Beijing

The State of Yan named Beijing its capital during the Warring States period of 475 to 221 BC. These early incarnations of the city served as trading posts for northern peoples like Mongols and Koreans.

Under Genghis Khan, Beijing was besieged for seven years until it finally fell to the Mongols in 1215 AD.

Beijing was developed substantially by the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan. Known as Dadu, he established it as the political center for all of China. 

During the Ming dynasty the capital was moved to Nanjing for 35 years. Beijing was only reinstalled as China’s capital on October 28, 1420, the same year that the Forbidden City, the seat of government, was completed.

The Wanggongchang Explosion was an unexplained catastrophic explosion that occurred on May 30, 1626, during the late reign of Tianqi Emperor, at Beijing. The sky turned dark, and everything within the 2 km or 1.2 miles vicinity and a 4 km2 or 1.5 mi2 area was utterly obliterated, with around 20,000 people killed. One of the largest and most lethal explosions ever it was about equal to the Hiroshima bombing. The exact cause hasn't yet been determined. 

Beijing became the largest city by population in the world in 1710 with 770,000 people. The position had been held for seven decades by Constantinople.

Beijing's Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan, was destroyed by British troops occupying the city on October 18, 1860.

Beijing was formerly known in English as Peking or Peiking. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the government adopted the Pinyin method of conveying Mandarin in the Roman alphabet and used it to write proper names using the Latin alphabet. In 1979 Peking became Beijing, when the Pinyin method was adopted as an international standard.

During the cultural revolution, the red guard movement began in Beijing and the city's government fell victim to one of Mao Zedong's first purges. By the fall of 1966, all city schools were shut down.

Beijing opened its subway system in 1971.

Underneath Beijing there is a city spanning 33 square miles called Dixia Cheng. It was built in the 1970's due to rising tensions between China and the Soviet Union.

The pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests ended on June 4, 1989 with the declaration of martial law in Beijing by the government and the shooting of several hundred, or possibly thousands, of civilians by soldiers. Official figures of the dead range from 200 to 300. 

The many sights that represent the Chinese city of Beijing were built by foreigners: the Forbidden City (see below) was built by the Mongols, the Temple of Heaven by the Manchurians.

Currently there are 21,893,095 people residing in Beijing. Most residents are of Han ethnicity.

Beijing has long been well known for the number of bicycles on its streets and is considered to be the bicycle capital of the world. It has many parking lots dedicated to bikes alone.

Beijing’s main shopping street is called Wangfujing. It contains a plethora of shops and food stalls.

The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing from August 8 to August 24, 2008. The opening ceremony was held on August 8 at 8:00 pm China Standard Time (UTC+8), which is why it is often referred to as the "08/08/08" Olympics. The number eight is considered a lucky number in China and many parts of the Far East.

The 2008 Summer Olympics were a major success for Beijing, and they helped to showcase China to the world. The opening ceremony was particularly well-received, and it is considered to be one of the greatest opening ceremonies in Olympic history.

A scene from the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. By papparazzi..Wikipedia 

Due to the deforestation of the forests in North China, over one million tons of sands blows into Beijing from the Gobi desert. It sometimes causes the sky to turn yellow.

Some districts in Beijing are sinking by as much as 11 centimeters (4.33 inches) per year due to groundwater depletion.

Breathing the air in Beijing has the same health risks as smoking 21 cigarettes a day.

Over a million people live in underground nuclear bunkers beneath the streets of Beijing. 

With 6,800 public toilets, Beijing claims to have more than any other capital city.