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Beijing (pronounced /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/ or /beɪˈʒɪŋ/ in English; Chinese: 北京 Běijīng, IPA: [pèitɕíŋ]) (also formerly known in English as Peking (/piːˈkɪŋ/) is a metropolis in northern China and the capital of the People's Republic of China.
Beijing is China's second largest city, after Shanghai. Beijing 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 recognized as the political, educational, and cultural center of the People's Republic of China, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields.

Beijing or Peking (北京) means "northern capital", in line with the common East Asian tradition whereby capital cities are explicitly named as such. Other cities that are similarly named include Nanjing (南京), China, meaning "southern capital"; Tokyo (東京), Japan, and Đông Kinh (Chinese: 東京, now Hanoi), Vietnam, both meaning "eastern capital"; as well as Kyoto (京都), Japan, and (京城; now Seoul), Korea, both meaning simply "capital".
History

The resident areas near Beijing today have already been formed about 3,000 years before Christ. The position of these resident regions in the north of Hua Bei Plain is an important intersection point of geography and politics for Han resident communities in the South and West and for nomadic people groups in the North and Northeast. Zhou Dynasty (1045? - 256 before Christ) built a capital city here. In the 10th century, the Mongolian Khitan from the North East occupied the northern part of China and established their south capital at the place that is Beijing today. When Mongolian soldiers took over China in the 13th century and set up Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan decided to set up capital in Beijing in 1272. It was the first time the new capital was named Khanbalik and became an administrative and political capital for the whole China.

Zhu Yuanzhang set up Ming Dynasty in 1368 and chose Nanjing as the capital. He immediately destroyed capital of Yuan Dynasty and renamed the city Beiping (northern peace). After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang in 1398, a dispute between grandchild of Zhu Yuanzhang (he is the son of Zhu’s oldest son) - who was passed the throne and the second son of Zhu Yuanzhang - who gained the throne and became Emperor. He moved Ming’s capital to Beiping in 1420 and changed its name to Beijing. The city developed with the basic layout as today. Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) built more temples and works.

After the Qing Dynasty was overthrown and the Republic of China was founded in 1911, Beijing was still the political center of China until 1911. Nationalist Party headed by Xing Jie Jou moved the capital to Nanjing and renamed Beijing in Beiping. In the World War II, this city was occupied by Japanese military from 1937 to 1945 but it was not much damaged. After Mao Zedong took the power in 1949, the city was renamed Beijing and was selected as the capital of the People's Republic of China.

The International Olympic Committee selected Beijing as the host for the 2008 Summer Olympics in 2001

(Source: Wikipedia)