The Temple of Heaven, a symbol of Beijing

Location within China Coordinates: 39°54'20?N 116°23'29?E? / ?39.90556, 116.39139 Country

 People's Republic of China County-level divisions 18 Township divisions 273 Settled ca. 473 BC Government  - CPC Beijing Liu Qi Committee Secretary  - Mayor Guo Jinlong Area (ranked 29th)  - Municipality 16,801.25 km? (6,487 sq mi) Elevation 43.5 m (143 ft) Population (2007)  - Municipality 17,430,000[1] (26th)  - Density 1,037/km? (2,685.8/sq mi)  - Urban 8,495,000[2]  - Mun. Density rank (4th)  - Major nationalities Han - 96% Manchu - 2% Hui - 2% Mongolian - 0.3% Time zone China Standard Time (UTC+8) Postal code 100000 - 102600 Area code(s) +86/10 License plate prefixes ?A, C, E, F, H, J, K, L ?B (taxis) ?G (outside urban area) ?O (police and authorities) ?V (military headquarters & central government) ISO 3166-2 cn-11 GDP (2006) CNY 772.03 billion (15th)  - per capita CNY 49,505 (2nd) HDI (2005) 0.882 (2nd) — high City trees Chinese arborvitae (Platycladus orientalis) Pagoda tree (Sophora japonica) City flowers Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) Chinese rose (Rosa chinensis) Website: www.beijing.gov.cn www.ebeijing.gov.cn (English) Beijing (Chinese: ??; pinyin: Beijing; Wade-Giles: Peiching or Pei-ching; IPA: [pe??? t?????]; Chinese Postal Map Romanization: Peking; literally "Northern capital"; pronunciation (help·info)), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is also known in English as Peking (English pronunciation (info)). Beijing is also one of the four municipalities of the PRC, which are equivalent to provinces in China's administrative structure. Beijing Municipality borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast. Beijing is China's second largest city, after Shanghai. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and motorways passing through the city. It is also the focal point of many international flights to China. Beijing is recognised as the political, educational, and cultural centre of the People's Republic of China, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields. Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. It will host the 2008 Summer Olympics.