subway line). This runs from about 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every 20 minutes
from Terminal 3 (mostly international flights) to Terminal 2 and then to
the city center with a stopover at the "Sanyuanqiao" stop to the final
station "Dongzhimen" on the 2nd ring. From there the train goes directly
back to Terminal 3. The journey costs 25 RMB (as of 03/2013). From
Sanyuanqiao you have the option of continuing on the subway line 10.
Dongzhimen connects to Subway Line 2.
There is no train
connection. The drive into the city takes about 20 minutes with little
traffic, but can easily take an hour and a half from the city center
during rush hour. This is especially important when driving back to the
airport. Various bus companies and bus lines are available at the
airport. Tickets can already be bought in the airport terminal at a
ticket counter or at a stand outside the airport building. All buses
cost a flat rate of 16 yuan for a ride downtown. Buses run practically
around the clock, but the frequency of the individual lines is
different. During the day, some lines run every 15 minutes.
A
taxi ride will cost around 70 to 100 yuan depending on traffic, plus a
10 yuan fee for using the airport shuttle. There may be an additional
charge of 2 or 3 yuan for gasoline at the moment. You get a receipt for
everything. Caution: Inside the airport building and in front of it,
newly arrived tourists are quickly approached by "taxi operators" who
charge 300-400 yuan for a ride. Be sure to take a metered taxi with a
red sticker on one of the rear windows showing the price per kilometer
(1.20, 1.60 or 2.00 yuan). And then make sure that the taximeter is
switched on by the driver at the start of the journey (see also the
relevant section under Mobility. Otherwise simply get out or photograph
the driver's license card. Discussions with the driver (even just
gesticulating) are better if you are in front It is also very likely
that when you get into a taxi at the airport, the driver (due to a lack
of local knowledge or communication problems) will not know where to go.
who can usually help.The manners in China are still much rougher than in
Europe, so that one should not be afraid to proceed a little more
vigorously here.
A curiosity is also the numerous vehicles
waiting on the hard shoulder of the motorway in front of the airport -
these are usually chauffeurs who are waiting for the telephone
information from their bosses about the landing and only then drive in
front of the terminal building at short notice.
By train
Beijing has three major train stations. It is the start or end point of
the Trans-Siberian Railway.
By bus
There are more than 1000
buses operating in Beijing. The buses have no calculable travel times,
i. H. It is advisable to plan a little more time for journeys by bus.
The stops are often only written in Chinese characters. Nevertheless, it
can also be used without knowledge of Chinese. Simply take the terminal
stop with you in Chinese and the timetables of the lines can be read
like this: The names of the stops are written from top to bottom,
usually 2-5 Chinese characters. The stops are then displayed next to
each other from top to bottom. The current stop is written in red
Chinese characters. The following bus stops follow - if no other
direction of the arrow is indicated - to the right of the red bus stop.
In addition to the normal bus lines, the so-called express buses
also run on the same lines. These express buses do not stop at every
stop. The special thing about it is that the normal bus lines and the
express lines have the same bus number.
A bus ride is very cheap
by European standards and costs 1 yuan in the inner city. You have to
have the right money with you and throw it in at the front when
boarding. The driver does not give change and usually does not speak
English. The buses are not only overcrowded during rush hours and the
chance of getting a seat is just a matter of luck.
Still, it's a
great experience just getting on a bus and taking it across the city.
You can watch a lot of people during the journey and - depending on the
bus line you choose - you can also see some of the old buildings in
China's capital.
We recommend taking a taxi back (do not forget
to have the address of the accommodation in Chinese with you!). The bus
lines do not necessarily return the same route they chose on the way
there.
In the street
The German or the international driver's
license are not recognized in Beijing. If you want to drive there, you
should take a taxi and let yourself be driven. Expats who live in
Beijing for more than a year can take a Chinese driving test there and,
if they pass, obtain a Chinese driver's license.
However, driving
in Beijing is a real adventure. The rules are often ignored there and
the law of the strongest or the braver prevails, i. H. Cars generally
have the right of way over bicycles, trucks and buses have the right of
way over cars, and all together have the right of way over pedestrians.
At some Beijing intersections you can now see the efforts of the
local regulatory authorities to get the traffic chaos under control:
traffic police officers are posted to get control of the situation and
to let the traffic flow in a reasonably regulated manner.
Taxis are practically ubiquitous in Beijing's traffic
and are a cheap way to get around. The kilometer price for taxis is
indicated on a red sticker on the rear window: 1.20, 1.60 or 2.00 yuan.
As a rule, the price increases with the comfort. The 1.20 yuan taxis
usually do not have air conditioning and are usually smaller than the
more expensive ones. At night (11 p.m. - 6 a.m.) there is a 20%
surcharge. Taxi drivers are always obliged to turn on the taximeter and
you should pay attention to this if you want to avoid unpleasant
surprises. Very many taxi drivers do not speak a word of English and do
not understand the English names of different places. It is therefore
advisable - if you do not want to go to Tiananmen Square or the
Forbidden City - to have the destinations written down in Chinese
characters in advance.
Due to apparently little knowledge of the
area (Beijing is an extremely large city), it is quite possible that the
driver does not know where the destination is despite adhering to the
aforementioned measures. A map printout (e.g. from Google Maps) can
help, but is also no guarantee for problem-free transport. As a rule,
however, drivers can get help from colleagues by phone, but it can also
happen that a driver refuses to drive because he either does not know
the destination, his license is not valid for the destination district
or he is simply not interested in it destination to drive.
If
there is high demand (e.g. at night or when it rains), it is also
possible that there are hardly any taxis available or that the drivers
rigorously negotiate the fare. If you agree to it, you should be aware
of the amount of the actual fare and in particular insist on adhering to
the originally agreed fare if the driver at the destination of the
journey demands more money than negotiated at the beginning of the
journey.
Beijing's subway, the subway, is an easy way to explore
the city because it connects many of the city's attractions and is also
very easy to use.
The subway was greatly expanded before the
Olympic Games. There are currently nine lines. It is planned to expand
the network to 19 lines. One of the lines is a completely above-ground
railway (line 13). A trip costs between 3 and 7 yuan, depending on the
distance. The fares are displayed at each station on a special route map
and on the screens of the ticket machines. You first select the line
where the destination is and then the exit station, the fare is
calculated automatically. In addition, it is possible to buy tickets for
up to 10 people at once. Ticket machines accept 1 yuan coins as well as
the smallest note starting at 10 yuan, which is worth more than the fare
to be paid. The single-ride tickets must be inserted into a reader at
the starting station and are automatically retained when you leave the
destination station. The trains run every few minutes at peak times and
it can sometimes get very tight. The trains run between 5 a.m. and 11
p.m. Subway stations are identified by a sign with a D and a circle
around it (similar to the "@" sign).
The Circle Line (Line 2)
runs in a circle around downtown. Important stations are Beijingzhan
below the Beijing Railway Station (Beijing Railway Station), Qianmen at
the southern end of Tiananmen Square, Fuxingmen and Jianguomen as
transfer stations to Line 1, Xizhimen at the North Train Station
(Beijing North Train Station) and transfer station for buses to the
Summer Palace and Dongzhimen near Hepingli Railway Station (Hepingli
Train Station). The latter two are also transfer stations for line 13,
which opens up the northern city areas in a U-shape. The East-West Line
(Line 1) forms an east-west axis through Beijing. Important stations are
the transfer stations for Line 2 (Fuxingmen and Jianguomen), Wangfujing
on the shopping street of the same name and Tiananmen Dong at the north
end of Tiananmen Square and at the southern entrance to the Forbidden
City.
When entering each subway station, a security check must
also be passed. In most stations, only carry-on luggage is screened
(although nobody really pays attention to the contents), while people
without carry-on luggage can simply go through. At some heavily
frequented stations, however, there is also a very superficial scan like
at the airport, which all passengers have to undergo.
Volker
Häring: Qu narrrrrr ... In: In Asia, Vol. 6 (November/December) (2007),
pp. 46-50 (German). - by taxi through Beijing
In Beijing, as everywhere in China, there is a separate market for
every product. There are markets for everything, who z. For example, if
you want to buy a computer, you go to one of the many multi-storey
electronics markets where dealer after dealer is lined up. It is
important to always have the goods demonstrated and then not to give
them out of your hands again when you want them. Clothing is best bought
opposite the zoo. Along the Xizhimen Outer Street (chin. 西直门) there are
huge clothing markets above and below ground, all of which are connected
to each other. A ceiling held up is usually used as a changing room.
If you want to buy art supplies, go southeast of Qiamen to the
Hanjia Hutong. Everything for the artist is here. Brushes, rice paper,
musical instruments, paintings, etc.
If you prefer to go shopping
in a department store, you can do that too. Almost every corner of
Beijing has department stores in a wide variety of price ranges. The
most accessible for foreign visitors are those in Xidan, west of the
Forbidden City. Here is also the largest bookshop in the city, where you
can find something on every subject.
On some occasions one can
try to bargain for prices, especially with street vendors, art or
souvenirs. This is unusual or impossible in department stores or
supermarkets. However, other travelers have had the experience that you
can also try to bargain in department stores, especially if you buy
several items.
If you are looking for a suitable souvenir or for
clothes that Europeans also consider to be pretty, you should visit the
following streets and markets. Bargaining is the top priority in the
tourist markets, unless the price is of no interest to you. In
principle, depending on skill, a 50% discount is possible. If you are
good and buy several things, you can bargain down to 40% of the original
price. Foreign tourists in particular are often ripped off. (If you buy
something from an old street vendor or in a remote area without
tourists, you should reduce bargaining to a minimum. The price does not
hurt us and the dealer is happy to have sold something to secure his
life.) If you have found something, what you really want, you should buy
it. Experience teaches you will never find anything like it again.
Sanlitun (Chinese三里屯). The quintessential tourist market, slightly
east of the Workers Stadium. With Sanlitun Village, a building complex
of the upper class has emerged in which wealthy Chinese and urban youth
gather. With flagship stores from companies such as Adidas, Apple and
Uniqlo, current and genuine goods can be found on several buildings
there. Next door in the Yashow-Market - an older shopping building -
there are supposedly cheap clothes and expensive tailors. All
salespeople there speak very good English and there are bags, clothes,
sunglasses, which of course are not always genuine, but are often sold
as such. This market is especially popular with Americans.
Wangfujing
(Chinese: 王府井, Wángfǔjǐng). This street is the tourist shopping street
in Beijing with department stores and fast food for foreign and Chinese
tourists. For foreigners there is the Foreign Language Bookstore and
various exotic dishes (from 5 p.m.). If you want to bring something nice
home with you, go to one of the many 10 yuan shops that are located
between the department stores. In mountains of jewellery, mirrors,
chopsticks, fans, etc., you can occasionally find a nice piece. You just
need a lot of patience when rummaging through the goods and with the
crowds of people who rummage with them. Right at the entrance to
Wangfujin there is a beautiful old market, which, in addition to small
snacks, has everything that makes a tourist's heart beat faster.
Qianmen (Chinese: 前门). Especially for tourists, the area behind
Tiananmen Square has been restored as it was in the Qing Dynasty. There
are nice tea houses and you can take a Peking duck with you. On the edge
of the area there is still the old market, which was dominant there
until 2008. Here you can buy very good traditional Chinese clothes.
Those who cannot do without German products should look in the
grocery stores in the large department stores. There is often a small
selection of European products from German beer to muesli.
Traditional Beijing cuisine is sweet. The most famous dish is of
course the Peking duck. However, you shouldn't eat these in the
inventor's restaurant in Qianmen, but in one of the many other duck
restaurants. There are of course all other Chinese dishes and tons of
restaurants. The only problem here could be the language. Not all
restaurants have menus in English or maps with pictures. Those who
prefer to eat Japanese will find various sushi chains that don't have to
hide behind the chains in Japan. In the urban area of Beijing you can
always find trends that combine western cuisine with Chinese cuisine. So
you can find z. B. Peking duck burger or Beijing pizza.
The
Donghuamen Night Market has been running from east Donganmen Road to
north Chenguang Road from 5pm every day since 1984. A great many special
Chinese "snacks" can be tried there, which are rather unusual for
European palates. Something similar can be found all day next to
Wangfujin Street.
Chinese Food for Beginners: Every major department
store has a floor just for food. Here you can see the finished plates
and can easily show the chef what you want. Depending on the department
store, the payment is different. You usually get a receipt, pay it and
take the stamped receipt back to the chef. On the sixth floor of the
Dongan Department Store, a large department store on Wangfujing Street,
there are two places in front of the elevators where you can deposit
money that is booked onto a plastic card (similar to a credit card). You
can use this card to make cashless payments in all restaurants and pick
up the remaining amount when you leave.
If you don't get along with
Chinese cuisine, you're in good hands here. Paulaner Bräuhaus Beijing,
Kempinski Hotel Beijing, Lufthansa Center, 50 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang
District, 100125 Beijing. Phone: +86 10 6465 3388, Fax: +86 10 6465
1023, Email: beijing@paulaner-brauhaus.com. Bavarian cuisine and
Bavarian beer with some German-speaking waiters. Open: daily from 11.00
a.m. to 01.00 a.m.
The Hard Rock Cafe was closed more than two years ago, there is no new one in Beijing either!
In general, it can be said that the prices of upscale (from 4 stars)
accommodation in Beijing are significantly cheaper than in Europe. It is
not uncommon for one to get an overnight stay in such a hotel, including
breakfast, for the price of a corresponding 2-star accommodation in
Europe. In addition, one should be aware that the star classification in
Asia in general usually includes more services than the corresponding
category in European hotels.
Middle
Landmark Hotel, 8 North
Dongsanhuan Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100004. Tel: +86(10) 6590
6688, Fax: +86(10) 6590 6513, Email: rsvn@beijinglandmark.com. The hotel
is located between the airport and downtown near Lufthansa Center
(Paulaner Brauhaus) in the same building as Hard Rock Cafe Beijing.
Upscale
Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center, No.50
Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District. Tel: +86 10 6465 3388, Fax: +86 10
6465 3366, Email: reservations.beijing@kempinski.com. Modern European
five star hotel in the northern part of Chaoyang, distinguished by its
location, service, seven restaurants and comfort. Established in 1992,
the Kempinski Hotel caters primarily to the needs of business
travellers. Check-in: 2:00 p.m. Check-out: 12:00 p.m.
Beijing is generally a very safe city. Apart from the traffic, you
will hardly find yourself exposed to any major danger, although tourists
are often the target of small rip-offs and tricks. Everywhere you pay a
price premium as a tourist and you can often find salespeople removing
price tags as soon as you inquire about the price of an item. As a rule,
you shouldn't pay more than half that outside of markets; in markets,
the starting prices are much more expensive (up to ten times the
realistic price). In general, you have to negotiate.
In
transactions of any kind, you should take a closer look at the banknotes
you are given. It will also be observed that the locals subject every
major note to a check. In fact, a fair amount of counterfeit money seems
to be in circulation. One should be suspicious when retailers try to
deliberately return larger bills by voluntarily lowering the price again
or asking for a suitable additional payment. You should never feel under
time pressure and calmly count the amount even with larger amounts of
change and especially check the 50 yuan and 100 yuan banknotes. You
should pay attention to the paper. If it feels unfamiliar, feel free to
ask for another bill. This is generally not taken as an insult and is a
normal process. The watermark should be slightly fuzzy and blurry, with
no sharp edges or borders. The green print should be noticeable as a
relief. Washed-out colors, on the other hand, do not have to be an
indicator of counterfeit money.
Everywhere in Beijing you will be
approached by so-called hawkers who want to sell you all kinds of
things, often road maps, postcards, toys and all kinds of trinkets.
Under no circumstances should you follow self-declared "art students"
who, at best, will land you in a shabby shop and more or less force you
to buy something. A degree of caution should also be exercised with
offers of Great Wall trips. Many of the cheap (and also expensive) tour
operators that flyers e.g. For example, at the Forbidden City or at the
Beijing train station, tourists drive to shops with traditional medicine
and cheap jewelry outside of Beijing, and then sometimes ask for a
surcharge for the actual trip to the wall.
Another way to get
money from tourists is for students who just want to improve their
English without being interested in selling anything. After a certain
time, the tourist is taken to a tea house, where they serve very, very
expensive tea, as it turns out afterwards. However, with a little
practice, most of these people are recognizable at first glance, as they
are typically ladies pacing aimlessly ("as ordered and not picked up"),
who usually distinguish themselves from their surroundings with an
exaggerated Stand out clothing style. If you are addressed by these
people ("Hello, sir, please, sir, wait a moment, sir!"), there is no
harm in practicing ignorance.
A certain level of caution is also
advisable with taxis. Apart from the sometimes very expensive airport
taxis (see Arrival), you should not negotiate a price in advance in the
city, but always insist on the taximeter. Drivers are very good at
estimating prices and would not accept a negotiated price lower than the
taximeter price. For longer trips in the surrounding area, however, you
should agree on a fixed price. Of course, you should only use taxis that
also have a red sticker on the rear side windows that states the
kilometer fare (see mobility). At the beginning of the journey, make
sure that the taximeter is switched on.
Be careful at zebra
crossings and pedestrian lights. Drivers don't necessarily obey or can
be too drunk, and turning right at a red light is either legal or just
common practice. It should also not come as a surprise that motorcycles
always have priority over pedestrians (even if they are on the sidewalk)
or sometimes drive against the actual direction of travel. If there is
an overpass or underpass, you should use that as well. In particular,
the countless electric bicycles and scooters are approaching without
being able to hear them, sometimes at considerable speeds.
Health care is certainly one of the most important areas to address
as a traveler or expat when traveling abroad.
Before the trip, it
is advisable to put together a first-aid kit containing the most common
medicines. These include: painkillers, fever-reducing preparations,
disinfectants, iodine, nasal spray, cough syrup, anti-nausea agents,
anti-diarrheal agents. Not to forget, of course, the medication that a
chronically ill person has to take regularly. In the pharmacies in
Beijing you can find everything. You can get any medication without a
prescription, even strong antibiotics. Chinese doctors also always
recommend traditional Chinese medicine.
The standard vaccinations
against polio, diphtheria and tetanus as well as a vaccination against
hepatitis A and (for longer stays > three months) B are recommended as
basic vaccinations.
You can find out more about this from your
doctor/pharmacist.
The water quality in China is not subject to
such high quality requirements as the water supply in Germany. Drinking
tap water is not recommended. Boiled water should not be drunk or used
for cooking, nor should it be used to brush your teeth. For such
purposes, water dispensers are available in most hotel and private
apartments (especially those of expats), which are freshly filled with
some kind of simple mineral water. The water from the tap is suitable
for showering without any problems. When consuming any kind of meat and
fish/seafood, care should be taken that it is well cooked and fresh. If
you are not satisfied with the quality, you should return the dish.
With fruit, make sure that the fruit is only eaten peeled. Unpeeled
fruit and vegetables should not be eaten.
Should you still fall
ill, the hospitals in Beijing are available at any time of the day or
night. “The regional medical practice of the German embassy in Beijing
is located in the French embassy together with the Center Médical (group
practice) and is open to all EU citizens. The practice has its own
laboratory, pharmacy, diagnostics (ultrasound, ECG/stress, 24-hour RR
and ECG, spirometry, audiometry) and an emergency room. All vaccines are
in stock (including yellow fever), prices according to GOÄ (doctor’s fee
schedule), payment in cash in RMB or euros.” Another option is the
International Medical Center with 24-hour service: Room 106, Beijing
Lufthansa Centre, 50 Liangmaqiao Lu, Tel. 6465 1561-3, Dental Clinic:
Tel. 6465 1384.
The use of medical services must be paid for in
full in cash or by credit card after the treatment (sometimes beforehand
as security).
It is recommended to take out international health
insurance for the duration of your stay.
Since Beijing is
generally covered by a haze, the stay can be a bit difficult for
asthmatics or small children/elderly people.
Opening hours: Banks and government offices are open five days a
week, usually from 9am to 5pm with a break for lunch. However, ATMs are
available 24 hours a day. Museums are usually also open on weekends and
some close very early. Some parks are open longer.
Most sockets
have several types of plugs, including the slim German plug. The voltage
is 220 volts at 50 Hertz AC so an adapter is not needed. If they do,
adapters can be bought at many places in Beijing.
Anyone who has
reached the age of 18 is of legal age. This is especially true for
driving. There is no legal minimum age for the consumption of alcohol or
tobacco. When it comes to drugs, Chinese authorities don't take a joke
and impose draconian penalties. In large quantities, this can also be
the death penalty.
The metric system is officially used in China.
In some cases, however, the old weight units jin (0.6 kilograms) and
liang (37.5 grams) are still found.
Credit cards are not accepted
everywhere. Large hotels and very touristy restaurants now generally
accept credit cards, but you might want to ask here as well. Credit card
fees are often added to the price (up to 4 percent). It is usually
cheaper to pay with cash. In the meantime, however, many Chinese bank
machines also support German EC cards. Here it is important to look out
for the Maestro sign on the machine. The amount is paid directly in RMB
and debited from the account at the current exchange rate. However, a
fee is due from the credit institutions, which can be three to four
euros per debit. It is advisable to check the conditions of your own
bank for this case beforehand. In the Jianguomennei Dajie there is a
branch of the Citybank with an ATM.
Money can best be exchanged
in banks, but this can sometimes take a very long time, since a number
usually has to be drawn first and the counter officials are very happy
to take their time. Some hotels also offer currency exchange. When
changing money, you should always have an ID with you. The receipts
should not be thrown away, as you may have to show them when you
exchange them at the end of your stay.
The behavior of the
residents of Beijing, especially in public spaces, can certainly be
described as ruthless and inconsiderate, although the situation has
improved in recent years. Apparently there is a Chinese saying, "Missing
a personal opportunity is worse than wasting a family fortune"; True to
this motto, there is a certain egotism, especially in larger crowds, and
people jostle wherever possible. The boarding and alighting process in
public transport has improved somewhat, where people usually wait until
other passengers have got off when boarding, but it can still be a
little tighter at rush hour. As soon as the doors open, passengers then
rush in both from the inside out and from the platform/stop. If you
don't get a tactically clever position in time or even exercise polite
restraint, you'll quickly lose out. Even when stopping a taxi, it
sometimes happens that another interested party simply gets in while you
are still negotiating with the driver.
Likewise, when crossing
streets, regardless of the traffic light phase, you should always be
aware that four-wheeled and two-wheeled road users will not stop to give
way to pedestrians. One should pay particular attention to the
frequently encountered electric bicycles and scooters, which often
approach at breakneck speed and without making any significant noise.
To put it succinctly: Anyone in China who does not speak Chinese
and/or cannot read the characters is like deaf and dumb. But don't
worry, in the course of globalization and also with regard to hosting
the 2008 Summer Olympics, English is becoming more and more widespread
in Beijing.
In western hotels, the staff often speak good
English.
On the other hand, using public transport or a taxi is
problematic. Most of the time, no English is spoken there, which means
that you have to have the address of your destination and - and this is
very important - the address of your accommodation written down in
Chinese characters so that you can find your way back.
prehistory
Representatives of Homo erectus
already lived in the area of present-day Beijing 770,000 ± 80,000
years ago; they came to be known as Peking people of origin after
their remains were discovered in Zhoukoudian, 50 km southwest of
downtown, in the 1920s and 1930s.
Many Oldowan-type stone
tools and bone tools were found at the site. In 1987, Zhoukoudian
was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO.
The time
before the Yuan Dynasty came to power
Ji (Reed) – 1000 BC Chr.
The history of the city of Beijing dates back to the Western Zhou
Dynasty (1121-770 BC) when it was named Ji (reed). The city was
founded under this name in 1000 BC. Chr. first mentioned in a
document. Ji was at that time a center for trade with the Mongols
and Koreans, as well as various tribes from Shandong and central
China.
Yanjing (capital of the Yan) - 475 to 221 BC Chr.
During the Warring States Period, Beijing was the capital of Yan,
hence the name Yanjing (capital of the Yan). 221 BC The later first
emperor Qin Shihuangdi (259-210 BC) occupied the city during his war
of unification. Under his reign the northern walls were fortified.
Renaming back to Ji (reed) – after 221 BC Chr.
The Qin
Dynasty emperors again changed the name to Ji. Under their rule,
Beijing lost its status as a capital to Xianyang as well as in
importance.
In the following centuries, Ji developed from an
insignificant provincial town into a trading hub and important
military base for the defense of China's northern borders and was
repeatedly occupied by steppe and nomadic peoples from the north
because of its strategic importance.
Youzhou - 618 to 907 AD
During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907), a military governor ruled in
the city now called Youzhou. It was always overshadowed by the then
Chinese capital of Chang'an. It was only under the foreign rule of
the Liao dynasty that Beijing regained some of its former
importance.
In 937, the Kitan under Te-kuang (926–947)
conquered part of northern China and established their seat of power
in Beijing. In 960 the Kitan in the Song Dynasty had an equal
opponent. The Song dynasty attempted to retake northern China in
979, but failed to defeat the Kitan general Yelü Hsiu-ko before
Beijing. Yelü Hsiu-ko was also victorious in 986.
Zhongdu
(Middle Capital) – 1153 to 1215
After the Jurchen conquest in
1153, Beijing became the capital of the Jin Dynasty and was
magnificently expanded under the name of Zhongdu (“Middle Capital”).
Over 100,000 workers were hired to expand the city.
Khanbaliq
/ Dadu (City of Khan / Great Capital) - after 1215
In 1215 the
troops of Genghis Khan (1162-1227) took Beijing. They sacked the
city and set it on fire. Kublai Khan later had Dadu (the great
capital) built on the old ruins, which also became known as
Khanbaliq (City of the Khan, near Marco Polo Cambaluc). With the
creation of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, the city gained a
dominant position.
The rule of the Yuan Dynasty
During the
reign of Kublai Khan (1215-1294), the founder of the Yuan dynasty,
Beijing was planned and expanded under the name of Dadu as the
capital of the Yuan. The city was the main residence of the Mongols
from 1264 to 1368. At that time, the grandson of Genghis Khan was in
charge of almost all of East Asia and the first Europeans –
including Marco Polo (1254–1324), according to his own statements –
came to Beijing via the famous Silk Road.
Marco Polo, who was
Kublai's guest and worked in the city for a while, was extremely
impressed by the great sophistication: "There are so many houses and
people that nobody could number them... I don't think there is any
place in the world that sees so many traders, so many valuable and
peculiar goods and treasures coming from all directions..."
The wealth was due to the city's location at the starting point of
the Silk Road, and according to Polo, "almost a day more than a
thousand carts loaded with silk" arrived in the city for onward
journeys to lands west of China.
In a display of style and
splendor unparalleled by the great khans who later came to be called
emperors, Kublai built a palace of enormous proportions, protected
on all sides by walls and accessed by marble staircases.
Development of power under the Ming and Qing dynasties
In 1368
the Yuan dynasty was succeeded by the Ming dynasty. Hongwu
(1328–1398), the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had his capital
in Nanjing (Southern Capital) built on the Yangzi River and changed
the name Dadus to Beiping (北平, Běipíng, Pei-p'ing - "Northern Peace"
).
Beginning in 1408, Emperor Yongle began to completely
rebuild the city under its new name Beijing (Northern Capital).
Among other things, he created the Forbidden City and the Temple of
Heaven, with which Yongle outlined important elements of urban
development. In 1421, Yongle appointed Beijing as the new capital of
the Ming Dynasty. During the subsequent Qing Dynasty (1644-1911),
the city was expanded with more temples and palaces. This period was
marked by the rise and fall of the Manchu and Qing dynasties
respectively.
The capital experienced its heyday during the
first half of the 18th century under the emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng
and Qianlong. At that time, the Qing also built the legendary Summer
Palace north of the city, a unique garden complex for the nobility
with 200 pavilions, temples and palace buildings against the
backdrop of a vast landscape of man-made lakes and hills. Together
with the imperial palace, it formed the center and symbol of Chinese
glory and development of power.
However, during the Second
Opium War in 1860, British and French troops advanced to the walls
of the capital and the Summer Palace was first looted by the British
and then set on fire, practically burning it to the ground. While
the imperial court lived in a separate, walled city in a spacious
area, the civilian population had to live under inhumane conditions.
From 1884, the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835–1908) began to build a
new summer palace for herself with funds that were actually intended
for the modernization of the Chinese navy. Their project, as the
last major symbol, marked the end of imperial architectural splendor
and patronage - and like its predecessor it was destroyed by fire by
foreign soldiers during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. At the time,
the empire and the imperial capital were on the verge of collapse as
a result of successive waves of foreign occupation.
After the Manchu abdication and the founding of the
Republic of China in 1912, Beijing remained the political center of
China until 1928. Then Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) established the
capital in Nanjing. Being under the control of rival warlords, Beijing
was renamed Beiping (Northern Peace) by the Kuomintang in 1928 to
indicate that it was not a capital city.
During the tumultuous
1920s, mass rallies of residents erupted in Beijing, first in 1925 to
protest the massacre of Chinese demonstrators in Shanghai by British
soldiers, and in 1926 to express their anger at the government's
ignominious surrender to Japan in Manchuria. announce crisis. As the
protesters marched toward government agencies, soldiers opened fire on
them.
The city was occupied by the Japanese Army during the Marco
Polo Bridge Incident (Lugouqiao) at the start of the Second
Sino-Japanese War on July 19, 1937. The city was only liberated by the
Kuomintang and US Marines in 1945 after the end of the Pacific War.
In January 1949, the Communists took Beijing—nine months before
Chiang Kai-shek's flight to Taiwan made final victory a certainty.
Following the founding of the People's Republic of China by Mao
Zedong on October 1, 1949, the communist government declared Beijing
the capital again.
The rebuilding of the capital and the
eradication of the symbols of previous regimes were top priorities
for the new rulers. In order to free itself from the past and build
a modern capital of the people, a large part of the valuable old
building fabric was destroyed or misused. For example, the Temple of
Cultivated Wisdom was converted into a wire factory and light bulbs
were manufactured in the Temple of the Fire God. In the 1940s the
city still had 8,000 temples and monuments, by the 1960s this number
had shrunk to 150.
Beijing became the scene of a massive
popular uprising in 1989, when almost a million demonstrators took
to Tiananmen Square in the city center between April and June of
that year to express their displeasure at the slow pace of reforms,
the lack of freedom and the far widespread corruption. A huge
statue, the goddess of freedom, made to carry a torch in both hands,
was made by art students and juxtaposed with the portrait of Mao
Zedong in Tiananmen Square.
As a result, the Chinese
government imposed martial law on May 20 of that year. On June 4,
1989, the peacefully demonstrating democracy movement was brutally
crushed by the army; thousands of civilians died.
On October
20, 1998, the country's first human rights conference opened in
Beijing. More than 100 representatives from 27 countries took part
in the conference. – In July 2001, the International Olympic
Committee designated Beijing as the venue for the 2008 Summer
Olympics.
The biggest problems the city is facing today
because of a failed (modern) urban planning policy are the
increasing immigration, the air pollution caused by outdated
factories and the excessive traffic that is bringing the city to the
brink of gridlock and its share of poor air quality contributes.
As early as 1450, 600,000 people lived in Beijing. By 1800, the
city's population had risen to 1.1 million. After a temporary decline to
693,000 in 1900, the population grew to 1.6 million in 1930 and to 2.8
million in 1953. In 2007, 7.7 million people lived in the core city
(high building density and closed town form), two and a half times as
many as in 1953. The population density is 5639 inhabitants per square
kilometer. In Berlin, for comparison, there are 3,800. In 2007, 11.8
million people lived in the metropolitan region of Beijing, which also
includes the suburban belt surrounding the city proper. The population
density in 2007 was 1337 people per square kilometer.
The entire
administrative area of the direct government city of Beijing, which also
includes extensive rural areas, had around 21.5 million inhabitants in
2016. In 2015, the population was 21.7 million, of which 13.5 million
were registered permanent residents (戶口 / 户口, hùkǒu) and 8.2 million
temporary residents (流動人口 / 流动人口, liúdòng rénkǒu) were temporary
residents (暫住證 / 暂住证, zànzhùzhèng).
If you want to stay longer
than three days in the city, you have to report to the Office for Public
Security and will be registered there. The applicant then receives a
temporary residence permit for three months, which must be renewed after
the period has expired. A certificate from the place of origin must be
submitted to the office, confirming that the person is registered there.
There are also about a million guest workers in the city, mostly
unskilled migrant workers and illegal immigrants who are not recorded by
official statistics. Since the birth rate is low, population growth is
mainly due to immigration. The natural growth rate of the permanent
resident population in Beijing is currently 0.9 per 1,000 people, birth
rate: 6.0 per 1,000 people, death rate: 5.1 per 1,000 people.
About 95.7% of the population are Han. The largest ethnic minority with
over 1.8% of the population are the Manchu; with 1.74%, the Muslim Hui
Chinese are in second place. There are also significant groups of
Mongolians (0.3% of the Beijing population) and Koreans (0.15%). All of
China's ethnic groups are also represented in small numbers among
Beijing residents; The De'ang, a Mon-Khmer people, with four
inhabitants, are in last place quantitatively. The Chinese spoken in
Beijing largely corresponds to Standard Chinese (Putonghua), the
official language of the People's Republic of China, with some
colloquialisms.
The following overview shows the population of
the core city (without the suburban belt). Registered residents with
main residence in Beijing are listed.
Located 110 kilometers northwest of the Bohai Gulf in the heart of
Hebei Province, Beijing is an independently administered sub-government
city with an area of 16,807.8 km², which is roughly the area of the
federal state of Thuringia or Styria. Of this, however, only 1,369.9 km²
(8%) belong to the core city (high building density and closed town
form). 15,398.4 km² (92%) consists of suburbs and areas with a rural
settlement structure. The Beijing metropolitan area, including the
suburban belt surrounding the city proper, has an area of 8,859.9 km².
The city is located on the northwestern edge of the densely
populated North China Plain at an average elevation of 63 meters above
sea level and is surrounded by mountains (Mongolian Plateau). The
highest point in the administrative area of Beijing is the Ling Shan
(more precisely: Dongling Shan 東靈山 / 东灵山) with 2303 meters. The area
stretches over 180 km in a north-south direction and over 170 km in an
east-west direction. Other major cities in the administrative area of
Beijing are (as of January 1, 2007): Mentougou 205,574 inhabitants,
Tongzhou 169,770 inhabitants, Shunyi 122,264 inhabitants, Huangcun
109,043 inhabitants and Fangshan 100,855 inhabitants.
The North China Plain (Great Plain) in which Beijing lies is
geologically a collapse field that was later filled in by the delta
formations of the North China Currents. It consists of alluvial loess
and sands brought in by the rivers from the western mountainous
countries. So the plain is a continuation of the loessland.
It is
also similar to the neighboring Loessberg countries in terms of climate
- hot, humid summers and dry, cold winters with dust storms - and in
terms of plant geography - parkland with steppe-like features. The North
China Plain is a huge alluvial fan created by the Huang He, the world's
muddiest river, over the course of many millennia, and its foothills
reach the Yellow Sea to the north and south of the Shandong Peninsula.
The area is exposed to strong tectonic stresses that repeatedly lead
to earthquakes, which is why the Jiufeng earthquake station was set up
in 1930. The cause is the slow northward shift of the Indian tectonic
plate into the Eurasian tectonic plate. The average speed of plate
tectonics is about four centimeters per year.
On July 28, 1976,
the most serious earthquake of the 20th century occurred in Tangshan,
140 km east of Beijing (see Tangshan earthquake of 1976). It had a
magnitude of 8.2 on the Richter scale. The official figure from the
government of the People's Republic of China on the number of dead is
242,419, but some estimates put the number up to 800,000 dead, and the
strength is officially only given as 7.8. The quake also caused damage
in Beijing and other cities in the region.
The Chinese capital is struggling with numerous environmental
problems. These include excessive river pollution, problems with
drinking water supplies, air pollution, shortcomings in local public
transport and excessive traffic congestion. Since the early 1990s, the
government has made increased efforts to promote environmental
protection. Laws have been passed on recycling, environmental impact
assessment, increasing energy efficiency and air pollution control.
To improve air quality, stricter emission regulations have been
enacted. Since January 1, 2003, only passenger cars that meet the
Euronorm 2 have been registered. Since March 1, 2008, all new cars must
meet the Euro IV standard. Numerous diesel-powered buses have been
replaced by natural gas buses. In addition, the proportion of
electrically operated trolleybuses in the total of 18,000 buses in
Beijing rose to around five percent. Local rail transport, especially
the subway network, is also being greatly expanded. However, air
pollution in the metropolis remains a concern. The high levels of
particulate matter and other air pollutants are a major problem.
As part of the Clean Air Plan, all of the city's coal-fired power plants
were shut down from 2013 to 2017 and replaced with low-emission
gas-fired power plants. A program was also launched with the aim of
converting residential buildings heated with coal to electric heat pump
heating systems.
According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), the air quality in the capital is one of the worst in the world.
The causes lie in the numerous factories and power plants as well as in
traffic and in private households. Due to the rapid urbanization, the
sharp increase in traffic and the concentration of industry in the
metropolitan area, the excessive pollution and smog pose a serious
threat to public health. During inversion weather conditions,
respiratory diseases in particular increase among the population of the
capital.
According to Forbes' 2009 list of the World's Most Expensive Cities
To Live, Beijing is considered a very high cost of living city and one
of the most expensive cities in the world. In a 2018 ranking of cities
according to their quality of life, Beijing ranked 119th out of 231
cities surveyed worldwide.
Many elements of modern urban planning
policies were devastating to the populace, creating more problems than
they solved. A large part of the traditional courtyard houses (siheyuan)
in the narrow streets (hutongs), which were considered a breeding ground
for individualists, have been demolished since 1949. Their place was
taken by anonymous new buildings made of concrete, often with inadequate
sanitary facilities and hardly any running water.
When extensive
renovation work on the buildings seemed urgently needed in the late
1960s, an underground tunnel network was built instead, which was
intended to provide protection in the event of war. Millions of
man-hours were invested in the project, which could not provide
protection against modern bombs and ultimately only led to the lowering
of the water table.
In 1950, the government ordered the killing
of all dogs in the Chinese capital. The killing of numerous sparrows in
1956 - the measure was originally intended to protect grain stocks -
resulted in the insects being able to reproduce more quickly. To
counteract this, the city government ordered the removal of all green
spaces in the capital, which in turn caused dust storms in the windy
winter months.
At the beginning of the new millennium, major
urban regeneration projects were underway to prepare Beijing for the
2008 Summer Olympics. Various efforts to curb air pollution have already
been made; Factories that could not be further modernized had to close.
Open spaces have been brought to life again by extensive greening. The
polluted canals were dredged.
As the guiding star on China's path
to modernity, Beijing is leading the way in transforming the country.
Buildings are being demolished and new ones erected at a rapid pace, as
evidenced by the white characters 拆 (chāi for demolition) on old houses
and the many construction cranes. Mostly modern concrete and glass
buildings are being erected in the city center, and numerous office
complexes are being built along the broad main avenues. The housing
there is not affordable for the poorer sections of the population. They
are pushed to the outskirts of the city.
Most residents of
Beijing live in high-rise buildings. Two residential areas are
particularly important for this: the Wangjing area in the northeast and
the Huilongguan residential area in the northwest. To deal with the
problem of overpopulation, a number of satellite cities, each with more
than 500,000 inhabitants, are under construction and planning as part of
large-scale construction measures.