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Beijing's name is derived from the word 'Bei' which means 'north', and 'jing' which means 'capital'. Beijing literally means 'north capital'.
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Peking Man (early human inhabitants of the Beijing Municipality) was discovered when fossils were found in the early 1900s, in caves at Dragon Bone Hill. They have been dated to as many as 750,000 years ago. These fossils were Homo erectus.
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Homo sapien fossils were found in the Beijing Municipality dating back 27,000 years.
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Beijing's first walled city existed from the 11th century BC to the 7th century BC. It was a city-state called Ji.
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Later Ji was conquered by Yan and renamed Yanjing.
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Once China was unified by China's first emperor the Beijing region became the capital. For many centuries Beijing's region changed emperors and names, until 1949 when the People's Republic of China was announced and Beijing's name became final and was named the new capital.
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Beijing is home to the world's largest palace, called the Forbidden City, which has been home to 24 emperors over the course of the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City contains 1000 rooms.
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Beijing is China's most popular city for tourists.
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Beijing's official flowers are the Chinese rose and the chrysanthemum.
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Beijing has many parking lots dedicated to bicycles because so many people use them for transportation. Beijing is considered to be the bike capital of the world.
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Some of Beijing's most famous historic sites include the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Great Wall of China.
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The air pollution in Beijing is so bad that it is considered to be five times the safety standards set for cities.
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Beijing was host to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. That year Chinese athletes won the most gold medals of any country.
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Beijing is home to The Temple of Heaven, the city's holiest imperial temple. It was built in 1420 AD by the Ming Dynasty.
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The Ming Tombs, located in Beijing, contain 13 of the 16 Ming Dynasty emperors.
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Beijing duck is the most famous culinary dish from the city. Other popular dishes include Peking duck, hot and sour soup, and Moo Shu Pork.
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There are 20 nature reserves in the Beijing Municipality. Animals that live in the mountainous areas include wild boar, red fox, roe deer, masked palm civet, wolf, leopard, and many more.
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Beijing's airport - Beijing Capital International Airport - is the second busiest in the world following Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
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