Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China is the nation's political, cultural, scientific and educational heart as well as a key transportation hub. Beijing has served as the capital of the country for more than 800 years dating back to the Yuan Dynasty. Beijing's beginnings were that of a trading town for the tribes in Shandong and central China as well as the Koreans and Mongols. It grew until it became the capital of the Yan Kingdom during the Warring States Period and eventually became known as Yanjing during the Liao Dynasty. In 1215 AD, Yanjing (Beijing) was destroyed by Genghis Khan with fire and it emerged from the destruction in 1272 as Dadu, which means Great Capital. Dadu, also known as Khanbalik, was the capital for Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson.

Beijing is located in the warm temperature zone and has a continental climate. The four seasons are distinctly recognizable. Beijing has hot, wet summers characterised by high humidity levels and frequent heavy rain - particularly in July and August when the East Asian monsoon strikes. Annual rainfall averages nearly 700 millimetres, most of it comes in July and August. In contrast to its hot, wet summers, Beijing's winters are cold, sunny, windy and dry.

Since the Communist victory in 1949, Beijing has become a great industrial area, the heart of a vast complex of textile mills, iron and steelworks, locomotives, railroad repair shops, factories manufacturing heavy machinery, machine shops, chemical plants, electronic equipment, plastics, synthetic fibres and rolling stock. Beijing has a rapidly growing service sector, consisting mostly of government agencies. The People's Bank of China, the major institution in China's centralized banking system, has its head office in central Beijing, which is also home to a variety of specialized banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China. Other financial institutions in the city include major insurance companies, credit cooperatives, securities firms, and investment companies.

With the growth of the city following economic reforms, Beijing has evolved as an important transportation hub. Encircling the city are five ring roads, nine express routes, eleven China National Highways, several railway routes, and an international airport. Beijing's main airport is the Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) near Shunyi, which is about 20 km northeast of Beijing city centre. The subway outside of rush hour is the fastest and easiest form of public transport to use, it is cheap, although not very extensive, and is much more pleasant than taking a bus. Buses are also very cheap, but uncomfortably crowded and care should be taken of valuables and bags. All taxis are metered - official taxis sporting red stickers on the window, the bridge and road tolls will be paid by passengers. The main problem is communication, most drivers can’t understand English. Cycling is also a good alternative with numerous bicycle rentals around the city, and well-defined bike lanes, bike parks and the company of millions of other cyclists, especially at rush hour.

The educational system in Beijing, as elsewhere in China, consists of six years of universal primary education and six years of secondary education. There are three main types of secondary schools in Beijing: general middle schools, normal schools, vocational and technical schools. As home to both Beijing University and Qinghua University, Beijing is an important center for higher education in China. Beijing University, founded in 1898, was relocated from its original site in the central city to a new campus that has been significantly expanded to accommodate one of China's largest universities. Beijing also has a number of foreign-language institutions where foreigners are employed to teach alongside their Chinese colleagues.

The Temple of Heaven is the most holy of Beijing's Imperial temples. For this is where the Emperor came every winter solstice to worship heaven and to solemnly pray for a good harvest. The design of the Temple of Heaven complex, true to its sacred purpose, reflects the mystical cosmological laws believed to be central to the workings of the universe. Hence, complex numerological permutations operate within its design.

The Great Wall extends for a good 3,000 miles from its origin at the seaside in Shanhaiguan (the Old Dragon Head), a seaport along the coast of Bohai Bay in the east, all the way to Jiayu Pass in Gansu Province. Stretching from the eastern part of Liaoning in Northeast China to Lintao (in modern Minxian) on the desert in the northwest of China, is located more than 70 kilometers northwest from the center of Beijing . The Great Wall was a gigantic defensive project used in ancient times as early as in the 7th century B.C. For self-protection, rival kingdoms built walls around their territories, laying foundations for the present Great Wall. Inside of the wall, there are low walls with one meter high called parapets, which can be used as railings. There is a scroll door not far from the inside wall, with is a stone ladder for climbing up and down.