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General Information
International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
will be held in Beijing, August 2-11, 2005.
Beijing, which was founded 3000 years ago, is the capital of
China. It is the political, economic, academic, and cultural
center of the country.
The long history of Beijing endows the city with a rich cultural
heritage. The Great Wall, one of the world wonders and the man-made
architectures which can be seen from space, extends several
hundred miles in Beijing. The poetic and picturesque Summer
Palace represents the highest architectural level of royal garden.
The Forbidden City includes the most splendid group of imperial
palaces in the world. The temple of heaven is the place of worship
for emperors of various dynasties of China as well as a splendid
achievement of the Chinese ancient architectural art. The above
four have been selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization as the world cultural heritage. What
is typical of Beijing is hutong (Chinese alleys) and the compound
courtyard (old Beijing residential quarters). These streets
and buildings witnessed ups and downs of the city and the people
in the past centuries and are a typical symbol of the life of
Beijing people.
Changes have taken place day by day in Beijing since China's
reform and open to the outside world. As a popular saying goes
around here, Beijing is growing taller with more and more high
buildings while younger with the people's life richer and more
colorful. Beijing is advancing rapidly with full confidence
in the 21st century.
This is Beijing, old and young, full of attraction. It is our
sincere hope that you will make the best of your time here to
visit more places and enjoy more scenery and we believe you
will harvest a lot.
History
Beijing in Chinese means "capital in the north". Its
establishment could be traced back to more than 3000 years ago.
From 1272 to 1911, Beijing was the capital of Yuan, Ming and
Qing Dynasties. After the People's Republic of China was founded
in 1949, Beijing is the capital of new China.
Geography
Beijing is located at 115iä20' to 117iä32' east longitude
and 39iä23' to 41iä05' north altitude, the same altitude
as Rome, Madrid and Philadelphia. It neighbours hebei Province
and Tianjin City. Its total land area is 16,808 squre kilometers,
among which the mountain areas account for 52% and are distributed
in its western, northern and northeastern parts, and the plain
accounts for 38% and is distributed in its southern and southeastern
parts.
Administration
Beijing is one of the municipalities directly under the administration
of the central government (the other three are Tianjin, Shanghai
and Chongqing). Under its administration there are 16 districts
and 2 Counties. The Mayor of Beijing is Mr. Qishan Wang.
Climate
Beijing is located in the temperate zone affected by continental
monsoon. The spring and autumn in Beijing are shorter and drier
while the summer and winter are relatively longer.
Citizens
Beijing is a city with high population density. Its population
is over 12 million. 8 million people out of them are living
in the city proper. In terms of nationality, most of Beijing
citizens are Han Chinese but all the minority nationalities
of China have citizens in Beijing. The language spoken by most
beijingers is very close to the mandarin.
Etiquette and Custom
The Chinese people like their traditions, respect the old people
and care about the family hierarchy.
The family name of the Chinese people is put before their given
name, which is just opposite to the name of most of Westerners.
The Chinese like nodding or bowing slightly for greeting while
meeting, and shake hands in formal occasions and say "how
do you do". The Chinese people are not used to hug with
a person with whom they are not deeply familiar or the other
sex.
The Chinese people are hospitable. Entertaining the guests with
a cigarette or wine is an indication of hospitality to the guests.
The Chinese people feel comfortable if the guests refuse such
entertainment politely since the Chinese people have the custom
that a host does everything for the convenience of a guest.
There is no tipping in China, but if you are satisfied with
the service you receive, you may tip to show your thanks.
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| Temple of Heaven |
Transportation in Beijing
Subway
Beijing has two lines of subway. The first line runs from the
western suburb, Pingguoyuan station to the eastern suburb, Sihuidong
station. The second line goes around the central area of Beijing,
which is loop line. Fuxingmen and Jianguomen are the stations
where the two lines intersect.
The period of subway operation is from 5:30 am to 22:30 pm,
with the time span between the two trains being 4 minutes. If
you go to the central area of Beijing, the subway is a rapid
and economical tool for transportation. The subway ticket coasts
3 yuan RMB.
Public transportation
The network of public transportation covers the whole city proper.
The fee charge is very low. However, the bus lines are complicated
and the buses are very crowed. It is not recommended that you
choose such transportation.
Car Rental
The driving licenses issued by other countries are not valid
in China. Those with the driving licenses issued in China can
be allowed to rent cars and should follow the traffic rules
of China while driving here.
The roof of all the taxi is capped with a symbol of "TAXI".
The red light behind the glass window indicates that the taxi
is available. It is recommended that you call a taxi at the
designated taxi station. The windows at both sides of the back
seat of the taxi are glued with a price tag for the taxi.
The minimum charge for the first kind of the taxi is 10 yuan
RMB and 1.60 yuan RMB per kilometer will be added onto it after
driving 4 kilometer.
The minimum charge for the second kind of taxi is also 10 yuan
RMB and 2.00 yuan RMB per kilometer will be added onto it after
driving 3 kilometer.
If you take a taxi from 23:00-05:00, the meter will automatically
add 20% more charges. In addition, the passengers are requested
to pay the toll and parking fee if there is such a fee, and
it may be difficult to call a taxi alongside the Chang'an Street.
While taking a taxi, you have the right to require the driver
to use the mile meter and ask for the receipt of the payment.
If you have any complaint, you can do it at the taxi management
department.
Dining
Beijing has some well-known local food such as roast duck, mutton
hot pot and royal delicacy. You could choose some best-known
restaurants to enjoy these local foods, such as Quanjude Roast
Duck restaurant, Donglaishun Restaurant, Pro-royal Restraurant.
Due to the location in the central part of the city, these restaurants
usually have many customers.
Beijing roast duck is the best known local food which uses the
duck raised in a special way and the particular fuel wood while
roasting. The most popular saying among the tourists and visitors
in Beijing goes like this, "You are not real man if you
do not go to the Great Wall" and it is a pity if you do
not eat roast duck as it is equally important as visiting the
Great Wall. In these restaurants, the chef will show you his
or her technique of how to make the roast duck. Donglaishun
restaurant is for Muslim friends who can enjoy roast duck without
scruples.
Shopping
The works of fine arts with particular Oriental characteristics
will attract you. These artistic works enjoy a long history,
such as jade works, enamel and silk embroidery. Beijing has
some local folk artistic works, such as clay figurine. Beijing
opera facial makeup, kite and paper cut. The price of these
local art works is not high. If you want to buy these art works,
the best place you should go is Liulichang. It is a street with
the Chinese cultural uniqueness located in the central part
of Beijing. It is also the best-known traditional market for
art works, with a history of more than five hundred years. Besides,
the Silk Street is the place where foreigners usually purchase
Chinese costumes; and Panjiayuan is the famous numismatics market.
All of these places are clearly marked on the map of Beijing.
Beijing has more than 100 shopping centers.Wangfujing, Dashilan
and Xidan are three well-known commercial districts in Beijing.
In particular, Wangfujing Street has Oriental Plaza that is
one of the biggest commercial complexes in Asia after renovation
of the building with a history of 100 years. In Wangfujing,
you may easily find Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant and Donglaishun
Restaurant.
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| The Great Wall |
Entertainment
The Assembly suggests the guests watching Jingju--the special
Chinese art genre. People usually translate "Jingju"
into "Beijing Opera", but actually "Jingju"
and operas are not identical.
Jingju is a special Chinese art genre, with a history of 200
years. It is called "the quintessence of China". Jingju
has four forms of performance: "Chang, Nian, Zuo, Da".
"Chang" resembles singing in opera, but it has a particular
tone-pattern; "Nian" resembles reading in drama, but
the pronunciations of some words are different from modern Chinese
words; "Zuo" and "Da" resembles dancing,
which uses movements to express feelings and plots. This can
help the foreign guests to understand the content of the performance.
During a Jingju performance, actors wear costumes manifest enough
to show their identity. The patterns of costumes are strictly
regulated, and wrongly dressing is absolutely forbidden; while
performing, the actor's face is colored with various patterns,
suggesting loyalty, duplicity, pulchritude, ugliness, wit or
stupidity, etc, of that role.
If you want to see a Jingju performance and you are not familiar
with it, you are adviced to go with an interpreter who knows
about Jingju.
Beijing has several theatres that remain the style of ancient
buildings that are special for Jingju performance. The theater
and the performance serve as a foil to each other, making each
other brighter and more colorful. Great Chang'an Theatre, Hu-guang
Club and Laoshe Tea House are three of the most famous ones.
For more information about Beijing, Please visit www.beijingpage.com
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