Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 21.8 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city, as well as China's second-largest city by urban area, after Shanghai. It is located in Northern China, and is governed as a provincial-level direct-administered municipality with 16 municipal districts. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province and neighbors Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jing-Jin-Ji cluster.
Played with your browser's voice. Studio-quality audio can be added with a text-to-speech service.
Ask about this article
📝 Quick Quiz1 / 2
What is "Beijing" primarily known for?
Vocix Daily — In Your Inbox
Top stories, deep-dive articles, and "On This Day" history — one crisp digest delivered every morning.
Sources & references
Reference material for this entry is drawn from the open encyclopedic record, including Wikipedia , available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Images are credited individually beside each photo.