Beijing a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the People's Republic of China formerly known in English as Peking? Beijing is also one of the four municipalities in China, which are equivalent to provinces in China's administrative structure. Beijing borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast.

 The city's climate is a monsoon-influenced humid continental, characterized by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and harshly cold, windy, dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Average temperatures in January are at around -7 to -4 °C, while average temperatures in July are at 25 to 26 °C. Annual precipitation is over 600 mm, with 75% of that in summer.

Beijing experiences heavy pollution and poor air quality from industry and traffic. Dust from erosion of deserts in northern and northwestern China result in seasonal dust storms that plague the city. Efforts have been made of late to clean up Beijing in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

 Beijing is an important transportation hub for central china. Encircling the city are five ring roads, nine expressways and city express routes, eleven China National Highways, several railway routes with two major railway stations: Beijing Railway Station and Beijing West Railway Station, 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. Most domestic and nearly all international flights arrive and depart at Capital Airport. Capital Airport is the main hub for Air China. It is linked to central Beijing by the Airport Expressway and is a roughly 40-minute drive from the city centre during good traffic hours. In preparation for the 2008 Olympics, another expressway is being built to the Airport, as well as a light rail system.

One of the biggest concerns with traffic in Beijing deals with its apparently ubiquitous traffic jams. Traffic in the city centre is often grid locked, especially around rush hour. Even outside of rush hour, several roads still remain clogged up with traffic. Urban area ring roads and major through routes, especially near the Chang'an Avenue area, are often clogged up during rush hour.

Another problem is that public transportation is underdeveloped (the subway system is presently minimal) and that even buses are jam-packed with people around rush hour. Beijing was poorly designed in terms of zoning and in terms of transportation system. Beijing authorities claim that traffic jams may be a thing of a past come the 2008 Olympics. The authorities have introduced several bus lanes where, during rush hour, all vehicles except for public buses must keep clear.

Taxis are plentiful and abide by a stringent queuing system in popular places as well as having designated area’s to flag them down.

Beijing offers visitors a variety of Chinese cuisine from all over china specialities of the city would certainly be Beijing Roast Duck.

Imperial Cuisine, which was once the exclusive province of China’s royalty, has evolved over time to be enjoyed by all of the country's people. It is the foundation of Beijing cuisine. Complex preparation techniques and the freshest ingredients characterize an imperial feast. It also can feature elaborate presentation including colourful vegetable carvings.  There are a wide variety of traditional places to eat as well as many fast food chains a KFC, Pizza Hut, and MacDonald’s is never far away.

A must while in Beijing is to sample one of the many street food market perhaps the most famous being Wangfujing street market. Or for the less adventuress perhapts in one of the more commercial centres such as THE PLACE with its huge cinematic ceiling lined with coffee houses and designer shops under which lies a vast variety of restaurants for all tastes.

If you are in Beijing it would almost be a sin not to take a trip out to the great wall or experience the hustle bustle of Silk Street were every shop owner has become a millionaire from the tourist trade.